Preview

The Verdict

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
826 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Verdict
The Verdict
Deborah Frick
DeSales University

The Legal Environment of Business AB 272
David B. Schwartz, Esquire
February 5, 2012

“A lawyer, as a member of the legal profession, is a representative of clients, an officer of the legal system and a public citizen having special responsibility for the quality of justice.” (Preamble 1. ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. 2004)
Every state has its own ethical code of conduct for practicing lawyers, which is typically modeled after the American Bar Association’s professional standards, Model Rules of Professional Conduct. These serve as a guide for the ethical responsibilities and conduct expected of the profession. Such leadership in ethics was first standardized by the American Bar Association in 1908 with the Canons of Professional Ethics, followed by the Model Code of Professional Conduct in 1969, and finally, in 1983, the Model Rules of Professional Conduct was adopted with numerous amendments added in the years since.
With that short synopsis of the history of legal ethics, it was interesting to scrutinize the legal professional’s duty to ethical conduct in the movie, The Verdict, and argue whether or not justice was served in the end. At first there appears to be such an exaggerated depiction of appalling conduct that it borders on comical. The story revolves around Frank Galvin, depicted as a down-and-out lawyer who seems almost incapable of getting his life back on tract. The audience is pushed to feel sorry for him, although some may conclude that he is just an irresponsible, self-pitying loser. In any event, the ethical issues abound. The movie is set in Boston in the 1980’s, and begins with scenes of Attorney Galvin hounding mourners in funeral homes for potential cases, and with this harassing solicitation the audience begins to grasp the depressing moral values in question.
As the story unfolds a former associate hands Frank Galvin an easy malpractice case, and it is obvious that Frank is



Cited: American Bar Association. (2010) Model rules of Professional Conduct. Retrieved January 22, 2012, from: http://www.americanbar.org. Duke Law. (8 2011) Legal Ethics. Retrieved January 22, 2012, from: http://www.law.duke.edu.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    The Verdict follows the story of a medical malpractice case in Boston many predicted would not be successful. The alcoholic lawyer Frank Galvin experiences a variety of hardships during the trial. From the beginning of the movie, we are given an inside look at Frank Galvin’s life as an ambulance…

    • 1410 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    People delegate important personal aspects of their lives to professionals, but not without the risks of unethical behaviors. The word Professional makes one think of wealth and power, which can result in corruption; winning by any means necessary. In the movie The Verdict, Frank Galvin plays a lawyer who has reduced himself to being a drunken ambulance chaser (Brown, Harris, Zanuck, & Lumet, 1982). He is given an opportunity by his good friend, Mickey Morrisey, to morally redeem himself; not only as a lawyer, but most importantly a person.…

    • 1356 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Next research what role ethics have played in the development of American law and how ethics are used every day by lawyers and paralegals.…

    • 252 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    For each legal issue the film provided a case or story in order for the viewer to better understand the situations at hand. The first case provided was the case of Stella Liebeck v. McDonald’s, the case of the hot coffee. Mrs. Liebeck’s family thoroughly and genuinely explain the case, differing in facts and tone from the media and tort reform…

    • 764 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gentlemen, Your Verdict

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages

    There are twenty men trapped at the bottom of the sea in a submarine. Help will…

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    D. Graham Burnette gave fantastic insight into the logistics and feelings of a jury sentencing in his article, Anatomy of a Verdict. Throughout the article he explained just how hard it can be for a jury to sentence someone for a large crime. As he stated, a jury is something akin to, “foot soldiers of justice” (Burnette 2001), which conjures up the image of brave people going off to take on a daunting duty. In many ways, that’s exactly what it is for a real jury, no matter what the case. It can be emotionally, and sometimes physically draining to sit in a deliberations room for hours at a time, discussing at length a fellow human beings future.…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the movie, The Verdict, there were many ethical and legal issues that were prominent.…

    • 193 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    The Duke Lacrosse Scandal

    • 3838 Words
    • 16 Pages

    The author will examine a public accusation of misconduct against the Duke Lacrosse team and their actions pertaining to a party they hosted at a residence in Durham, NC. After the party, there was an accusation of sexual abuse and rape against some of the players on the team made by one of the females who were paid for entertainment. The author will examine the accusations made against the players along with the actions of the District Attorney (DA), Michael Nifong that ultimately got him disbarred. The author will examine DA Nifong’s ethical decisions as they pertain to his job and the influence he had on the public along with the ethics of the involved individuals in the case.…

    • 3838 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Durgin, Catherine R. "Getting Legal with Paralegals A Look at the State Regulations." Business Law Today 16.3 (2007). American Bar Association. Web. .…

    • 848 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Federal Jurisdiction

    • 868 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Morgan, J.F., Shedd, P.J., & CorleY, R.N. (2010). Business Law (3rd ed.). BVT Publishing, LLC…

    • 868 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this paper, I will review activities throughout the week and identify where Carl and Attorney Howe violate the ethical considerations according to ABA Models rules and NFPA ethical considerations.…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The short film I have decided to discuss in this paper from The Responsibility Project website is “Lawyers.” The film is about a lawyer named Ryder trying to make a decision if he wants to spend the rest of his life with that special someone, Ann.…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Runaway Jury Essay

    • 899 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Runaway Jury. In this book, there is a trial, not just any ordinary trial, but a multi-million dollar trial between big tobacco companies and regular people claiming that lung cancer caused from cigarettes killed their spouses. Now it has turned into a huge legal battle in a small town. I will be clarifying the conflict between Fitch and Easter, connecting the trial to the master settlement agreement and predicting the outcome of the trial.…

    • 899 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Best Essays

    Small Business

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages

    References: Anderson, R.A., Fox, 1., Twomey, D.P., and Jennings, M.M., (1999). Business Law & The Legal…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Mr Jan Alleman

    • 9317 Words
    • 38 Pages

    “The nature of this honourable profession is … Barristers (advocates) and attorneys are not hucksters, peddling their wares, or auctioneers, selling them to the highest bidder; for that reason they are not allowed to turn themselves into limited liability companies, or to tout for work; they are not allowed to advertise, and they may not filch each other’s clients. They are as much a part of the court in which they practice as the judges who preside over them. It is an honourable profession, one to which it is an honour to belong.”…

    • 9317 Words
    • 38 Pages
    Powerful Essays