Word: professional
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Wilkins says that many practicing lawyers are aware of and dissatisfied with the level of unnecessary contention litigation involves, and the dynamic of "fighting over things that everyone knows will be resolved." However, he says, most are too insulated in their profession to be able to critique the situation.
Throughout his career at Harvard, Wilkins sees his role as questioning the adversarial view of the legal profession and positing a different paradigm, one that will be theoretically satisfying and practically attainable.
For example, he points to the stereotype of the law school student as an uptight, overworked, angstridden creature as symptomatic of doubts among scholars of law "about the social utility and moral worthiness of the legal profession."
"Much of the way we train lawyers to think about their jobs encourages a kind of hyper-adversarial view of their jobs," he says. "Harvard is steeped in the tradition of the legal profession which emphasizes loyalty to the client above all other values."
Wilkins addresses legal ethics in both of the courses he teaches--"Civil Procedure" and "Introduction to Lawyering"--as well as in his role as director of the Program on the Legal Profession.