Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2004
Abstract
This essay begins, therefore, by briefly examining the question of what constitutes good lawyering. The essay acknowledges the difficulty of defining precisely what is good lawyering. In fact, scholars, judges, and lawyers often disagree markedly when they characterize lawyer behavior using the term. Not surprising, then, even though academic commentators routinely trumpet the importance of establishing a meaningful attorney-client relationship as an important aspect of good lawyering, not all in the legal profession embrace that view.8Indeed, the debate about the importance of a good lawyer-client relationship largely reflects contrasting attitudes within the legal profession about the client's role in the lawyer-client decision-making process. After briefly discussing the differing orientations toward lawyer-client decision-making, the essay next looks at some of the lawyer-client relationships and a number of the lawyer-client interactions depicted in the book to analyze the extent to which the lawyers portrayed in Damages engaged in good lawyering. The essay concludes by highlighting some of the lessons about lawyering revealed by examining the lawyer-client relationships described in the book.
Recommended Citation
Rodney J. Uphoff, Relations Between Lawyer and Client in Damages: Model, Typical, or Dysfunctional?, 2004 J. Disp. Resol. 145 (2004)