Internal goods to legal practice: reclaiming fuller with macintyre

Lon Fuller rejected legal positivism because he believed that the ‘procedural morality of law’ established a necessary connection between law and morals. Underpinning his argument is a claim that law is a purposive activity grounded by a relationship of political reciprocity between lawgivers and legal subjects. This paper argues that his reliance on political reciprocity implicates a necessary connection between his procedural morality and an unarticulated ‘substantive morality of law’: it presupposes that law is properly understood by reference to the political task of achieving a common good. To establish this necessary connection, I propose we look to Alasdair MacIntyre. Understanding law as a ‘social practice’, on MacIntyre’s terms, can provide the necessary socio-political context to explain why and how legal practice is conditioned by political reciprocity. If we apply MacIntyre’s distinction between the internal and external goods of a social practice, legal positivism can be understood as confusing law as a co-operative social practice with the instrumentalisation of that practice by legal officials

A National Tax Bar: An End to the Attorney-Accountant Tax Turf War

Although current case law is divided regarding when an accountant is practicing law, this Article will explore different approaches to this problem. Specifically, Part II of this Article explores which entities control the regulation of the legal profession. Next, Part III examines the impact of the state courts on the issue of unauthorized legal practice. Part IV touches on the related issue of privilege and the treatment of attorney-client privilege in the context of tax practice. Further, Part V considers whether tax practice should be considered the practice of law, and Part VI of this Article examines the legal profession\u27s obligation to regulate the practice of law. Finally, Part VII proposes new educational requirements and the establishment of a tax bar to assure the public of some minimum standard of education and competency in the area of taxation

Liberty University\u27s Lawyering Skills Program: Integrating Legal Theory in a Practice-Oriented Curriculum

Law schools are not preparing lawyers for the practice of law. While modern legal education may teach analytical reasoning, skills training continues to suffer. The lawyering skills program developed by the Liberty University School of Law addresses the need to train lawyers in the practice of law. When seeking to build a top quality law school, Liberty University took seriously the challenge to address the void in legal education, particularly with respect to lawyering skills. The foundational principles of law are infused into the legal curriculum and lawyering skills program. The required substantive law courses are structured to have a relationship with lawyering skills so that they mutually reinforce each other

Local Evidence in Constitutional Interpretation

The Supreme Court frequently relies on state law when interpreting the U.S. Constitution. What is less understood is the degree and manner in which the Supreme Court and other federal courts look not to state law, but to local law. Although it has largely gone unnoticed, there is a robust practice of acknowledging and accounting for local law in the course of constitutional interpretation. To take an example, one area in which the Supreme Court has examined local enforcement patterns is in death penalty jurisprudence. In 2015, Justice Stephen Breyer, dissenting in Glossip v. Gross, cited to empirical data to raise an Eighth Amendment arbitrariness concern with geographic variation in local practice, where in a five-year period, “just 29 counties (fewer than 1% of counties in the country) accounted for approximately half of all death sentences imposed nationwide.” In other rulings, judges seek to minimize constitutional interpretations that might disrupt local law and practice. As is done with respect to states, judges take into account whether local practices are outlying or common. Judges also look to local law and practice to inform the development of constitutional norms. This Article analyzes and defends reliance on local law and practice in constitutional interpretation — not to advocate localism or deference to local government — but as evidence in constitutional interpretation. Using local evidence in constitutional law is particularly important at a time in which empirical research on county-level data is providing a wealth of information that can better inform constitutional law

Au fait law placements:an emerged reality or a popular trend in contemporary education?

PurposeEnhancing student employability and bridging the gap between theory and practice in law education requires a more multifaceted approach than the traditional mix of lectures, tutorials and simulations. Law placements also provide an opportunity to reinforce the importance of the professional practice standards and requirements laid down by the Law Society of Scotland. The design and implementation of law placements is analysed from the point of initiation to becoming a regular practice. The emphasis is on placements embedded in the programme of study offered to Stage 3 students to facilitate their career choices prior to specialisation in the final year.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilises a longitudinal multi-method approach, allowing the analysis of various aspects the development and practical implementation of law related placements. The views of students, academic staff and representatives of local employers are gathered by in-depth interviews. A reflective workbook method is also used to analyse the ‘integration’ of learning and to support the ‘demonstration’ and assessment of personal and professional capabilities which are difficult to assess by other means.FindingsThe paper presents the challenge faced by a higher education institution in organising meaningful placements and looks at the other avenues explored, particularly in the Third Sector. There are differences in the expectations of law placement providers (law firms and Third Sector organisations) in respect of students’ skill and knowledge base. The students were explicit about the need to demystify the profession and are appreciative of experience with atypical law placement providers which expands their perceptions of the choices within a law career. Students have also indicated a positive alteration in their attitude to the role of reflective practice, which stimulated changes in their behaviour with respect to professional development.Practical implicationsThe outcomes of the initial stage of this study have implications for law departments in higher education in the context of organising law placements, evaluating their effectiveness and their impact on student employability.Originality/valueTeaching law has its specifics and already employs a number of methods: simulations, negotiation exercises, moots and debates. This paper explores ways of providing a more meaningful practical experience for undergraduate students by placing an emphasis on such elements of professional practice as drafting legal documents and preparing professional opinions, while introducing the complexity of the law profession. Solutions to the challenges faced by the institution in organising those placements are analysed. The study provides an analytical view on the effectiveness of law placements in relation to other widely used approaches to bridging the gap between the theory and practice of law

Sentencing scammers: law and practice

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2008: 5) has defined consumer scams as a fraudulent invitation, request, notification or offer, designed to obtain someone’s personal information or money or otherwise obtain a financial benefit by deceptive means

Local Evidence in Constitutional Interpretation

The Supreme Court frequently relies on state law when interpreting the U.S. Constitution. What is less understood is the degree and manner in which the Supreme Court and other federal courts look not to state law, but to local law. Although it has largely gone unnoticed, there is a robust practice of acknowledging and accounting for local law in the course of constitutional interpretation. To take an example, one area in which the Supreme Court has examined local enforcement patterns is in death penalty jurisprudence. In 2015, Justice Stephen Breyer, dissenting in Glossip v. Gross, cited to empirical data to raise an Eighth Amendment arbitrariness concern with geographic variation in local practice, where in a five-year period, “just 29 counties (fewer than 1% of counties in the country) accounted for approximately half of all death sentences imposed nationwide.” In other rulings, judges seek to minimize constitutional interpretations that might disrupt local law and practice. As is done with respect to states, judges take into account whether local practices are outlying or common. Judges also look to local law and practice to inform the development of constitutional norms. This Article analyzes and defends reliance on local law and practice in constitutional interpretation — not to advocate localism or deference to local government — but as evidence in constitutional interpretation. Using local evidence in constitutional law is particularly important at a time in which empirical research on county-level data is providing a wealth of information that can better inform constitutional law