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Article
Lawyers as Officers of the Court
Vanderbilt Law Review
  • Eugene R. Gaetke, University of Kentucky College of Law
Abstract

Lawyers like to refer to themselves as officers of the court. Careful analysis of the role of the lawyer within the adversarial legal system reveals the characterization to be vacuous and unduly self-laudatory. It confuses lawyers and misleads the public. The profession, therefore, should either stop using the officer of the court characterization or give meaning to it. This Article proposes certain modifications of the existing rules of professional responsibility that would bring lawyers' actual obligations more in line with those suggested by the label of officer of the court.

Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-1989
7-9-2014
Notes/Citation Information

Vanderbilt Law Review, Vol. 42, No. 1 (1989), pp. 39-91

Citation Information
Eugene R. Gateke, Lawyers As Officers of the Court, 42 Vand. L. Rev. 39 (1989).