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Article
Machiavelli and the Bar: J.J. White as Negotiation Ethics Architect
Faculty Scholarship
  • Peter Reilly, Texas A&M University School of Law
Document Type
Book Section
Publication Date
6-2021
ISBN
9780197513248
Abstract

This piece is a chapter in the book Discussions in Dispute Resolution: The Foundational Articles (Oxford University Press, 2021). The piece comments on Professor James White’s foundational 1980 article, Machiavelli and the Bar: Ethical Limitations on Lying in Negotiation. The comment hones in on how Professor White’s seminal piece likely influenced the drafting of Model Rule 4.1, dealing with a lawyer’s obligation for being “truthful” in negotiations. Specifically, Professor White made insightful arguments regarding when and why lawyer-negotiators must be allowed “some deviation from truthfulness.” He argued convincingly as to why not allowing such deviation could interfere with a lawyer’s ability to zealously represent a client, or to achieve optimal settlement results. In suggesting that the Model Rules include limited situations for less-than-complete truth-telling, Professor White demonstrated keen awareness that creating effective ethics rules for negotiation was not simply a matter of producing a perfect draft; rather, White’s article effectively anticipated the obstacles that any draft language would face along the road to being adopted and, ultimately, enforced. Professor White’s piece remains vibrant today not only for his understanding of the legal ideas and principles involved in shaping the rules, but also for his insight into the role that human nature and politics would play in the ability of those rules to survive and thrive in the long run.

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Editor
Art Hinshaw, Andrea Kupfer Schneider, & Sarah Rudolph Cole
Book Title
Discussions in Dispute Resolution: The Foundational Articles
Citation Information
Peter Reilly. "Machiavelli and the Bar: J.J. White as Negotiation Ethics Architect" (2021)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/peter_reilly1/33/