Lawyer Memoirs, Northwestern University (Pritzker)

This class will attempt to answer a perennial question, "how can a good lawyer be a good person," through an examination of attorney memoirs. We often study legal ethics through the use of hypothetical problems that are intended to raise vexing issues for practicing lawyers. Even in sophisticated simulations, however, it is nearly impossible to duplicate the exigencies, pressures, and conflicting demands experienced by contemporary lawyers. Studies of the legal profession are also often one step removed (at least) from actual law practice, based on surveys or aggregations of information that do not address the actions of individuals. Lawyer (and judge) memoirs may be the means to bridge this gap, providing an opportunity to explore the ways in which individuals assume roles, make compromises, and seek solutions to daily problems in law firms and in courts. This literature can be the basis for some true insights into the way law is, and should be, practiced. This information has been collected for the Post-Discipline Online Syllabus Database. The database explores the use of literature by schools of professional education in North America. It forms part of a larger project titled Post-Discipline: Literature, Professionalism, and the Crisis of the Humanities, led by Dr Merve Emre with the assistance of Dr Hayley G. Toth. You can find more information about the project at https://postdiscipline.english.ox.ac.uk/. Data was collected and accurate in 2021/22.