Legal Professionals’ Responsibilities to Society

A legal ethics essay on why professional legal knowledge creates responsibilities toward society.

The essay considers society’s dependence on lawyers and the responsibilities that follow from their ability to interpret and apply the law. It discusses access to justice, duties to clients, conflicts between professional roles and personal morality, and the profession’s responsibility for its own competence and regulation.

The discussion draws on the history of the Roman legal profession, David Luban’s work on legal ethics and the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct.

Winning essay in the White & Case / DLA Piper Legal Ethics Essay Competition, February 2022.