Legal Ethics and Human Dignity

David Luban is one of the world's leading scholars of legal ethics. In this collection of his most significant papers he ranges over such topics as the moral psychology of organisational evil, the strengths and weaknesses of the adversary system, and jurisprudence from the lawyer's point of view. His discussion combines philosophical argument, legal analysis and many cases drawn from actual law practice, and he defends a theory of legal ethics that focuses on lawyers' role in enhancing human dignity and human rights. In addition to an analytical introduction, the volume includes two major previously unpublished papers, including a detailed critique of the US government lawyers who produced the notorious 'torture memos'. It will be of interest to a wide range of readers in both philosophy and law.

Part I. The Ethics in Legal Ethics: 1. The adversary system excuse; 2. Lawyers as upholders of human dignity (when they aren't busy assaulting it); Part II. The Jurisprudence of Legal Ethics: 3. Natural law as professional ethics: a reading of Fuller; 4. A different nightmare and a different dream; 5. The torture lawyers of Washington; Part III. Moral Complications and Moral Psychology: 6. Contrived ignorance; 7. The ethics of wrongful obedience; 8. Integrity: its causes and cures; Part IV. Moral Messiness in Professional Life: 9. A midrash on Rabbi Shaffer and Rabbi Trollope.

David Luban is one of the world's leading scholars of legal ethics. This collection of his most significant papers includes such topics as the moral psychology of organisational evil, the strengths and weaknesses of the adversary system, and jurisprudence from the lawyer's point of view.