Has the Legal Profession Failed in It's
Ethical Obligation to Improve the Legal System?
By Stephen M. Krason
The law is a protector and source of order and cannot be used
arbitrarily to achieve even the best of ends. We frequently
today emphasize our commitment to the rule of law, but we have seen
disturbing developments in the last few decades that have eroded
traditional legal protections, been increasingly result-oriented,
grown increasingly arbitrary and impervious to guilt or innocence,
imposed legal obligations whose mandates are unclear to citizens,
and arguably failed to promote the common good. These
developments have occurred right under the nose of the legal
profession, despite the latter’s ethical obligation to seek to
improve the law. This article seeks to examine a number of
these different developments and observe, where possible, how they
offend the apparent meaning or spirit of the different Ethical
Considerations of the ABA Code.