Prerequisites: RCC*. This course focuses on issues of legal ethics and professionalism that arise in the practice of law. Instructors use either the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct or the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct as a starting point for discussing these issues. Specific topics covered vary by professor but generally include competency, confidentiality and attorney-client privilege, conflicts of interest, fees, advertising and solicitation of clients, communicating with clients, ethical constraints in civil and criminal litigation, the attorney disciplinary system, and potential civil and criminal liability. Professionalism issues cover conduct that may not be required or prohibited by the Rules of Professional Conduct but are directly related to the values and traditions of a learned profession. Required for graduation. 

Note: Students frequently take Legal Professionalism and Ethics before taking the MPRE. The course is not, however, designed to fully prepare students for the MPRE exam. Additional information about the MPRE, including Study Guides and a practice exam, is available on the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ website, http://www.ncbex.org/multistate-tests/mpre/