Abstract
David Luban's book Lawyers and Justice: An Ethical Study supports a vision of lawyering that attempts to alleviate the inequities of wealth and power in American society. Luban makes three principal points. First, he argues for a professional ethic of moral activism; second, he establishes the moral legitimacy of legal aid; and third, he writes a defense, consistent with democratic theory, of progressive public interest lawyers. His principal focus is his claim for moral activism. I will review this argument. The argument leads to a lawyer's role which Luban believes will promote the public good. He arrives at this conclusion by focusing on the individual lawyer. Can each lawyer, as an autonomous person, morally justify what she does in law practice? In answering this question, Luban concludes that moral activism is an appropriate role conception.
Recommended Citation
Stephen E. Kalish,
Lawyers and Justice: An Ethical Study—A 60s Vision of Lawyering,
68 Neb. L. Rev.
(1989)
Available at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nlr/vol68/iss3/4