Publication Date

1991

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The fast pace of modern law practice increasingly requires emergency lawyering: client situations that demand immediate attention and solution. Unlike medicine, however, the legal profession does not yet consider itself as having an emergency specialty. Yet, observation of today's law practice readily reveals that the analogy is accurate. The pressure of today's rapidly changing business climate, the complexity of legal regulations and relationships and the widening application of law to address a host of problems, all contribute to an increasing need for an immediate, available legal response: what I term here "emergency lawyering."

Viewing the delivery of legal services through this lens is useful in a number of aspects. Situations in which attorneys respond to emergencies provide a window on priorities and standards for competence, candor, fairness and service. The emergency perspective affords insight into those areas of a practice that an attorney may not have satisfactorily cultivated and suggests means of improving legal services for clients in crisis. Finally, this model of legal services challenges and illuminates the legal profession's attitude toward the overall delivery of legal services.

This article constructs a general theory of emergency legal practice, defining emergency law practice and addressing the ethical, professional, and legal implications of this "emergency" perspective on the lawyering process.

Publication Title

Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics

Volume

5

Issue

2

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