Customer Reviews

Ethics for the Legal Professional (7th Edition)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ethics for the Legal Professional by Deborah K. Orlik barely earns three stars. It aims to cover basics of topics like unauthorized practice of law, confidentiality, and conflict of interest in what it describes as "plain English and an upbeat tone to keep readers engaged." Commendable as this is, the author strays from plain English and an upbeat tone into an annoying, breezy style that seems like more of a disjointed, unrehearsed presentation than a book that has gone through six editions over two decades. For example, in discussing the improper division of fees as an aspect of unauthorized practice of law, the author begins a paragraph with, "Repeat after me: Fee splitting is evil and I'll never do it." While some may appreciate such an attempt at humor, in a textbook it comes off as unprofessional. Additionally, chapters are not well organized and seem to jump from topic to topic without clear connections.

On the positive side, the text does contain numerous review questions and discussion materials, along with relevant case law which clarifies some of the issues. But that barely compensates for the drawbacks. Hopefully the seventh edition will rectify the situation.

The book was received in time for my class at school and was in perfect condition.

I got my book very quickly by using expedited service. I'm glad I chose this vendor because my book came very quickly and in excellent condition. I had initially ordered it through Amazon but for some reason I don't think they had it in stock because I had been waiting for over two weeks and they still showed that the item wouldn't ship out for two more weeks. Well class was starting and I couldn't wait. I would definitely recommend this vendor.

Covers the basics of the title. Gives you an inkling of what you might be able to get away with. Readable.

I am a Paralegal Studies student & this book is a requirement. However, even if I weren't a student I would recommend the book. It's a very easy read & you don't have to be studying law on any level. It's an eye opener to what is & is not ethical in the legal system & why. I find it very interesting!

Class hasn't started yet & I am already enjoying this book immensely!

Thanks so much! The book is in perfect condition, and the shipping was really fast.

I have an older version of this book. I was unimpressed with it, to say the least. Some of the scenarios seem phony. I found it uninteresting and had a hard time paying attention to it as I tried to read thru it.

I'm a former legal secretary. I attended paralegal school in LA, and Ms. Orlik taught the ethics portion of the program. Very few of the classmates seemed to have liked her. She was a condescending and arrogant know-it-all. Most of us didn't do her assignment. Unlike other units of the program, where an atty would come in and teach a module for 2-4 consecutive days according to his expertise (i.e., contracts), Ms. Orlik came in for one day, lectured on ethics then assigned a homework project. She returned for another day about a month later to continue her ethics lecture and to collect the homework project. An overwhelming majority of us chose not to do the project and therefore didn't show up that day.

Please note that I'm a "former" legal secretary. Going into law was a bad decision. To anyone considering this field, I urge you to talk to those already in the profession and ask them about the type of environment in which they work, whether they would chose this profession again if given the chance, would they recommend this line of work to others?

I was desperate to change careers; so I returned to school full time to finish my degree and hope to start a career totally unrelated to law, despite the economy.