Preface

• Author: Allan C. Hutchinson
• Pages: 17-18

PR EFACE

To write a book on legal ethics and professional responsibility is quite

a challenge—particularly for someone who has not spent a great deal

of time in the hurly-burly of legal practice. I have tried to use this dis-

advantage to my advantage. Rather than fall into the familiar trap of

reproducing prevailing wisdom on the ethics and etiquette of current

practitioners, I have been more ref‌lective and critical. My ambition has

been to unearth the foundations of present thinking and practice and

subject them to a searching critique. Having reassessed and reworked

those underlying assumptions, I have sought to suggest a slightly dif-

ferent and more challenging approach to legal ethics and professional

responsibility. Throughout, my emphasis has been on the practical con-

text and real pressures of contemporary lawyering, particularly for the

neophyte lawyer. My approach is premised on the v iew that, as a profes-

sion, lawyers are motivated by the desire not only to make a good living

but to act in an ethical manner and to lead a good professional life. Ac-

cordingly, this book offers itself as b oth a critical guide to present dogma

and doctrine as well as a call to ethical ar ms. The unifying theme—the

development of an ethically sati sfying and professionally resp onsible ap-

proach to legal practice—is, I hope, a sensible contribution to an im-

portant task that should be appreciated and shared by all lawyers.

One point about the text’s format is in order. I have included f‌ifty

or so problems throughout the book. They are intended to provoke

discussion and focus debate. However, I have resisted the temptation

to offer my own suggestions about how to resolve them. This reticence

is in keeping with the overall message of the book—ethics is all about

private decision-maki ng and draws on knowledge, experience, and ser-

ious commitment: there are no easy or set answers, only hard choices

and constant reassessment.

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