Centers Of Excellence

Program on Legal Ethics & the Profession

The Program on Legal Ethics & the Profession addresses the central challenges facing today’s lawyers, serving as a forum examining professional issues drawn from across areas of legal practice.

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A Foundation in Legal Ethics

Program on Legal Ethics & the Profession classes and events focus on the ethical responsibilities of counsel and the legal profession's commitment to public service and access to justice.

By fostering a discussion for the practical and scholarly exchange of the central challenges of contemporary legal practice, the Program on Legal Ethics & the Profession trains the next generation of lawyers and professional leaders to identify solutions to resolve complex ethical problems.

Events

  • Upcoming Events

    TBD

  • Recent Events
    • The 2022 International Legal Ethics Conference (ILEC 2022), Lawyers in a World of Crisis (held August 13-15, 2022 at UCLA)
    • The Fraud of “Voting Fraud:” A Conversation with Scott Cummings (podcast, November 13, 2020): Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Scott Cummings to discuss legal ethics, our electoral system, and the recent rash of election lawsuits being filed in court by the Trump campaign.
    • Legal Ethics and the Profession (podcast, January 24, 2020): Guests Deborah L. Rhode and Scott Cummings explored legal ethics in today's world and what lawyers can do to maintain the reputation of the profession.
    • Legal Ethics in the Age of Trump was held on November 8, 2019 and featured Kimberly Atkins, Senior Washington Correspondent, WBUR (NPR Affiliate), Boston, Scott Cummings, Robert Henigson Professor of Legal Ethics, UCLA School of Law and Richard Painter, S. Walter Richey Professor, University of Minnesota; former White House ethics lawyer, George W. Bush administration.
    • Symposium in Honor of A. Wallace Tashima: On January 25, 2019, LEAP co-sponsored an event to honor the contributions of Judge A. Wallace Tashima, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, to the legal profession and the rule of law. Watch the symposium video.
    • Sanctuary Cities and Beyond: On April 16, 2018, Professor Scott Cummings moderating an event with Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer and Jill Habig, founder of the Public Rights Project. The event explored the role that city attorneys can play and are playing in enforcing civil rights. Participants discussed affirmative lawsuits against the Trump Administration in response to its threat to terminate funding for sanctuary cities, as well as the Los Angeles City Attorney's lawsuit against Wells Fargo for defrauding customers by opening fake bank accounts.
    • Global Pro Bono: On November 1, 2017, LEAP hosted the first ever Global Pro Bono workshop at the UCLA School of Law. Roughly 20 scholars from around the world came together to present papers on the diffusion and development of pro bono in legal professions across Europe, the Americas, Australia, Africa and Asia. The project was supported by the National Science Foundation.
    • Legal Ethics Symposium: On July 20 and 21, 2017, LEAP hosted the 2017 Legal Ethics Schmooze at the UCLA School of Law. The Schmooze, a biennial event held in different locations, included more than 30 of the nation's leading scholars of legal ethics and the legal profession who presented works-in-progress on cutting-edge issues in legal ethics.
News
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Feb 20, 2024

Scott Cummings talks to ABC News about legal ethics and Fani Willis

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Aug 22, 2023

Scott Cummings is quoted by the LA Times about John Eastman's state bar case

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