Stand in the Place Where You Live: Moral Courage and the Lawyer's Role as Public Citizen

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Session Type: Concurrent Sessions

Session Capacity: N/A

Location: Marriott St. Louis Grand

Room: Majestic C

Floor: Second Floor, Conference Plaza

Our society today faces significant threats on multiple fronts, including attacks on democratic institutions and the rule of law; racial, social, and economic injustice and inequity; and backlash against efforts to address injustice and inequity. As lawyers and legal educators, we are particularly situated to respond to these challenges, but they can seem overwhelming and insurmountable. Amidst retrenchment of rights and growing authoritarianism, how do we as law teachers stand up for and protect the values of a democratic society and train our students to do so as well? This session proposes that clinicians can employ the concepts of moral courage and the lawyer’s role as a “public citizen having special responsibility for the quality of justice” to answer these questions. Framing these concepts as essential professional obligations, we will facilitate an interactive discussion with attendees and explore issues such as the sources of courage, obstacles that prevent lawyers from demonstrating moral courage, how we deal with fear, and ways that we can remain resilient in our efforts to achieve justice and promote democratic ideals. We then will suggest various approaches for teaching students about moral courage and the lawyer’s role as a public citizen, including principles of anti-racism and professional-identity formation, the rules of professional conduct, the Giving Voice to Values framework, and different philosophies of lawyering. Recognizing that there is no perfect or singular approach, we will examine these principles through a critical lens, analyzing the benefits and shortcomings of each. Participants will leave the session with ideas and strategies for addressing the topics of moral courage and the lawyer’s role as a public citizen in clinic courses, externship courses, and other forms of experiential education.