1. PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY COURSE SURVEY - Please, just a few minutes of your time. Exit this survey Question Title Dear Colleague,My previous letter may not have reached you where I asked for your assistance in completing a survey of law professors who currently teach or have taught Professional Responsibility. Your answers to a few questions - - I promise it is very short - - will allow me to complete the second part of a project I began two years ago that focuses on a lawyer's ethical obligation during a time of crisis, such as Hurricane Katrina. I hope you received a reprint of my Howard Law Journal article, Professional Responsibility in Crisis. As part of the initial research for this project, I interviewed numerous lawyers and judges who recognized that only a small portion of the bar volunteered during either catastrophe and that too few had fulfilled their annual pro bono obligations. Many countered that when they were law students, the legal academy had not properly prepared, much less inspired, them to fulfill a public service responsibility after entering the profession. Several boldly asserted that their law professors had not adequately discussed a lawyer’s ethical obligation to perform pro bono service or a lawyer’s “special responsibility to the quality of justice,” as the Model Rules declare.These claims caused me to wonder whether my interviewees’ accounts of their law school experience were typical of other lawyers and of current law students throughout the country. I seek your input to gather reliable information about the extent to which faculty and schools examine with our students their public service and justice responsibilities upon bar admission. My research assistants and I have created a user-friendly survey that will take you a few minutes to complete and to return. Please be assured that I will use the information on a collective basis and will maintain individual anonymity in connection with the next phase of my project, “Teaching Professional Responsibility in Crisis.”I thank you very much for your willingness to assist and I look forward to future discussions.Sincerely, Doug Colbert Question Title * 1. YOUR NAME: Question Title * 2. YOUR AFFILIATED SCHOOL: Question Title * 3. THE STATE WHERE YOUR SCHOOL IS LOCATED: Question Title * 4. COURSE TEXTBOOK: Question Title * 5. WHERE DID YOU ATTEND LAW SCHOOL? Question Title * 6. THE PREAMBLE TO THE MODEL RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT BEGINS BY IDENTIFYING THREE CORE VALUES OF A LAWYER’S RESPONSIBILITIES:PREAMBLE: A LAWYER'S RESPONSIBILITIES: A lawyer, as a member of the legal profession, is a representative of clients, an officer of the legal system, and a public citizen having special responsibility for the quality of justice.When teaching Professional Responsibility, do you assign students to read the Preamble to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct? YES NO Question Title * 7. Estimate the class time you devote to discussing the Preamble. HOURS MINUTES Question Title * 8. Estimate the class time you devote to discussing a lawyer’s duty as “a public citizen having special responsibility for the quality of justice.” HOURS MINUTES Question Title * 9. Rule 6.1 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct recognizes that:Every lawyer has a professional responsibility to provide legal services to those unable to pay. A lawyer should aspire to render at least (50) hours of pro bono publico legal services per year. When teaching Professional Responsibility, do you assign students to read Rule 6.1? YES NO Question Title * 10. Estimate the class time you devote to discussing Rule 6.1 and pro bono service. HOURS MINUTES Question Title * 11. In your jurisdiction, do the State Rules of Professional Conduct adopt Model Rule 6.1? YES NO If not, please explain the main difference(s) in the language used. Question Title * 12. Aside from the Professional Responsibility course, are you aware of law school colleagues who teach about the Preamble or Rule 6.1’s pro bono duty? YES NO If yes, briefly explain the extent to which it occurs. Question Title * 13. Are you aware of the Dean and/or associate dean(s) speaking to students and others in the community about a lawyer’s professional obligation to provide pro bono legal services and to promote the quality of justice? YES NO If yes, briefly explain. Question Title * 14. Do you perform Rule 6.1 pro bono legal services annually? YES NO Explain or describe. Question Title * 15. A good professional responsibility class should include a section on the lawyer’s ethical obligation to render pro bono legal service. STRONGLY AGREE AGREE TIME PERMITTING DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE Question Title * 16. A good professional responsibility class should include a section on the lawyer’s ethical obligation to work to improve the quality of justice. STRONGLY AGREE AGREE TIME PERMITTING DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE Question Title * 17. PLEASE PASTE YOUR COURSE SYLLABUS HERE OR EMAIL IT TO THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS.dcolbert@law.umaryland.edu. Done