Journal of the Charles University Law Faculty
Petr Roháček
Author’s affiliation:
Faculty of Law, Charles University in Prague
Ethics as one of the most important subjects taught in law schools: why teach ethics?
Jurisprudence 1/2024 Section: Discussion Page: 31-38
Keywords: legal ethics, ethics of lawyers, law schools, Watergate, legal education, professional responsibility, ethical dilemmas
Abstract: The article emphasizes the pivotal role of ethics in legal education and places its importance at the level of other basic legal subjects. This is supported by an analysis of the specific role of lawyers in society. It then deals with Bloom's taxonomy of learning objectives and its impact on real teaching at law schools. The article then takes the reader through the Watergate affair and its effect on a drastic change in the perception of the importance of teaching ethics in US law schools. In the last part, the article analyzes and refutes the arguments against the teaching of ethics at law schools.
