Reducing Ethical Misconduct of Attorneys with Mandatory Ethics Training: A Dynamic Panel Approach

Review of Law & Economics, Vol. 15, No. 3, 2019

25 Pages Posted: 7 May 2019 Last revised: 30 Nov 2019

See all articles by Frank Fagan

Frank Fagan

South Texas College of Law Houston; EDHEC Augmented Law Institute

Date Written: May 7, 2019

Abstract

State bar associations require bar applicants to pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination over a range of scores and earn a variable number continuing legal education credits in ethics annually. Panel data from 2007-2014 across the fifty states and the District of Columbia are used to assess whether these requirements reduce charges of ethical misconduct against attorneys. Deviations GMM estimation provides evidence that increases in MCLE annual credit-hours in ethics reduce charges. Specifically, a one-hour increase in MCLE reduces the number of charges of ethical misconduct by 10.506%. The result is robust to different types of models and estimators, but requires making several strong assumptions which are discussed in detail.

Keywords: professional responsibility, MPRE, MCLE, ethics training, GMM, panel data

JEL Classification: K39, K42

Suggested Citation

Fagan, Frank, Reducing Ethical Misconduct of Attorneys with Mandatory Ethics Training: A Dynamic Panel Approach (May 7, 2019). Review of Law & Economics, Vol. 15, No. 3, 2019, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3383928

Frank Fagan (Contact Author)

South Texas College of Law Houston

1303 San Jacinto Street
Houston, TX 77002
United States

EDHEC Augmented Law Institute

Roubaix, 59057
France

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