Does the Ethos of Law Erode? Lawyers’ Professional Practices, Self-Understanding and Ethics at Work

Abstract

Furthering an integrative ethics-as-practice framework, this paper explores the professional practices, self-understanding and ethics of lawyers working in the Germanic legal context. Existing studies of the legal profession often argue that changing conditions in law have led to a ‘constrained morality’ and an ‘erosion of ethos’ among lawyers. While the current study acknowledges shifts in lawyers’ ethos, it challenges the claim of an erosion or ‘lack’ of morality. The narratives of the interviewed practitioners rather suggest that socio-discursively constituted professional practices, identity and ethics are complex and contingent. Focusing on the ‘moral rules in use’ and how lawyers negotiate ethical matters ‘from within’ evokes ongoing ambiguities and struggles inscribed in ethical (self-)positions, pointing, as such, to the limits of assessing lawyers’ conduct as ‘ethical’ or ‘unethical’. The study thereby extends both normative and practice-based business and professional ethics studies.

The Influence of Personality Traits on Ethical Behavior of Police: The Mediating Effect of Ethical Leadership

“…Hence, guided by Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), this study could examine personal and environmental factors that contribute to ethical behavior in the law enforcement context. While previous studies have yielded a variety of results, it is still unclear which initiatives will be effective, and the findings of this study likely highlight the need for coordinated action at all levels to foster ethical behavior in an organization (Loacker, 2022;Ferrer, Harrison, Ferrell & Hair, 2019;Roszkowska & Mele, 2021;Sarfo et al 2022).…”

Reimagining Business Ethics as Ethos-Driven Practice: A Deweyan Perspective

“…In the Heideggerian approach, conscious and creative agency realizes emergent possibilities of future conduct within and through the environing conditions which are cared for, safeguarding a process of 'creative continuity' that reforms and sustains an ethos in the face of challenges, and that stands in marked contrast to the 'creative destruction' of the Schumpeterian kind. Heidegger's 'dwelling' relates to careful, adaptive action via explorative, participative, cooperative and dialogical modes of 'negotiation' (Loacker, 2022) or 'tinkering' (Molterer et al, 2020) with different goods, means and aspirations in problematic situations, extending into areas like stewardship and sustainable development.…”

“…Cumulative discussions address ‘organizational ethos’ through an Aristotelian lens on virtues (Caza et al, 2004; Cummings, 2003), while other studies explore ethos in Human Resource Management, public service and academia (Corlett, 2023; Costea et al, 2012; Lozano, 2012; Rayner et al, 2012; Vriens et al, 2018). Lastly, the study of professional ethos, the ethical norms shaping professional engagement (Loacker, 2022), spans from medical and legal fields to management (Khurana & Nohria, 2008; Poff & Michalos, 2020; Romani & Szkudlarek, 2014; Rozuel, 2011; Sullivan, 1990). Loacker’s (2022) exquisite study, for instance, investigates the ethos of lawyers, revealing the intricate interplay between practices, identity and ethics.…”

“…Lastly, the study of professional ethos, the ethical norms shaping professional engagement (Loacker, 2022), spans from medical and legal fields to management (Khurana & Nohria, 2008; Poff & Michalos, 2020; Romani & Szkudlarek, 2014; Rozuel, 2011; Sullivan, 1990). Loacker’s (2022) exquisite study, for instance, investigates the ethos of lawyers, revealing the intricate interplay between practices, identity and ethics.…”

Do They Commit Perjury?: A Study of Repeating Narrative of a Crime Scene in Peter Dexter’s Paris Trout

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