Article Reflection

Article Review: The Criminal Regulation of Lawyers
The article The Criminal Regulation of Lawyers aimed to investigate the role of criminal
law in the regulation of lawyers. The first part provides an outline of the regulatory role of
criminal law. According to Green, the professional conduct of practicing criminal law would in
alternative circumstances be illegal under disciplinary rules. However, criminal law itself allows
prosecutors to work under the influence of such standards encouraging professional conduct that
concurs with the dictates of criminal law. In other words, criminal law enhances the
establishment of disciplinary guidelines under which lawyers must avoid criminal misconduct.
The second part of the article recounts the contradictory forces between criminal law and other
professional codes of conduct. The second part describes an alternative potential view of
professional norms in a way that is illegal under criminal provisions. Thus, the author outlines
two examples, including provisions associated with obstruction of justice and accessorial
liability. While the third part focuses on regulatory mechanisms, the fourth part provides
recommendations concerning the topic of the paper.
However, the author’s main message is that crime is of profound significance in the
regulation of the professional conduct of lawyers. According to the author, criminal law provides
an effective approach to enforcing various professional standards either establishing or
influencing the contents of some professional norms. The researcher reinforces his findings with
the argument that criminal law can be both interesting and troubling especially where criminal
law and professional norms are parallel. Therefore, Green provides two recommendations. First,
the article suggests that open-textured criminal laws should be interpreted by courts to create
consistency with a reasonable understanding of professional standards. Lastly, the researcher

suggests that prosecutors must exercise restraint when convicting and conducting criminal
investigations of lawyers for either factually or legally ambiguous conduct.
This article is a reminder to the criminal justice system of their special place in society as
upholders of the law. This is a wake-up call that despite lawyers and law enforcement officers
being charged with enforcing the law, nothing wards off the temptation to break the law.
Therefore, they should be cautious not to be lax in conduct as to be seen as favored by the law.
One of the areas that are usually intensely researched is a profession, its members, type of
training, professional conduct, and ethical conduct. Ethical conduct, for example, tends to define
the relationship between a profession and public service. The practice of criminal law is not
exempt. Criminologists interpret the law, yet criminal law can also defend against the law. This
makes moral values a core professional standard within the criminal justice system.
This article has changed my perspective on the criminal justice system in many ways. On
an affective level, I initially believed that criminal justice practitioners are the image of the law
and will uphold the law. This is not true. The article remains a constant reminder that even a
criminal justice system can be corrupted by practitioners who do not care about upholding the
law. People tend to associate criminal justice practitioners with upholders of the law. A lawyer,
for example, should be the most fervent upholder and defender of the law and the constitution.
The police are the crime fighter and the representative of state authority. Therefore, I take it that
erosions and gaps within the criminal justice system are gaps within the rule of law. This is a
serious challenge for all criminal justice practitioners. Therefore, the criminal justice system
should make reforms that enhance both the integrity of the person and the law. There is a need
for systemic including those enforcing strong commitment to professional standards and the rule
of law.
Reference
Green, B. A. (1998). The Criminal Regulation of Lawyers. Fordham L. Rev., 67, 327.

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Article Review: The Criminal Regulation of Lawyers

recommendations concerning the topic of the paper.

an effective approach to enforcing various professional standards either establishing or

consistency with a reasonable understanding of professional standards. Lastly, the researcher

investigations of lawyers for either factually or legally ambiguous conduct.

Green, B. A. (1998). The Criminal Regulation of Lawyers. Fordham L. Rev., 67, 327.

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