Category «Ethics»

Climate and DEI Deleted From Government Websites, Federal Workers Fired

Since January 20, 2025 America has been catapulted into an unimaginable inflection point. Sabrina I. Pacifici chronicles seismic events in recent weeks which have upended America’s democracy, jeopardized our economy, financial system, national security, science and medical communities, and fractured our national identity, at home and around the world. This is a commentary, and a guide written by a law librarian and former federal employee who was the target of a similar purge by Trump in 2018, to what and who has been targeted and purged, an overview of the process used to do so, and a perspective on the impact of these sweeping, deeply damaging and likely illegal actions.

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Subjects: Climate Change, Constitutional Law, CRS Reports, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Digital Archives, Economy, Education, Ethics, Financial System, Government Resources, Healthcare, Legal Research, Privacy, United States Law

Artificial Intelligence, ABA Formal Opinion 512 And Access To Justice

Jerry Lawson evaluates the American Bar Association’s Formal Opinion 512, “Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools” as a mixed bag. Lawson states that the Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility took a significant step in the right direction by legitimizing the idea that it is appropriate for lawyers to use AI. Equally important, it suggests guardrails necessary for the safe use of artificial intelligence. It also provides valuable guidance on other related topics, with client confidentiality significant. It should not be surprising that the ABA would face challenges regulating a complex new technology.

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Subjects: AI, Ethics, Legal Education, Legal Marketing, Legal Profession, Legal Research, Privacy

Consider The Turkey: philosopher’s new book might put you off your festive bird – and that’s exactly what he would want

This article by Benjamin Curtis is an overview of Australian philosopher Peter Singer who has been a champion of animal rights for more than 50 years. His basic philosophical position has remained the same: the suffering of animals is just as important as the suffering of human beings. Pain is pain, whether it is in animals or humans. So, just as we think it is wrong to cause unnecessary pain and suffering in humans, it is wrong to cause the same in animals. To think otherwise is “speciesist”.

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Subjects: Ethics, Food & Drug Law, Legal Ethics, Legal Research

Donald Trump wants to reinstate a spoils system in federal government by hiring political loyalists regardless of competence

If elected to serve a second term, Donald Trump says he supports a spoils system, a plan that would give him the authority to fire as many as 50,000 civil servants and replace them with members of his political party loyal to him. Under this plan, if he eventually deemed those new employees disloyal, he claims he could fire them too. Law professors Sidney Shapiro and Joseph P. Tomain write in their new book How Government Built America about how newly elected President Andrew Jackson, after he took office in 1828, fired about half the country’s civil servants and replaced them with loyal members of his political party. The result was not only an utterly incompetent administration, but widespread corruption.

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Subjects: Congress, Ethics, Legal Research, United States Law

Review – Law Democratized: A Blueprint For Solving The Justice Crisis

Jerry Lawson rhetorically asks Is anyone in the country better qualified than Renee Knake Jefferson to write about access to justice? Professor of Law at the University of Houston, co-reporter for the ABA Commission on the Future of Legal Services, and designated by the American Bar Association as a “Legal Rebel,” she has long been a thought leader in the quest to make legal help available to all, regardless of resources. Her new book, Law Democratized: A Blueprint for Solving the Justice Crisis, does not disappoint.

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Subjects: AI, Court Resources, Education, Ethics, Kodner and Cramer on the Case (Management), Legal Ethics, Legal Profession, Legal Research

Toward a durable, dictator-proof Washington Post

David H. Rothman’s timely, outside the box commentary addresses the growing wave of news outlets abruptly closing down their websites, laying off staff, and in some cases, eliminating access to their respective archives. Rothman proposes an alternative to “how do I charge them enough” to stem the tide of closures, an avenue he prompts billionaire Jeff Bezos, owner of the Washington Post, to consider. A good-sized trust or corporate equivalent would enable the Washington Post to be run as a sustainable enterprise in the public interest, rather than as a mere profit generator.

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Subjects: Civil Liberties, Economy, Ethics, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, KM, Leadership, Management, Social Media, Technology Trends

Violence Against Women and International Law – Updated December 2023

Sabrina I. Pacifici is curating sources for their relevance and relationship to this site’s Israel-Hamas War Project articles. The first article on this subject can be read here. Until recent weeks there was a dearth of publicly available information about the scope of sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas. But a New York Times article headline dated December 28, 2023 – “How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7” – focused public attention on the facts. My updated article includes links and abstracts to 12 additional sources that provide corroborating testimonies, some in graphic detail, of the sexual violence committed against the initial victims, as well as against released hostages who have shared their experiences from their time in captivity.

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Subjects: Civil Liberties, Criminal Law, Ethics, Human Rights, International Legal Research, Legal Research, Terrorism

Violence Against Women and International Law

LLRX is highlighting research sources for their relevance and relationship to this site’s Israel-Hamas War Project articles. This guide by Sabrina I. Pacifici will be updated moving forward and currently includes 8 pertinent sources comprising government reports, academic papers, reviews of UN/NGO programs, news, databases, analysis and commentary.

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Subjects: Education, Ethics, Human Rights, International Legal Research, Legal Research, Terrorism

A Compilation of State Licensed Lawyer Databases

Every lawyer in the United States is licensed to practice in some state, but very few lawyers are licensed to practice in every state. As a result, the question often arises — is attorney X licensed to practice in state Y? This guide by expert librarian and researcher Toby Lyles identifies the licensing authority, usually the bar association for each state, to ascertain whether an attorney has a valid bar license to practice law in a specific state (or the District of Columbia).

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Subjects: Ethics, Legal Profession, Legal Research

AI and the Financial System – June 28, 2023

This new bi-monthly column by Sabrina I. Pacifici highlights news, reports, government and industry documents, and academic papers on the subject of AI’s fast paced impact on many facets of the global financial system. The chronological links provided are to the primary sources, and as available, indicate links to alternate free versions. Each entry includes the publication name, date published, article title, abstract and tags. Pacifici is also compiling a list of actionable subject matter resources at the end of each column that will be updated regularly.

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Subjects: AI, AI in Banking and Finance, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Economy, Ethics, Financial System, Legal Research, Technology Trends
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