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25 Legal Ethics 1 (2022)

handle is hein.journals/lethics25 and id is 1 raw text is: LEGAL ETHICS Routled e 2022, VOL. 25, NOS. 1-2, 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1080/1460728x.2023.2224696 Taylor & Francis Group EDITORIAL Dear Legal Ethics Readers, I am delighted to introduce to you the 2022 round up of articles in this double issue of our journal. We have a diverse and stimulating group of papers spanning areas of interest as broad as the limits of ethical advocacy in family law, the ethics of practice in asylum law, the vulnerability of young lawyers in ethically contentious areas, how to build success through ethical engagement with early-stage law students, disciplinary responses to sexual misconduct by legal practitioners and trends in legal ethics research. In the first article Deanne Sowter addresses 'The bounds of legality: an exploration of the limits on ethical advocacy in family law'. The article explores the positivist conception of the bounds of legality in the context of family law, in both adversarial and non-adversarial con- texts. Sowter argues that the bounds are insufficient in family law and are in need of further delineation. In doing so she provides us with a rich set of theoretical tools to inform change to and in family law and the professional rules that govern lawyers in these contexts. In the second article Tamara Butter sets out her research findings in 'Ethics in practice in asylum law: asylum legal aid lawyers' moral reasoning in respect of hopeless cases.' Butter's article provides us with a deeper understanding of lawyers' ethics in practice in publicly funded asylum cases in the Netherlands. She engages with Dutch asylum legal aid lawyers' moral reasoning in 'the hopeless case', drawing upon Parker's four approaches to moral reasoning in legal practice. She examines the applicability of this taxonomy developed in an Australian common law context, indicating its relevance to the Netherlands, a civil law jurisdiction. Thirdly, Jane Ching, Graham Ferris and Jane Jarman consider young lawyers in ethical crisis in 'To act is to be committed, and to be committed is to be in danger: the vulnerability of the young lawyer in ethical crisis.' Their article focuses on the disjunction between the teaching of ethics in the classroom and the culture that meets young lawyers when they enter into law firm based practice. In examining this and in drawing upon Fineman's radical view of vulnerability and Rest's model of the precursors of ethical action and resilience, they develop the concept of commitment as a form of duty, loyalty, and courage so as to provide a means to support young lawyers to accept and then overcome reluctance to act ethically. They explore how law schools, regulators and law firms, acting in combination, may influence ethical resilience and development to ethical action. Fourthly, Anna Cody and Sandy Noakes examine 'Valuing diverse students: an ethical response to building success in first year law students and broadening the legal profession.' They posit the importance of a diverse legal profession across all areas of law and legal practice types as a means for everyone to be well served by the law and by lawyers. They examine how law schools may play a role in ensuring that students from diverse backgrounds are admitted into legal education and are supported to succeed. They draw upon a theoretical model of 'transition as becoming' to analyse first-year law student experiences at Western Sydney University Australia, leading to insights into how the curriculum can be harnessed to support inclusive success. They argue that our understanding of law students' cultural capital may need to be expanded and the law school environment changed to reflect this, in place of strategies aimed at supporting students to assimilate into law school culture as currently drawn. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group