Students need not grapple with the immensely difficult, though at times seemingly simple, decisions that steer their actions in one direction or another. Ultimately, it is in the application that these rules become murky, muddled by circumstance and pressure from clients, economic concerns, and superiors. Although it fairly lays out the various positions on ethics questions, the exposition doesn't challenge the reader to develop his or her ethical compass. The skilled professor would deal with this in class, of course, but it is reasonable to expect the book itself to begin the process and encourage such thinking. Unlike many subjects in legal education, ethics are a lively and exciting topic.
People enjoy grappling and watching others grapple with such questions.
Its discussions are dry and measured, balanced and removed. This is not to say that a textbook should make entertaining students its central goal. At the same time, there is no reason that the drama and controversy inherent to the topic need to be tamped out in order to maintain scholarly propriety. The underlying goals of the authors are honorable and right. In a country where many consider the idea of legal ethics an oxymoron, I agree that students need regular and frequent exposure to matters of ethics and legal practice.