To take the message beyond the campus, Miami is setting up an ethics institute that aims to involve attorneys and local leaders. New York University and the University of Pennsylvania market tapes that expose students to a series of ethical issues. One Penn tape tells the story of an attorney defending a firm sued over an allegedly defective balcony. Students discuss problems such as whether a lawyer on the tape acted properly in advising an expert witness to destroy documents. Acting it out.
Some schools use actors to help portray ethical quandaries.
The theatrics seems to work. In a required two-year legal skills course taught at Virginia's College of William and Mary, local residents help act out disputes for students handling cases in fictitious law offices. An alumni survey of four institutions by William and Mary Prof. James Moliterno found that those who took the school's simulation course reported better ethics preparation than did those who took traditional classes. The University of Texas injects a dose of reality by sending students to hearings on grievances against lawyers. This was real life . . .