This semester, I made good progress in Business Associations, so I had time to spend a day on insider trading. I asked my students how many had taken Professional Responsibility (75 out of 90) and, of that number, how many had learned that attorneys could not trade on client information (2 out of 75). Even if I don't teach insider trading in the future, I will certainly take 10 minutes to warn my students.
Large firms will warn their new hires not to trade on client information. But, many graduates of Maryland will work at small firms. Since 2008, 40% percent of our graduates took jobs in private practice, of which a third worked at firms with fewer than 10 lawyers. Can professors rely on small firms without HR staff to warn our graduates about insider trading?
Here's another example, albeit less important. In law school, I learned that important cases were reprinted in the reporters. When I first saw A.2d, I assumed "2d" referred to importance rather than chronology. I graduated from law school still thinking A.2d was a minor league for the more important Atlantic Reporter.
What else falls through the cracks in the law school curriculum?
Law students should be aware that they could not trade on client information. Revealing information about the clients would leave them unprotected.
Posted by: los angeles personal injury attorney | May 07, 2012 at 03:08 PM
I agree, law students should know that client information is confidential. Trading it might lose their credibility.
Posted by: sex crime lawyer los angeles | May 09, 2012 at 03:21 PM