Professional Ethics in Czech legal practice and legal education. Should we include Professional Ethics as a compulsory course into law school curricula?

As the title indicates, the main topic of this paper is the ethical side of practice of law and its role in a system of law as a whole, including legal education. This paper’s initial part describes what the notion of professional ethics stands for and what are its concepts. Namely, analysis of the differences between the “Law of Lawyering” and “Professional Responsibility”, as they are understood in the US legal system, is provided. Subsequently, the current systems of education in professional (legal) ethics both at the pre-graduate and post-graduate levels are summarized. Following chapter presents some of the most common ethical challenges that lawyers have to face and how they can be reflected in corresponding training in professional ethics. Further, challenges of the very teaching of professional ethics are outlined. In the conclusive chapter, it is argued that it is a matter of utmost importance to introduce professional ethics as a compulsory course for all future lawyers in the Czech Republic and to follow the US example in this regard.