Deborah Rhode, Stanford Law Professor and Authority on Legal Ethics, Dies at 68

Details

Publish Date:

January 12, 2021

Author(s):

Harrison Smith

Source:

Washington Post

Related Person(s):

Related Organization(s):

Deborah L. Rhode Center on the Legal Profession

Summary

As a law student at Yale in the mid-1970s, Deborah L. Rhode worked at a legal aid clinic, helping clients who were unable to afford lawyers for their divorce cases. Local lawyers were charging too much, she recalled — $1,000 just to fill out paperwork — so she and her colleagues created a “how to” kit for clients interested in representing themselves.

Instead of being praised for their initiative, Dr. Rhode and the clinic faced legal threats from the bar association, which threatened to sue for the unauthorized practice of law.