Professional responsibility, therapeutic jurisprudence, and preventive law.

In this essay, the author considers how therapeutic jurisprudence and preventive law might inform the field of professional responsibility. He suggests that many principles underlying professional responsibility standards are rooted in hidden psychological assumptions about the interaction between clients and lawyers. These principles often are ignored. Scientific research into the psychological assumptions underlying professional responsibility norms could have numerous beneficial effects, including clarifying professional responsibility norms and teaching lawyers to deal with clients in a way that will help clients cope with the legal system and avoid tensions with their lawyers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)