Charles Sampford. “Get New Lawyers!.” Legal Ethics, vol. 6, no. 1 (2003): 85-105.
This article explores the ethical dilemmas faced by legal advisors and political actors in high-stakes international conflicts, using the Kosovo war as a case study. It examines a reported exchange where political leaders pressured lawyers to provide legal justification for military action without UN Security Council approval. Rather than verifying the historical accuracy of the exchange, the article focuses on the ethical responsibilities of lawyers, government officials, and opposition actors within Westminster-style systems when navigating legal advice under political pressure.
The article outlines the specific duties of lawyers and officials to uphold legal integrity and proposes institutional safeguards that encourage compliance with ethical obligations. By emphasizing the interplay between different actors’ responsibilities, it highlights how shared accountability can reduce the risk of ethical breaches. The discussion also draws parallels to similar ethical challenges faced by legal and political actors in other governance systems.