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The University of Tulsa College of Law Lectures and Videos

Faculty and Alumni Showcase Series 2016
Immigration and the 2016 Presidential Election
Elizabeth McCormick (3.25.2016)
The Death of Dan Markingson: Legal and Ethical Failures
in the Protection of Human Research Subjects
Matt Lamkin (4.15.2016)

Abstract

This talk examines how the University of Minnesota responded to a scandal in which a mental patient committed suicide after being coerced into a drug study. Although the University avoided legal liability for the death, the institution's defensive posture -- spearheaded by its top lawyers -- inflicted serious damage on its reputation. Lawyers should heed ethical rules that advise attorneys to consider not only their clients' legal interests, but "moral, economic, social and political factors that may be relevant to the client's situation."