Reimagining philosophical legal ethics in times of existential crises

Richard Abel’s extensive body of work embodies a deep concern for the well-being of the law and a genuine commitment to its underlying values. His paper, ‘Are There Causes and Clients Lawyers Should Not Represent?’, confronts the urgent and troubling reality that lawyers play a crucial role in facilitating the existential crises we are facing: the climate crisis, extreme socio-economic inequality, and the erosion of liberal democracy. The paper can be read as a genuine cri de cœur, calling for an urgent reconsideration of the current role of lawyers. This reply aims to honour Abel’s cri de cœur. However, rather than contributing to the critique of the role of lawyers in the existential crises, it will focus on the implications for philosophical legal ethics. It interprets his argument as offering a compelling reason to adopt a reflective stance on the practice of philosophical legal ethics. Thus, this paper shifts the focus from ‘them,’ the lawyers and regulators, to ‘us,’ the philosophical legal ethicists.