Grace M. Giesel
Bernard Flexner Professor and Distinguished Teaching Professor
- g.giesel@louisville.edu
- Phone: 502-852-6382
- Fax: 502-852-0862 (Law School Main)
- Office: 283
Professor Giesel, the Bernard Flexner Professor and Distinguished Teaching Professor, teaches Contract Law, Professional Responsibility, and Contract Drafting.
In all of her classes Professor Giesel strives to provide an environment for her students to learn doctrine and skills in a rigorous but comfortable environment. Professor Giesel's scholarly interests include contract and professional responsibility issues with particular focus on the nature of the relationship of attorney and client, in-house and corporate representation in general, the attorney-client privilege, contracts and public policy, and areas in which professional responsibility and contract law intersect.
Professor Giesel has authored numerous articles on issues of professional responsibility and also on contract law matters. Most recently, Professor Giesel has authored Alternative Litigation Finance and the Work-Product Doctrine, 47 WAKE FOREST L. REV. 1083 (2012); End the Experiment: The Attorney-Client Privilege Should Not Protect Communications in the Allied Lawyer Setting, 95 MARQUETTE L. REV. 475(2011-2012); and Upjohn Warnings, the Attorney-Client Privilege, and Principles of Lawyer Ethics: Achieving Harmony, 65 UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI LAW REVIEW109 (2010). Professor Giesel is also the author of MASTERING PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY (2009), a student guide to professional responsibility.
Professor Giesel is Chair of the Kentucky Bar Association Ethics Committee and oversees the Hotline system for Kentucky. She is a frequent speaker at Continuing Legal Education programs on professional responsibility issues. Professor Giesel
joined the Brandeis faculty after clerking for the Honorable Boyce F. Martin, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and practicing law for several years. A graduate of Yale University, Professor Giesel received her J.D. degree, with distinction, from Emory University School of Law.
Courses Taught
Contract Law (Contracts I & II)
Professional Responsibility
Contract Drafting
Publications
Books and Law Review Articles
MASTERING PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY (2009).
CONTRACTS CONTRARY TO PUBLIC POLICY, Vol.15 of CORBIN ON CONTRACTS (2003).
Alternative Litigation Finance and the Work-Product Doctrine, 47 WAKE FOREST L. REV. 1083 (2012).
End the Experiment: The Attorney-Client Privilege Should Not Protect Communications in the Allied Lawyer Setting, 95 MARQUETTE L. REV. 475 (2011-2012).
Upjohn Warnings, the Attorney-Client Privilege, and Principles of Lawyer Ethics: Achieving Harmony, 65 UNIV. MIAMI L. REV. 109 (2010).
Client Responsibility for Lawyer Conduct: Examining the Agency Nature of the Lawyer-Client Relationship 86 NEB. L. REV. 346 (2007).
A Realistic Proposal for the Contract Duress Doctrine, 107 W. VA. L. REV. 443 (2005) .
Corporations Practicing Law Through Lawyers: Why the Unauthorized Practice of Law Doctrine Should Not Apply, 65 MO. L. REV. 151-207 (2000).
Enforcement of Settlement Contracts: The Problem of the Attorney Agent, 12 GEO. J. LEGAL EITHICS 543-591 (1999).
The Kentucky Ban on Insurers: In-House Attorneys Representing Insureds, 25 N. KY L. REV. 365-405 (1998).
The Legal Advice Requirement of the Attorney-Client Privilege: A Special Problem for In-House Counsel and Outside Attorneys Representing Corporations, 48 MERCER L. REV. 1169-1218 (1997).
**republished in 48 DEFENSE COUNSEL JOURNAL103 (1999)
**republished as an appendix to James S. Bolan, LEGAL PROBLEMS OF MUSEUM ADMINISTRATION, Attorney-Client Privilege for In-House Counsel "Advocats Avec Frontiers, ALI-ABA, March 30, 2000.
The Expanded Discretion of Lower Courts To Regulate Access to the Federal Courts After Wilton v. Seven Falls Company: Declaratory Judgment Actions and Implications Far Beyond, 33 HOUS. L. REV. 393-446 (1996).
Defamation Liability for Attorney Speech: A Policy-Based and Civility-Oriented Reconsideration of the Absolute Privilege for Attorneys, 10 GA. STATE L. REV. 431-485 (1994).
The Business Client is a Woman: The Effect of Women as In-House Counsel on Women in Law Firms and the Legal Profession, 72 NEB. L. REV. 760-802 (1993).
** An excerpt of this article under the same title was published in EQUAL ACCESS, Vol. II, Issue 1, p.8-9 (1996) (publication of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation, Committee on Equal Opportunity and the Law).
The Ethics or Employment Dilemma of In-House Counsel, 5 GEO. J. LEGAL ETHICS 535-596 (1992).
A Proposal for a Tort Remedy for Insureds of Insolvent Insurers Against Brokers, Excess Insurers, Reinsurers, and the State, 52 OHIO ST. L.J. 1075-1130 (1991).
The Knowledge of Insurers and the Posture of the Parties in the Determination of the Insurability of Punitive Damages, 39 KAN L. REV. 355-414 (1991).
Other Publications
Ethics of Outsourcing Legal Services, LOUISVILLE BAR BRIEFS, August 2008 (Vol. 8, No. 8).
Client Responsibility for the Torts of the Client's Lawyer, LOUISVILLE BAR BRIEFS, June 2008 (Vol. 8, No. 6).
When the Criminal Client Intends to Commit Perjury, LOUISVILLE BAR BRIEFS, Feb. 2008 (Vol. 8, No. 2).
Required to Report Misconduct, LOUISVILLE BAR BRIEFS, Nov., 2007 (Vol. 7, No.11).
The Saga of the Selective Waiver Doctrine, LOUISVILLE BAR BRIEFS, August, 2007 (Vol. 7, No. 8).
Nonrefundable Fees: The Substance, Not the Label, Matters, LOUISVILLE BAR BRIEFS, May, 2007 (Vol. 7, No. 5).
Agreements that Restrict an Attorney's Practice, LOUISVILLE BAR BRIEFS, February, 2007 (Vol. 7, No. 2).
Restrictions on an Attorney's Right to Practice, LOUISVILLE BAR BRIEFS, November, 2006 (Vol. 6, No. 11).
Multijurisdictional Practice: A Changing Landscape, LOUISVILLE BAR BRIEFS, August, 2006 (Vol. 6, No. 8).
Business Transactions with Clients, LOUISVILLE BAR BRIEFS, May, 2006 (Vol. 6, No. 5).
Ethics and Hourly Billing, LOUISVILLE BAR BRIEFS, February, 2006 (Vol. 6, No. 2).
Ethical Issues and the Nonlawyer Employee, LOUISVILLE BAR BRIEFS, November, 2005 (Vol. 5, No. 11).
Abuse of Process and Wrongful Use of Civil Process, LOUISVILLE BAR BRIEFS, August, 2005 (Vol. 5, No. 8).
The Lawyer-Witness Rule, LOUISVILLE BAR BRIEFS, May, 2005 (Vol. 5, No. 5).
Truth or Consequences, LOUISVILLE BAR BRIEFS, February, 2005 (Vol. 5, No. 2).
Inadvertent Disclosure: A Cautionary Tale of a Speakerphone and a Voicemail Message, November, 2004 (Vol. 2, No. 11).
Judges Profile: The Honorable Boyce F. Martin, Jr., THE FEDERAL LAWYER, p.18 (Jan. 1998).
**reprinted in LOUISVILLE BAR BRIEFS, the Louisville Bar Association publication, in 1998.
Presentations
Presentations at Scholarly Conferences
Teaching Ethics in a Drafting Course, part of conference, Transactional Education: What's Next?, June 4-5, 2010, Emory University School of Law, Atlanta, GA.
Courts and Duress: The "Conflict and Confusion," International Contracts Conference, February 24-25, 2006, Fort Worth, TX.
Other Presentations
Mock Law School Class, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana & the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, September 24, 2011.
Integrity and the Media, Quest Leadership Program, July 27, 2011.
Integrity and the Media, Quest Leadership Program, July 28, 2010.
Mock Contracts Class, U of L Ultra L.E.A.D. Program, November 20, 2009; November 18, 2011.
Teaching Professional Responsibility, Meeting with a Delegation of Mexican Lawyers and Judges, April 28, 2008.
The Importance of Law School Rankings, The Law Club (local group of lawyers and judges), April 23, 2008.
Continuing Legal Education Presentations
Developments in Professional Responsibility, Jefferson County Women Lawyers Association, May 10, 2012.
Developments in Professional Responsibility, LBA, May 1, 2012.
Developments in Professional Responsibility, 15th Annual Estate Planning Institute, April 27, 2012.
Ethics Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of the Rules of Professional Conduct, KBA Convention, June 17, 2011.
Professional Responsibility Issues: Supervision of Lawyers and Nonlawyers, Dealing with the Property of Others, and Conflicts of Interest, Old Republic National Title Ins. Co. 2011 Kentucky Agency Seminar, June 7, 2011.
Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility, LBA, May 17, 2011.
Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility, Jefferson County Women Lawyers Association, May 12, 2011.
Developments in Professional Responsibility, 14th Annual Estate Planning Institute, April 22, 2011.
Ethics: Representing Public Entities and Individual Public Officials/Employees, Kentucky Council of School Board Attorneys Winter Meeting, February 4, 2011.
Developments in Professional Responsibility, 13th Annual Estate Planning Institute, May 28, 2010.
Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility, LBA, May 12, 2010.
Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility, Jefferson County Women Lawyers Association, May 13, 2010.
Legal Ethics in Family Law, 13th Annual Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers LBA Family Law Seminar, April 22, 2010.
What’s New in Professional Responsibility, LBA & Litigation Section, September 11, 2009.
Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility, LBA, May 19, 2009.
Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility, Jefferson County Women Lawyers Association, May 14, 2009.
Developments in Professional Responsibility, Twelfth Annual Estate Planning Institute, April 24, 2009.
Ethics Issues Relating to Employee Lawyers, Temporary Lawyers, and Outsourcing of Legal Services, U of L CLE: Should Lawyers Use Independent Contractors to Handle Client Affairs?, April 10, 2009
Ethics Update: Recent ABA Opinions on Outsourcing and Representing Multiple Clients, Estate and Tax Seminar sponsored by Stockyards Bank, October 30, 2008
Overview of the Pro Bono Ethics Rules, LBA Pro Bono CLE, October 24, 2008
Ethics Update: The ABA’s New Formal Opinion on Outsourcing of Legal Services and Nonlegal Support Services, LBA IP Section Brown Bag, September 23, 2008
The Ethics of Rule 3.3, Video Presentation for the Office of the Public Defender,
May 20, 2008.
Recent Developments in Legal Ethics: Mass Tort Settlements, Metadata, and Other Topics, LBA Annual Spring Ethics CLE, May 16, 2008.
Recent Developments in Legal Ethics: Mass Tort Settlements, Metadata, and Other Topics, Jefferson County Women Lawyers Association, May 8, 2008.
Recent Developments in Legal Ethics: Mass Tort Settlements, Metadata, and Other Topics, Eleventh Annual Estate Planning Institute, April 25, 2008.
Recent Developments in Legal Ethics: Mass Tort Settlements, Metadata, and Other Topics, KBA 18th Annual Issues for Corporate House Counsel CLE, April 16, 2008.
Professional Responsibility Issues for Small Firm Practice, LBA Solo/Small Firm Section, September 11, 2007
High Profile Professional Responsibility: Hewlett-Packard Pretexting and the Duke Lacrosse Fiasco, LBA, May 11, 2007.
Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility: Hewlett-Packard Pretexting and the Duke Lacrosse Fiasco, Jefferson County Women Lawyers Association, May 10, 2007.
Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility: Hewlett-Packard Pretexting and So Long Nifong, Tenth Annual Estate Planning Institute, April 27, 2007.
Hewlett-Packard, Duke Lacrosse, and Other Ethics-Packed Current Events, KBA 17th Annual Issues for Corporate House Counsel CLE, April 18, 2007.
The Hewlett-Packard Affair: Lawyer Ethics and Deception, GE Legal Post Leadership Conference, March 5, 2007.
Recent Issues in Professional Responsibility, Kentucky Defense Counsel Annual Seminar, October 20, 2006.
Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility, LBA, May 26, 2006.
The Multijurisdictional Practice of Law, Legal Netlink Alliance, May 12, 2006.
Issues in Professional Responsibility, Jefferson County Women Lawyers Association, May 11, 2006.
Developments in Professional Responsibility, Ninth Annual Estate Planning Institute, April 28, 2006.
General Ethics Update with Professor Grace Giesel, LBA and In-House Counsel Section, November 22, 2005.
Annual Ethics Seminar, Jefferson County Women Lawyers Association, May 12, 2005.
Developments in Professional Responsibility, Eighth Annual Estate Planning Institute, April 29, 2005.
Ethical Issues for In-House Attorneys, The 15th Annual Issues for Corporate House Counsel Seminar, KBA Corporate House Counsel Section, April 15, 2005.
Attorney Ethics: Issues of Confidentiality and Unauthorized Practice, Kentucky Paralegal Association, October 29, 2004.
Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility, LBA Appellate Law Section, May 24, 2004.
Annual Ethics Seminar, Jefferson County Women Lawyers Association, May 13, 2004.
Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility: Issues of Interest to In-House Counsel, Aegon USA Lawyers Conference, May 4, 2004.
Developments in Professional Responsibility, Seventh Annual Estate Planning Institute, April 23, 2004.
Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility: Issues of Interest to In-House Counsel, LBA In-House Counsel Section, June 5, 2003.
Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility, Jefferson County Women Lawyers Association, May 8, 2003.
Developments in Professional Responsibility, Sixth Annual Estate Planning Institute, April 25, 2003.
Ethics: A Review of Ethics Rules Applicable to the Practice of Investing in Clients, LBA: Back to Law School—What You Thought You Learned and What's New, November 22, 2002.
Ethics, Brandeis Inns of Court, November 19, 2002 (MODERATOR ONLY).
Ethics, Taking an Equity Interest in Your Start-Up Client and What Can Attorneys Do When the Client Fails, UK CLE: Computer and Technology Law Institute, November 1, 2002.
Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility, Jefferson County Women Lawyers Association, May 16, 2002.
Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility: Issues of Interest to In-House Counsel, LBA In-House Counsel Section, May 10, 2002.
Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility, Fifth Annual Estate Planning Institute, April 26, 2002.
Sexual Misconduct, Multiple Client Conflicts and Issues in Negotiations, Louisville Bar Association, June 5, 2001
Sexual Misconduct, Multiple Client Conflicts and Issues in Negotiations, Jefferson County Women Lawyers Association, May 10, 2001
Ethics Issues in Appellate Practice, How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Appellate Practice: Appellate Ethics CLE, May 1, 2001
Professional Responsibility in an Estate Planning Practice, Fourth Annual Estate Planning Institute, April 20, 2001
Ethics-Conflict of Interest, Annual Winter Meeting, Council of School Board Attorneys, February 23, 2001
Ethics: Selected Professional Responsibility Issues for the Poverty Lawyer, Poverty Law in Kentucky: Landlord/Tenant Tax and Probate Issues, June 7, 2000
Ethics, Carl A. Warns, Jr. Labor and Employment Law Institute, May 26, 2000 (MODERATOR)
Issues in Professional Responsibility, Jefferson County Women Lawyers Association, May 11, 2000
Amanda Kumar's Case-- Professional Responsibility Issues, Louis D. Brandeis School of Law Homecoming, October 2, 1999
Amanda Kumar's Case Professional Responsibility Issues, Women Lawyers Association of Jefferson County, May 13, 1999
Contemporary Problems in Professional Responsibility, Louis D. Brandeis School of Law Homecoming, October 24, 1998
Confidentiality in a Technological Age, part of Professionalism in Administrative Law, National Association of Hearing Officials, October 19, 1998
Legal Ethics, the Internet and Electronic Communication, Intellectual Property Section of the Louisville Bar Association, May 22, 1998
Current Events in Professional Responsibility, Women Lawyers Association of Jefferson County, May 14, 1998
Legal Ethics, the Internet and Electronic Communication, Technology Section of the Louisville Bar Association, April 21, 1998
In-House Counsel vs. Outside Bank Counsel: Professional Responsibility and the Unauthorized Practice of Law Considerations in Determining What Inside Bank Counsel Can Do, part of Legal Issues for Financial Institutions, UK/CLE, April 3, 1998
Professional Responsibility, the Attorney-Client Privilege and the Rendering of Business Advice, part of Business Law CLE, Louisville Bar Association, June 10, 1997
Professional Responsibility, the Attorney-Client Privilege and Business Advice, part of Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility, Women Lawyers Association of Jefferson County, May 8, 1997
Professional Responsibility and Multi-state Practice, part of Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility, Women Lawyers' Association of Jefferson County, May, 1996
Ethical Issues Regarding Lawyers' Use of Technology, part of Managing in the Era of Corporate Reorganization and Other Changes: Effective Use of Technology, In-house and Outside Counsel, KBA Corporate House Counsel Section Annual Seminar, April 17, 1996
Ethics and Technology--Threats to Confidentiality, part of Back to Law School Ethics and Technology Seminar, University of Louisville School of Law, October 27, 1995
Furniture May Have Ears--Inadvertent Disclosure, part of Ethical Issues Faced by the Business Lawyer, Louisville Bar Association, May 31, 1995
The Squeal Rule Debate, part of Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility, Women Lawyers Association of Jefferson County, May 11, 1995
Discharge of In-House Counsel, part of Issues for Corporate Counsel, Kentucky Bar Association, March 10, 1995 (I prepared the materials but did not present it.)
Developments in Substantive Criminal Law, part of Criminal Law and Procedure Update, Louisville Bar Association, October 28, 1994
Ethical Implications of Kaye, Scholer, part of Back to Law School Seminar, University of Louisville School of Law, October 7, 1994
Kaye, Scholer--Ethical Implications, part of Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility, Women Lawyers' Association of Jefferson County, May 12, 1994
Insurance Law Update, part of Tort and Insurance Law Update, Louisville Bar Association, April 20, 1994
Discharging House Counsel: Ethics and Employment Termination Issues for Lawyers as Employees and Employers, 1993 Labor and Employment Law Institute, May 20, 1993
Attorney Speech and The Organization as Client, parts of Selected Problems in Professional Responsibility, Women Lawyers Association of Jefferson County, May 13, 1993
1993 Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference, April 1993
--Session Leader for Workshop on Long Range Goals of the Federal Judiciary
Discharge of In-House Counsel and Related Attorneys, parts of Selected Problems in Professional Responsibility, Women Lawyers Association of Jefferson County, May 14, 1992
Moderator, Ethics Section, 1991 Labor Law Institute. June 1991
Ethics in the Nineties: Selected Changes in the Rules of Professional Conduct, Louisville Bar Association, November 29, 1989
University and Community Service
Kentucky Bar Association Ethics Committee (current Vice Chair; past Chair)
Member of Merit Selection Panel for Bankruptcy Judge--Western District of Kentucky (2011)
Kentucky Supreme Court Mass Tort and Class Action Committee (2007-2010)
University Selection Committee for Distinguished Service (2009- 2012)
University Selection Committee for Distinguished Teaching Faculty Award(2007)
University Selection Committee for Outstanding Scholarship, Research & Creative Activity Award (2007 & 2011-12)
American Bar Association
Louisville Bar Association
Delegate and Life Member of the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference (1990-2010)
Law School Service 2010-2012
Dean's Advisory Committee
Faculty Excellence Committee
Strategic Planning Committee
Alumni Relations Liaison
KBA Ethics Committee
Personnel Committee
(for a complete list, please see Curriculum Vitae)