Stanford Scholar Deborah Rhode Was Legal Ethics Trailblazer

In a 2019 question and answer session, Deborah Rhode offered her thoughts on how to change the legal profession to improve access to justice.

The Stanford law professor said she would redesign the legal system to provide “many opportunities for less expensive credentials.” This would reduce graduate debt and allow newly minted attorneys to go into nonprofit work, which the current system makes “impossible” for many of them to do.

Rhode’s response reflected her passion for access to justice advocacy, which was a cornerstone of her distinguished career at Stanford. Rhode died unexpectedly on Jan. 8 at 68.

From her ...