One of the most creative websites around, Law and the Multiverse, discusses the legal issues that would arise in a parallel existence in which super-heroes were real. The site finally delved into the topic of legal ethics a couple of weeks ago, and the post is both fun and informative on the issue of lawyer solicitation.
She-Hulk’s alter-ego, Jennifer Walters (who, unlike She-Hulk, is not green) is a practicing attorney. (So is Daredevil, and if anyone knows why they never formed a firm, let me know.) The post involves the propriety of She-Hulk’s soliciting legal business at the scene of a rescue. The issue is pretty straightforward. It does not, however, deal with the question of whether She-Hulk can ethically practice law when she is not Jennifer Walters. Does Walters’ license still apply to She-Hulk, who looks different, sounds different, thinks differently and has a different personality? The question is similar to the issue of whether Dr. Hyde can legally. practice medicine.
Oh well, maybe they’ll take that one up another time. You can read about She-Hulk’s legal ethics problem here.
Ethics Alarms 
Yep, soliciting clients on the scene is a breach of ethics rules, but maybe Ms. Walters had a good reason for really wanting to take on the case. She might have wanted to litigate a test case on duty to rescue (sort of like Darrow in litigating a test case about evolution in Scopes; Scopes was recruited ahead of time, albeit not by Darrow). Even if the courts upheld the rule that there is no general common law duty to rescue, they might conclude that superheroes have a duty to rescue, if only because Spiderman keeps saying “With great power comes great responsibility.” over and over again. Couldn’t this create reasonable reliance for victims of crime that a superhero will come rescue them, rather than having to fight back?
My brother points out that (he thinks) She-Hulk lives in Washington D.C. and Daredevil lives in New York City. I’m sure there might be ONE point where they teamed up; I know a few comic book experts I could consult.
Gee, I’ve never seen her at my ethics classes for the DC bar. Might have been there, of course, and I just missed her….
I think it’s bullcrap that she can change back to human now. I thought the whole point was she was the She-Hulk no matter what.
Note that the episode being analyzed came up years ago, before SH gave up Jen, and presumably her law practice, for good.
Ah, comics geekery….
Yes, Walters and Murdock are both attorneys – though at the moment the latter isn’t practicing law. He was disbarred after his secret identity became public and his life fell apart. Even before that, though, Murdock was almost exclusively a defense attorney. Walters is not. And the two ran in different circles anyway. In the traditional Marvel Universe (AKA ‘616’), characters tend to fall into one of three groups – city, national / global, or cosmic. The lines are blurry and characters can jump around…but Daredevil has never been a member of the Avengers. She-Hulk tends to be global or cosmic.
As for the ethics of practicing law while ‘green’ – not really an issue, in my view. I’m not sure that She-Hulk ever bothered with a secret identity at all. And while her appearance changes, her personality and thought processes really don’t. Of all the gamma-irradiated people in the Marvel Universe, the only one that has a personality disorder is Bruce Banner – the retconned explanation is that his Dissociative Identity Disorder stems from a history of abuse as a child. By my count, he has four personalities.
Thanks for the clarification. I still have doubts, as a legal ethicist, that a lawyer who literally transforms into someone else should still be covered by the same law license. I seem to recall that She-Hulk was much more confident and aggressive. and saucy as the green goddess (and why wouldn’t she be?) But I’ll take your expert opinion that she was still old Jen inside.