This 8 page paper is a Harvard case study of Pat Parker, a lawyer who conducts political oppositional research and prepares reports. The work is by contract between Parker and the candidate's campaign. The scenario is that Parker previously provided a report to a campaign, two years later, a group of lawyers who supported the candidate's opponent wants to buy the report plus other materials. The three parts of the paper include: the legal analysis, the ethical analysis and the recommendation for action. The paper considers contract law, copyright law, campaign statutes and codes of ethics. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
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Lawyers supported Jacksons Republican opponent Terry Paine. The Trial Lawyers have now want to buy the opposition research Parker conducted for the Jackson campaign. The Trial Lawyers have offered
to pay Parker $25,000 for a copy of the report, which was the same amount Jacksons campaign had paid. The Trial Lawyers also want to purchase the drafts of postcards
the Jackson campaign had prepared but never mailed. The postcards clearly outlined some of the positions Jacksons opponent, Paine, had taken that the voters would find objectionable. Parker believes the
Trial Lawyers want to use the research to inoculate their candidate in the next election campaign. There are three legal questions relative to this case: 1. Is it legal for
Parker to sell a copy of the report, i.e., the research she conducted for another client to the Trial Lawyers? 2. Is it legal for Parker to sell the drafts
of the unmailed campaign postcards the campaign had prepared and which she had reviewed? 3. Is it legal for the Trial Lawyers to subsequently use the research Parker obtained for
a previous client? Only the first two questions should concern Parker. The Trial Lawyers need to deal with the legal issue that would directly impact them. Parker must look at
sub-issues. First, does the contract she had with the Jackson campaign allow her to sell the research? This issue inherently addresses copyright ownership. According to the contract, Parker retains copyright
to the material. The contract expressly stated the research could be used by the campaign only during the course of that one campaign and only against the named opponent. The
campaign had ended, therefore, the rights to the material would revert to the researcher, Parker. The draft of the postcards is a different matter entirely. Parker did not prepare the
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