In the legal profession, honesty and integrity are paramount responsibilities. As an attorney, it is crucial to be fully aware of and to uphold professional standards in legal practice. Over time, these standards evolve, necessitating continuous learning and adherence. At the McGavock Reed Law Firm, Attorney Reed serves as a dedicated attorney ethics lawyer in Virginia, deeply committed to ethics and the disciplinary process.
In this blog, McGavock Reed Law Firm presents the basics of ethics and professional responsibilities for attorney in Washington, D.C. This guide will provide context for those facing charges related to common professional responsibility rule violations, including competence, communication, scope of representation, trust account management, and fee reasonableness.
Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorney
The American Bar Association (ABA) model rules of professional conduct are a universally respected standard in the legal profession in the United States. The model rules establish several ethical and legal obligations that every lawyer must observe when practicing law. Ethical conduct rules apply not only to those representing clients, but also to lawyers engaged in public service, or not otherwise actively practicing. The ABA also produces attorney ethics opinions to answer questions from attorneys throughout the United States.
While in law school and after graduating, every attorney agrees to stand by the model rule of professional conduct as created by the ABA. The rules provide a good foundation for ethical practice in the jurisdictions where they have been adopted, however a prudent lawyer will avail his or herself of the specific rules and their applications in the jurisdiction where he or she practices.
Crucial Rules of Ethical Conduct and the Client-Lawyer Relationship
Competence
Any attorney representing a client must possess the necessary legal education, skills, and strategies to represent clients. This is not to say you must win every case, but must take all reasonable steps to ensure you present your case well including but not limited to: being prepared for court or meetings, researching the code and cases that are relevant to your client’s case, interviewing witnesses and preparing them to testify, and being fully aware of the facts of your client’s case.
Scope of Representation
Lawyers are limited to representing their clients in the capacity as originally agreed to. Some jurisdictions require a signed engagement agreement for every lawyer-client relationship, while some are more lenient, allowing verbal agreements where a lawyer and client have worked together before. It is important to communicate with your client and maintain an understanding of what you will do for the client and what you will not do.
Communication
Communication plays a significant role in professional responsibility. Every attorney is responsible for keeping his clients informed about each stage of the legal proceedings. For every legal step, he also needs to have his client’s consent. Some clients can be needy and will expect a lot of attention and while you don’t need to take every single call, you are legally obligated to make sure they are apprised of all developments, and it is a best practice to ensure they feel listened to and attended.
Though many clients complain that the lawyer will fail to communicate by not answering every call, a lawyer will usually only run into trouble if they fail to inform the client of a legal development, compromise offer, or new deadline.
Fees
Fees have to be reasonable and determined in accordance with the principles outlined in the ABA or state rules. This is more of a judgment call on a case by case basis, but many states or private institutions develop model fee guidance based on a lawyer’s age and experience. As a general rule of thumb, if you wouldn’t pay the fee you’re quoting, it’s probably unreasonable.
Advertising, along with solicitation, must adhere to ABA principles.
The ABA maintains widely observed guidelines on how, when, and what content can be used when advertising a lawyers services. Lawyers may not directly solicit clients who are vulnerable (such as accident victims on the scene or criminal clients being arrested), may not make unsubstantiated or misleading statements in their content (ex. “I’m the best lawyer” or “I always win your case”), and may not hold themselves out as having a personal ability to influence your case outside the bounds of the law (even if you play golf with the prosecutor every Saturday, you can’t say “I know the prosecutors and they give me great deals”).
Lawful Conduct
Lawyers are required to take reasonable measures to advance their client’s interests. Many clients will ask you to push the limits to help them. Such limits may include making dishonest assertions, concealing evidence, and harassing opponents with frivolous litigation. Though clients may appreciate this in the short term, if push comes to shove, they will always throw you under the bus. It’s much easier to part ways with a client because they have asked you to do something unethical than to explain to Bar Counsel why you committed a rule violation because you wanted to help.
Conflicts of Interest
A lawyer may not take a position that could adversely impact a current client in any case and a former client in certain cases. A lawyer must also not undertake to represent a client if a conflict of interest exists that could undermine the lawyer’s professional judgment. Some conflicts are waivable if properly disclosed (the lawyer has a professional relationship with another party in a way that is unconnected with the representation) and others are not (a lawyer has a personal relationship with an opposing litigant or lawyer).
Commingling Money
Attorneys possess a fiduciary responsibility to keep client funds in trust and separate from corporate and personal assets. Failure to do so constitutes commingling money. Commingling sometimes is intentional, but it is most often the result of negligence and mismanagement.
Breach with Confidence
Lawyers must take great care to protect client confidences. Unless a client has authorized you to discuss his or her case with other individuals you refrain from doing so except where necessary to carry on the representation (taking with opposing counsel, the clerks office, a judge, or a prosecutor).
If you cannot reach your client and have a question about whether disclosure is necessary, call a Virginia ethics and professional responsibility attorney or the state Ethics Hotline.
FAQs on Ethical Conduct and Professional Responsibility
Do judges have to observe any norms of conduct?
Yes. Each state has a unique code of judicial behavior expectations for those who preside over courts and tribunals. These laws apply to elected or appointed justices, magistrates, and courthouse staff who support judges, such as clerks and judicial assistants. The rules of professional conduct apply to judges as well as practicing lawyers.
What about non-lawyer who offer legal help?
The unlicensed practice of law is prohibited under federal and state law, as well as the Rules of Professional Conduct. Paralegals, judicial assistants, and other quasi-legal professionals must work under the guidance of an attorney. Public service institutions that offer legal aid must either have a lawyer on staff.
What obligations do in-house attorney possess?
Corporate attorney has the same responsibilities under the rules of professional conduct as a private attorney. Though they face different challenges when the customer is a corporation rather than an individual, their obligations are unchanged. A business attorney must maintain client confidentiality throughout the whole operation. Any conflict related to interests might involve past clients of the corporation or the attorney. This requires keeping careful track of competitors and projects that an in house lawyer works in.
Conclusion
Understanding the basics of professional responsibility and abiding by it is the foremost duty of any attorney. As an attorney, one must ensure that he or she remains as disciplined when serving clients. Call the McGavock Reed Law Firm, to discuss your ethics lawyer needs in D.C. and Virginia
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