Professional responsibility
Encyclopedia
Professional responsibility is the area of legal practice that encompasses the duties of attorneys
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 to act in a professional manner, obey the law, avoid conflicts of interest
Conflicts of Interest
"Conflicts of Interest" is an episode from the fourth season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.-Arc significance:* Garibaldi begins to work for William Edgars. In the process Garibaldi is reintroduced to his ex-girlfriend, Lise, who is currently married to Edgars.* The "Voice of...

, and put the interests of clients ahead of their own interests.

Professional responsibility violations in general

Common violations include:
  • Conflicts of interest. This occurs where the same lawyer or firm is representing both sides in a lawsuit, or previously represented one side. In countries with the adversarial system
    Adversarial system
    The adversarial system is a legal system where two advocates represent their parties' positions before an impartial person or group of people, usually a jury or judge, who attempt to determine the truth of the case...

     of justice, a conflict of interest violates the right of each client to the undivided, zealous loyalty of his lawyer. Conflicts may also occur if the lawyer's ability to represent a client is materially limited by the lawyer's loyalty to another client, a personal relationship, or other reasons.
  • Incompetent representation. Attorneys have a duty to provide competent representation, and the failure to observe deadlines or conduct thorough research is considered a breach of ethics.
  • Mishandling of client money. Clients often advance money to lawyers for a variety of reasons. The money must be kept in special client trust accounts until it is actually earned by the lawyer or spent on court fees or other expenses.
  • Fee-splitting arrangements. Attorneys may not split fees with non-attorneys, or with other attorneys who have not worked on the matter for which the client is represented.
  • Disclosure of confidential information. Lawyers are under a strict duty of confidentiality
    Duty of confidentiality
    In common law jurisdictions, the duty of confidentiality obliges a solicitor to respect the confidentiality of his client's affairs. Information that a solicitor obtains about his clients' affairs may be confidential, and must not be used for the benefit of persons not authorised by the client...

     to keep information received in the course of their representations secret. Absent law to the contrary, lawyers may not reveal or use this information to the detriment of their clients.
  • Communication with represented parties. An attorney may not communicate directly with a person who they know to be represented by counsel with respect to a matter for which the attorney is seeking to communicate. For example, in a civil suit, the plaintiff's attorney may not speak to the defendant directly if the attorney knows that the defendant is represented by counsel without their attorney's express consent.
  • Improper solicitation and advertising. Attorneys generally may not solicit business by personally offering their services to potential clients who are not already close friends or family members. Advertising by attorneys is also strictly regulated, to prevent puffery and other misleading assertions regarding potential results.

In U.S. law schools

Following the Watergate scandal
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...

, which involved questionable behavior by a number of lawyers, the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...

 ("ABA") mandated that all American law schools
Law school in the United States
In the United States, a law school is an institution where students obtain a professional education in law after first obtaining an undergraduate degree.Law schools in the U.S...

 incorporate a required course on this topic. This is typically offered as an upper-level course, most often taken in the second year. Professional Responsibility courses include matters pertaining to basic legal ethics
Legal ethics
Legal ethics encompasses an ethical code governing the conduct of persons engaged in the practice of law and persons more generally in the legal sector.-In the United States:...

, as well as bar admissions
Admission to the bar in the United States
In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

, legal advertising
Legal advertising
Legal advertising is advertising by lawyers and law firms.Legal marketing is a broader term referring to advertising and other practices, such as client relations and public relations.-In the United States:...

, disbarment
Disbarment
Disbarment is the removal of a lawyer from a bar association or the practice of law, thus revoking his or her law license or admission to practice law...

 proceedings, ineffective assistance of counsel
Ineffective assistance of counsel
Ineffective assistance of counsel is an issue raised in legal malpractice suits and in appeals in criminal cases where a criminal defendant asserts that their criminal conviction occurred because their attorney failed to properly defend the case...

, and judicial misconduct
Judicial misconduct
Judicial misconduct is a term used to describe certain actions of a judge which are unethical or otherwise violate the judge's obligations of impartial conduct...

.

Examinations concerning professional responsibility

Every state in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 tests prospective attorneys on their knowledge of professional responsibility. 47 states and the District of Columbia require bar applicants to pass an exam called the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam ("MPRE"). The remaining three states test professional responsibility on their local bar examination
Bar examination
A bar examination is an examination conducted at regular intervals to determine whether a candidate is qualified to practice law in a given jurisdiction.-Brazil:...

s. Furthermore, the ABA promulgated the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct in 1983; when Maine adopted the Model Rules in August 2009, California became the only remaining U.S. jurisdiction not to have adopted the Model Rules in whole or in part. Most states have only minor variations from the Model Rules, if any. Attorneys who violate professional responsibility rules may be subject to sanction
Sanctions (law)
Sanctions are penalties or other means of enforcement used to provide incentives for obedience with the law, or with rules and regulations. Criminal sanctions can take the form of serious punishment, such as corporal or capital punishment, incarceration, or severe fines...

s ranging from reprimands to temporary suspension to permanent disbarment.

See also

  • Legal malpractice
    Legal malpractice
    Legal malpractice is the term for negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, or breach of contract by an attorney that causes harm to his or her client...

  • Professional
    Professional
    A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...

  • Professional abuse
    Professional abuse
    Professional abusers:* take advantage of their client or patient's trust* exploit their vulnerability* do not act in their best interests* fail to keep professional boundariesAbuse may be:* discriminatory* financial* physical/neglectful...

  • Professional ethics
    Professional ethics
    Professional ethics encompass the personal and corporate standards of behaviour expected of professionals.- Professional ethics :Professional people and those working in acknowledged professions exercise specialist knowledge and skill...

  • Professional negligence in English Law

:Category:United States professional responsibility case law
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