Professional Responsibility

Front 1

UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF LAW

Back 1

A lawyer may not assist a non-attorney in the performance of any activity which constitutes the unauthorized practice of law.

Delegation of legal work to non-lawyer assistants is allowed if the lawyer supervise the work and maintains the direct relationship with the client.

Front 2

SUPERVISING AND SUBORDINATE LAWYER

Back 2

1. Supervising lawyers shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that their subordinates comply with the ethics rules; they are also liable for subordinates’ unethical conduct if the supervising lawyer orders or ratifies the conduct or knows of the conduct and fails to take reasonable remedial action.

2. Subordinate lawyers are bound by the ethics rules regardless of whether they act at the direction of another person. Subordinate lawyers don’t violate the ethics rules if they act in accordance with a supervisory lawyer’s reasonable resolution of an arguable question of professional duty.

Front 3

WHEN MUST LAWYER WITHDRAW

Back 3

1. The client discharges the lawyer
2. Continuing would result in a violation of the rules of professional responsibility
3. The lawyer’s physical or mental condition materially impairs the lawyer’s ability to represent the client.

Front 4

ATTORNEY’S FEES

Back 4

Attorney’s fees must be reasonable. In determining what constitutes a reasonable fee, the court looks at several factors, including the prevailing market rate for attorney fees in the attorney’s geographic proximity, the attorney’s experience, the type and complexity of the case, and any opportunity costs for the attorney.

Front 5

ATTORNEY/CLIENT PRIVILEGE

Back 5

Covers non-public communications passing between lawyer and an actual or potential client.

Front 6

WORK PRODUCT DOCTRINE

Back 6

Covers materials obtaining confidential information which the attorney prepares in anticipation of litigation and certain actions of the attorney while representing the client.

Front 7

DUTY OF CONFIDENTIALITY

Back 7

Client’s confidential information may not be compromised

Front 8

EXCEPTIONS TO DUTY OF CONFIDENTIALITY

Back 8

1. To prevent reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm.
2. To prevent the client from committing a crime or fraud that is reasonably certain to result in substantial injury to the financial interests or property of another and in furtherance of which the client has used or is using the lawyer’s services.
3. To prevent, mitigate, or rectify substantial injury to the financial interests or property of another that is reasonably certain to result or has resulted from the client’s commission of a crime or fraud in furtherance of which the client has used the lawyer’s services.
4. To secure legal advice about the lawyer’s compliance with these rules
5. To establish a claim or defense on behalf of the lawyer in a controversy between the lawyer and the client, to establish a defense to a criminal charge or civil claim against the lawyer based upon the conduct in which the client was involved, or to respond to allegations in any proceeding concerning the lawyer’s representation of the client.
6.Comply with other law or court order.

Front 9

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Back 9

Interest of a former client may conflict with a current client’s interests.

Former client conflict- imputed to other lawyers at firm.
Personal conflicts by lawyer at firm – not imputed to other lawyers at firm.

Front 10

COMPETENCE

Back 10

A lawyer must competently represent his or her client.

Front 11

DILIGENCE

Back 11

An attorney must represent his or her client with reasonable diligence and promptness.

Front 12

FRIVOLOUS CLAIMS

Back 12

Lawyers can’t bring frivolous claims and contentions.

1. Claims which have a basis in existing law and fact.
2. Claims based on good-faith argument for an extension, modification or reversal of existing law.
3. Claims where a lawyer is defending a criminal defendant in a proceeding that could result in incarceration.

Front 13

PRESENTING COURT DOCUMENT

Back 13

When presenting a pleading, written motion or other paper, an attorney certifies to the best of his knowledge, information and belief that:

1. It is not being presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of litigation.
2. The claims, defenses, and other legal contentions are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying or reversing existing law or for establishing new law.
3. The factual contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, will likely have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery.
4. The denials of factual contentions are warranted on the evidence or, if specifically so identified, are reasonably based on belief or lack of information.

Front 14

EXPEDITING LITIGATION

Back 14

A lawyer must take the steps reasonably necessary, consistent with the client’s interests in order to expedite ligitation.

Front 15

FALSE STATEMENTS

Back 15

1. Making a false statement of fact or law to a tribunal or failing to correct a false statement of material fact or law previously made to tribunal.

3. Failure to disclose to the tribunal legal authority in the controlling jurisdiction known to the lawyer to be directly adverse to the position of the client and not disclosed by opposing counsel, or
4. Offering evidence that the lawyer knows to be false.

Front 16

FAIRNESS TO OPPOSING PARTY

Back 16

1. Can’t interfere with evidence
Lawyer won’t unlawfully obstruct another party’s pre-trial access to relevant evidence or participate in altering, destroying or concealing a document or physical instrument having potential evidentiary value.

Duty to preserve arises when the commencement of a relevant proceeding becomes foreseeable. A lawyer may also not counsel or assist another to do this act.

2. Falsify Evidence or Witness Inducement

Lawyer shall not falsify evidence or counsel, assist or induce a witness to testify falsely or leave the jurisdiction to avoid testifying.

Agents, employees and relatives of clients may be instructed to not voluntarily give info to an opposing party or their attorney unless subpoenaed.

Only payments of usual expenses are proper for fact witnesses.

For expert witnesses, they may be paid at their usual professional hourly or daily rate. Neither witness may be paid on a contingent outcome basis.

3. Discovery Standards

In pretrial procedure, the lawyer shall not make a frivolous discovery request for facts or documents. A lawyer must also reasonably comply with a legally proper discovery request propounded by an opposing party. Litigation sanctions may be imposed for repeated discovery non-compliance.

Front 17

COMMUNICATIONS WITH REPRESENTED PERSONS

Back 17

Lawyer shall not communicate with another person represented by a lawyer in the same case unless that other person’s lawyer consents. An exception applies of direct communications are authorized by law or court order.

Front 18

COMMUNICATIONS WITH UNREPRESENTED PERSONS

Back 18

Lawyer shall not state or imply that the lawyer is disinterested if dealing with a person who is not represented by counsel.


a. Correct any misunderstanding

Lawyer will make reasonable efforts to correct any misunderstanding the unrepresented person has of the lawyer’s role in the matter.

This rule suggests the lawyer must affirmatively state to an unrepresented adverse party that:

1. She is a lawyer
2. Who represents the opposing party
3. And to secure your own counsel

Lawyer needs to avoid giving legal advise to an unrepresented party if that part is or may be adverse to a current client.

Front 19

ADVOCATE IN NONADJUDICATIVE PROCEEDING

Back 19

A legislative and/or administrative tribunal or agency will likely give special weight to a lawyer’s opinions on a question of law or rule making. Therefore, if the lawyer is giving opinion testimony and simultaneously represents a client with an interest in the subject, disclosure of the client relationship is required.

Disclosure is necessary to permit the agency to make an assessment of any relevant biases of the lawyer.

If the jurisdiction allows lawyers to concurrently hold public office, they may not use their public position to obtain special advantage which is clearly contrary to the public interest.

Front 20

SAFEKEEPING

Back 20

A lawyer has a duty to keep client funds and other client property separate from the firm’s property.

Front 21

SOLICITATIONS

Back 21

Improper, in-person contact with a prospective client whose services the lawyer is seeking to secure professional employment primarily for pecuniary gain.

Front 22

REFERRALS

Back 22

Lawyer may agree to refer clients to another lawyer or nonlawyer professional in return for the undertaking of that person to refer back to the lawyer as long as no fee or other remuneration is involved.

Reciprocal referral agreements which are not exclusive and don’t interfere with the lawyer’s professional independent judgment are also permissible. The client must be informed of the reciprocal referral agreement.

Front 23

TRIBUNALS

Back 23

Lawyers are prohibited from seeking to avoid appointments by a tribunal to prepresent someone except for good cause, such as:

1. Representing the client is likely to result in a violation of the Rules of Proessional Conduct or other law
2. Representing the client is likely to result in an unreasonable financial burden on the lawyer.
3. The client or the cause is so repugnant to the lawyer as to be likely to repair the client-lawyer relationship or the lawyer’s ability to represent the client.