Legal ethics are principles of conduct that members of the legal profession are expected to observe in their practice. They are an outgrowth of the development of the legal profession itself.

In the United States

In the U.S., each state or territory has a code of

professional conduct Professional conduct is the field of regulation of members of professional bodies, either acting under statutory or contractual powers. Historically, professional conduct was wholly undertaken by the private professional bodies, the sole legal auth ...

dictating rules of ethics. These may be adopted by the respective state legislatures and/or judicial systems. The

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

has promulgated the

Model Rules of Professional Conduct The American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct (MRPC) are a set of rules and commentaries on the ethical and professional responsibilities of members of the legal profession in the United States. Although the MRPC generally is ...

which, while formally only a recommendation by a private body, have been influential in many jurisdictions. The Model Rules address many topics which are found in state ethics rules, including the ''client-lawyer relationship'', duties of a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

as ''advocate'' in adversary proceedings, dealings ''with persons other than clients'', ''

law firms A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

and associations'', ''public service'', ''advertising'', and ''maintaining the integrity of the profession''. Respect of client confidences, candor toward the tribunal, truthfulness in statements to others, and professional independence are some of the defining features of legal ethics. The

Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination The Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) is a 120-minute, 60-question, multiple-choice examination designed to measure the knowledge and understanding of established standards related to a lawyer's professional conduct. It i ...

(MPRE) is used to measure examinees' knowledge and understanding of established standards related to the professional conduct of lawyers. The MPRE is a prerequisite or corequisite to the

bar examination A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associ ...

for admission as an

attorney at law Attorney at law or attorney-at-law, usually abbreviated in everyday speech to attorney, is the preferred term for a practising lawyer in certain jurisdictions, including South Africa (for certain lawyers), Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and the Unite ...

in 48 of the 50 states of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, as well as the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

, the

Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...

, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the

Republic of Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...

. Of the 56 jurisdictions within the United States, only

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

do not use the MPRE; however, these jurisdictions still incorporate local ethics rules in their respective bar examinations.

Maynard Pirsig Maynard E. Pirsig, LLD, (/ˈpɜːrsɪɡ/; January 9, 1902 - February 7, 1997) was an American legal scholar. He was director of the Minnesota Legal Aid Society, dean of the University of Minnesota Law School, a Minnesota Supreme Court justice, and ...

, published one of the first course books on legal ethics, ''Cases and Materials on Legal Ethics'', 1949.

also published the definition of ''Legal Ethics,'' in ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', 1974. Some U.S. states, including

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, require applicants seeking to become attorneys to have taken a course in

professional responsibility Professional responsibility is a set of duties within the concept of professional ethics for those who exercise a unique set of knowledge and skill as professionals. Professional responsibility applies to those professionals making judgments, a ...

during law school.

Enforcement

United States

Every state in the United States has a regulatory body (usually called a state

bar association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence. The word bar is derived from the old English/European custom of using a physical railing to separ ...

) that polices lawyer conduct. When lawyers are licensed to practice in a state, those lawyers subject themselves to this authority. Overall responsibility often lies with the highest court in a state (such as

state supreme court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in b ...

). The state bar associations, often in consultation with the court, adopt a set of rules that set forth the applicable ethical duties. As of 2013, 48 states have adopted a version of the American Bar Association's model rules.

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

is the only state that has not adopted either—instead these states have written their own rules from scratch. There was once some debate over whether state ethical rules apply to federal prosecutors. The Department of Justice has held differing opinions through different administrations, with the

Thornburgh Memo The Thornburgh Memo was a U.S. Department of Justice memorandum prepared by then Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, on June 8, 1989. The memo declared that state ethics rules were not binding upon federal prosecutors. It asserted that any complia ...

suggesting these rules do not apply, and the

Reno Rules The Reno Rules were ethical rules for federal prosecutors promulgated in the Code of Federal Regulations by then Attorney General Janet Reno Janet Wood Reno (July 21, 1938 – November 7, 2016) was an American lawyer who served as the 78th Un ...

asserting that they do apply. Now, 28 U.S.C. § 530B provides that government attorneys are subject to the state ethics laws in the state in which they practice. Lawyers who fail to comply with local rules of ethics may be subjected to discipline ranging from private (non-public) reprimand to

disbarment Disbarment, also known as striking off, is the removal of a lawyer from a bar association or the practice of law, thus revoking their law license or admission to practice law. Disbarment is usually a punishment for unethical or criminal con ...

India

In India, under the Advocates Act of 1961, the

Bar Council of India The Bar Council of India is a statutory body established under the section 4 of Advocates Act 1961 that regulates the legal practice and legal education in India. Its members are elected from amongst the lawyers in India and as such represents ...

is responsible for creating rules for registering advocates, regulation of legal ethics, and for administering disciplinary action. In India a legal law firm named Legalethics, (https://www.legalethics.in) which provides legal awareness for people who need it because of innocence.

Australia

In New South Wales, reforms commencing from July 1, 2015 brought a uniform regulatory system to the legal profession regarding billing arrangements, discipline procedures and complaints handling processing. An inter jurisdictional Legal Services Council was established in order to regulate the legal profession and its delivery of legal services. This resulted in the creation of th
Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules 2015
and th
Legal Profession Uniform Conduct Barristers' Rules 2015
The States and Territories of Australia are regulated through co-regulation, self-regulation and independent regulation. * New South Wales is co-regulated by th
Law Society of NSW
th
NSW Bar Association
and th
Legal Services Commissioner
* Queensland is co-regulated by th
Law Society of QueenslandBar Association of Queensland
and th
Legal Services Commissioner
* Tasmania is self-regulated through th
Law Society of Tasmania
* Victoria is co-regulated in collaboration with the

Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner The Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS) is one of nine government departments in the state of Victoria, Australia. Known as the Department of Justice and Regulation until January 2019, it manages and provides government services rela ...

, the

Law Institute of Victoria Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

and the

Victorian Bar The Victorian Bar is the bar association of the Australian State of Victoria. The current President of the Bar is Roisin Annesley KC. Its members are barristers registered to practice in Victoria. On 30 June 2020, there were 2,179 counsels ...

* South Australia is independently regulated by th
Legal Practitioners Conduct Board
* Western Australia is independently regulated through th
Legal Practice Board
and th
Legal Profession Complaints Committee
* The Northern Territory is self-regulated by th
Law Society of the Northern Territory
* The Australian Capital Territory is self-regulated by th
Law Society of the ACT
th
ACT Bar Association
and the Complaints Investigating Committee.

References

* ''No Contest: Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in America'', by Ralph Nader and Wesley J. Smith. * ''California Rules of Professional Conduct'', published by the Office of Professional Competence, Planning & Development of the State Bar of Californi

* Gabriel Chin & Scott Wells, ''Can a Reasonable Doubt have an Unreasonable Price? Limitations on Attorney's Fees in Criminal Cases,'
41 Boston College Law Review 1 (1999)

External links

State Bar of California Professional Responsibility (Legal Ethics)

New York Rules of Professional Conduct

The Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL)

The Legal Information Institute at Cornell University (U.S.)

Canadian Bar Association Code of Conduct

- Article series covering ways to improve the ethical and operational health of law firms. {{DEFAULTSORT:Legal Ethics Legal ethics,