Professional Responsibility: Duties, Conflicts, and Discipline
The Core Duties
Competence, diligence, communication, confidentiality, loyalty, and candor to the tribunal. Confidentiality under Rule 1.6 is broader than the attorney-client privilege; the privilege is evidentiary, confidentiality is ethical. Exceptions permit disclosure to prevent death or substantial bodily harm, to prevent fraud, and to comply with law.
Conflicts of Interest
Current-client conflicts (1.7), former-client conflicts (1.9), and imputed conflicts (1.10). Concurrent conflicts require informed consent confirmed in writing when the representation is not prohibited. Former-client conflicts arise where the matters are substantially related and the lawyer obtained confidential information.
Fees, Trust Accounts, and Advertising
Reasonable fees, written contingency agreements, and the prohibition on unreasonable or illegal fees. Client funds go in trust accounts; commingling is prohibited. Advertising must not be false or misleading; solicitation rules restrict in-person contact.
Candor and Discipline
Candor to the tribunal: no false statements, no offering false evidence, and disclosure of adverse legal authority. Discipline ranges from admonition to disbarment; the standard is the reasonable lawyer.
Traps
The most common trap is the difference between confidentiality and privilege, and the imputation of conflicts across a firm. Another is that a lawyer may not withdraw solely because the client refuses to settle.
Worked Example
A lawyer discovers that a client intends to commit perjury. The lawyer must attempt to persuade the client to testify truthfully; if that fails, the lawyer may seek to withdraw and must disclose the perjury to the tribunal. Confidentiality yields to the duty of candor.