Also known as: ethical · ethically · legal ethics · professional ethics
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Rules of professional conduct that prescribe standards of behavior for lawyers, judges, and other legal professionals. These rules require disclosure of material information, prohibit misappropriation of client funds, and impose duties to report misconduct while protecting communications made in discharge of those duties.
Elijah Edwards, a solo practitioner, transferred $75,000 from a client's settlement account into his personal checking account to cover office expenses. He intended to repay the amount within sixty days but never did. The disciplinary board found knowing misappropriation and ordered disbarment even though the client suffered no permanent loss and Edwards had an otherwise unblemished record.
Esme Ellington learned from a reliable source that another lawyer had falsified billing records in a class action. She reported the information to the state disciplinary commission. The reported lawyer sued Ellington for defamation. The court dismissed the suit, holding that the report was absolutely privileged because it discharged an ethical duty to report.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Edward Everett, a detective, arrested a robbery suspect and immediately read a standardized warning about silence and counsel before any questioning. The suspect waived those rights and confessed. At trial the confession was admitted because the officer's conduct satisfied constitutional requirements designed to protect individual dignity during custodial interrogation.
Elite Dynamics entered preliminary merger discussions with a larger competitor. Its officers decided not to disclose the talks in quarterly filings because no agreement had been reached. Shareholders later sued, claiming the omission was material. The court held that the probability and magnitude of the merger had to be weighed to determine whether investors would have viewed the information as altering the total mix of available facts.
Evelyn Ellison, an obstetrician, faced a request for a therapeutic abortion in a state that restricted the procedure. She consulted the hospital ethics committee and outside counsel before deciding whether to proceed. The committee advised that the request fell within recognized exceptions, allowing the physician to act consistently with both medical ethics and governing law.
Eastern Electric's in-house legal department sought to publish a newsletter describing available services and fee schedules. The state bar threatened discipline under rules prohibiting lawyer advertising. The firm sued, arguing the restriction violated professional speech protections. The court struck down the ban as an unconstitutional limit on truthful commercial information that clients need to make informed choices.
Disbarment is the presumptive sanction. The violation is treated as among the most serious because it destroys public confidence in the legal profession, regardless of repayment, lack of client loss, or an otherwise clean record.
Supporting sources
Yes. Communications made to discharge an ethical duty to report are absolutely privileged, even when the reporter relies on second-hand information rather than personal knowledge.
Supporting sources
Yes. Disclosure is excused to the extent the director reasonably believes revealing the information would breach a legally enforceable confidentiality obligation or a professional ethics rule.
Supporting sources
No. Consultations with ethics advisory committees, outside counsel, or legal experts concerning compliance with the judicial conduct code are not subject to the ordinary restrictions on ex parte communications.
Supporting sources
…religion did not bar abortion.[^maj-12] 2. The Hippocratic Oath. What then of the famous Oath that has stood so long as the ethical guide of the medical profession and that bears the name of the great Greek (460(?)-377(?) B. C.), who has been described as the Father of Medicine, the "wisest and the greatest practitioner…