Professional responsibility involves a lawyer’s legal, moral, and ethical obligations to clients and the court. Conflict of interest and withdrawal of representation are common issues. The American Bar Association’s Professional Responsibility Code sets guidelines for conduct, and failure to meet these standards can result in legal malpractice.
Professional responsibility concerns the lawyer’s obligation to perform his duties adequately. This includes not only a professional and legal approach to the duties of a lawyer, but also to the moral aspect of the profession, which is not always specified by law. Professional responsibility is also largely related to “legal ethics”, a guideline of appropriate conduct that a lawyer is obligated to hold both towards his clients and towards the court.
A popular issue regarding professional liability is “conflict of interest”. This situation usually arises when a lawyer is closely related or intimately related to a person subject to judicial decisions. This creates a predetermined bias for or against the prospective client, which can influence an attorney’s decisions, actions, and judgment. Lawyers are advised, if not required, to reject the person as a client. The most that an attorney can do in this situation is to refer the person to another attorney or to provide general legal advice outside of court.
The “withdrawal of representation” is another problem in the field of professional liability. Under certain circumstances, an attorney must discontinue representing a client, either voluntarily or out of necessity. Many lawyers perform a voluntary withdrawal if they discover their client is the culprit, such as in cases of fraud, sexual assault, or even murder. Failure by the customer to pay the agreed fees may also result in withdrawal. If the lawyer is not physically, emotionally and mentally able to assume the responsibilities of her, the withdrawal is also enforced by the court.
In terms of judicial duties, a lawyer should also let the court know about instances of perjury or lying under oath. The misconduct of fellow attorneys, judges or other legal professionals should also be reported. Furthermore, as a professional, a lawyer cannot seek out clients directly, as this somehow removes the latter’s freedom of decision.
To further define the standards, the American Bar Association (ABA) created the “Professional Responsibility Code” in 1983, also known as the “Model Rules of Professional Conduct.” In addition to issues of conflict of interest and revocation of representation, the “Code” also sets guidelines on honesty with the judge and with clients, behavior towards co-professionals and confidentiality of information. If a lawyer does not meet the standards and does not act according to ethical rules, he can be accused of legal malpractice. A general criterion for legal malpractice is that an attorney’s actions, or lack thereof, cause harm to his client and to her case.
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