NJ Rules of Professional Conduct
Rules of Professional Conduct
An NJ attorney acts as a member of the legal profession, with the unique responsibility of preserving justice. But he is also a representative of his clients. There are rules of professional conduct to help define the lawyer’s actions in each of these roles. He will have one role when it comes to representing clients and another role as a legal practitioner. The lawyer acting as a public citizen will constantly seek to improve the law and administer justice as well as uphold the quality of service required by the legal profession. To help define the attorney’s legal responsibilities and determine a consistent code of legal ethics, the Rules of Professional Conduct were developed.
Rules of Reason
When taking a look at the Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) for lawyers, terminology is important. Some of the rules are certain and leave no room for doubt or confusion by using terms such as “shall” and “shall not.” These are specific and help define proper conduct that should be exhibited by those in a professional discipline. When lawyers operate outside of these guidelines,disciplinary procedures can occur. There are other sections of the RPC which use the term, “may” which help to define areas where the lawyer still retains discretion and should use his own professional judgment. In these cases, no disciplinary action can be taken should the lawyer choose to act or not to act within the bounds of the discretion. The RPC are partly disciplinary, and partly obligatory; and they are somewhat descriptive in that they help to define the professional role of the NJ attorney. The RPC also contain some comments which make use of the term, “should.” These are not obligatory but help to provide guidance when it comes to practicing in full compliance with the RPC.
Violating the RPC
What happens when a lawyer violates one of the Rules of Professional Conduct? The violation alone does not indicate that there has been a breach of one’s legal duty and does not automatically mean that there will be any action taken against the lawyer, including non-disciplinary actions such as the removal from a case. The rules are designed to act as a guiding force for lawyers and to provide disciplinary agencies scaffolding for regulating conduct. They are in no way designed to be used as a basis for civil liability. The rules can be undermined when they are used only as procedural weapons. The RPC are a tool which lawyers can use for self-assessment; but they may also be used to sanction a lawyer through a disciplinary authority. The Rules of Professional Conduct stand as a standard of conduct for attorneys and when one of the rules is violated, it demonstrates a breach in this standard.
Voluntary Compliance
As with laws in open societies, compliance depends first on understanding the rules and voluntarily obeying them; and secondly on reinforcement by public and peer opinion. Additionally, the rules are enforced through disciplinary proceedings but only when absolutely necessary. Of course the rules are not the totality of the ethical and moral considerations that lawyers should adhere to. The Rules of Professional Conduct provide the framework for the ethical practice of the law. It is also important to note that in attempting to determine the scope of an attorney’s responsibility and authority it is necessary to define a client-lawyer relationship. The duties of a lawyer can only be in effect once the client requests the lawyer’s legal services and the attorney has agreed to do so.
Rules of Reason
When taking a look at the Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) for lawyers, terminology is important. Some of the rules are certain and leave no room for doubt or confusion by using terms such as “shall” and “shall not.” These are specific and help define proper conduct that should be exhibited by those in a professional discipline. When lawyers operate outside of these guidelines,disciplinary procedures can occur. There are other sections of the RPC which use the term, “may” which help to define areas where the lawyer still retains discretion and should use his own professional judgment. In these cases, no disciplinary action can be taken should the lawyer choose to act or not to act within the bounds of the discretion. The RPC are partly disciplinary, and partly obligatory; and they are somewhat descriptive in that they help to define the professional role of the NJ attorney. The RPC also contain some comments which make use of the term, “should.” These are not obligatory but help to provide guidance when it comes to practicing in full compliance with the RPC.
Violating the RPC
What happens when a lawyer violates one of the Rules of Professional Conduct? The violation alone does not indicate that there has been a breach of one’s legal duty and does not automatically mean that there will be any action taken against the lawyer, including non-disciplinary actions such as the removal from a case. The rules are designed to act as a guiding force for lawyers and to provide disciplinary agencies scaffolding for regulating conduct. They are in no way designed to be used as a basis for civil liability. The rules can be undermined when they are used only as procedural weapons. The RPC are a tool which lawyers can use for self-assessment; but they may also be used to sanction a lawyer through a disciplinary authority. The Rules of Professional Conduct stand as a standard of conduct for attorneys and when one of the rules is violated, it demonstrates a breach in this standard.
Voluntary Compliance
As with laws in open societies, compliance depends first on understanding the rules and voluntarily obeying them; and secondly on reinforcement by public and peer opinion. Additionally, the rules are enforced through disciplinary proceedings but only when absolutely necessary. Of course the rules are not the totality of the ethical and moral considerations that lawyers should adhere to. The Rules of Professional Conduct provide the framework for the ethical practice of the law. It is also important to note that in attempting to determine the scope of an attorney’s responsibility and authority it is necessary to define a client-lawyer relationship. The duties of a lawyer can only be in effect once the client requests the lawyer’s legal services and the attorney has agreed to do so.