Encyclopedia > American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct
ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, created by the American Bar Association (ABA), is a set of professional standards to guarantee the minimum legal ethics and professional responsibility of lawyers in the United States. As of 2007, 47 of the 50 US states have ethical rules which follow the format of the Model Rules-- New York uses the old Model Code, while California and Maine have developed their own set of rules.[1] American Bar Associations Washington, DC office 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. ... American Bar Association Model Code of Professional Responsibility, created by the American Bar Association (ABA) in 1969, is a set of professional standards to guarantee the minimum legal ethics and professional responsibility of lawyers in the United States. ...
American Bar Association Model Code of Professional Responsibility, created by the American Bar Association (ABA) in 1969, is a set of professional standards to guarantee the minimum legal ethics and professional responsibility of lawyers in the United States. ...
The Commission is required to study the rules in their entirety, taking into consideration the Final Report and Recommendations of the AmericanBarAssociation's Ethics 2000 Commission and the American Law Institute's Restatement of the Law 3d, The Law Governing Lawyers, as well as other authorities relevant to the development of professional responsibility standards.
Professionalconductrules for California lawyers may be found in the Business and Professions Code (e.g., The State Bar Act), the Code of Civil Procedure, Evidence Code, Family Code, Labor Code, and Probate Code.
Missing from the California rules is an officially sanctioned effort to explain the marked differences between the ABA ModelRules and the California Rules of ProfessionalConduct.
The Rules presuppose that disciplinary assessment of a lawyer's conduct will be made on the basis of the facts and circumstances as they existed at the time of the conduct in question and in recognition of the fact that a lawyer often has to act upon uncertain or incomplete evidence of the situation.
Moreover, the Rules presuppose that whether or not discipline should be imposed for a violation, and the severity of a sanction, depend on all the circumstances, such as the willfulness and seriousness of the violation, extenuating factors and whether there have been previous violations.
In exercising the discretion conferred by this Rule, the lawyer may consider such factors as the nature of the lawyer's relationship with the client and with those who might be injured by the client, the lawyer's own involvement in the transaction and factors that may extenuate the conduct in question.