The scope of legal ethics: Overview
Compiled by Eric B. Appleby (2006):
The careful lawyer knows that questions of ethics are present in nearly every aspect of the practice of law.
It is difficult to practice in any area of the law and avoid questions of legal ethics. For example, conflict of interest questions may arise in any work that a lawyer does for a client.
Questions of legal ethics are pervasive in the practice of law because of the diverse and often conflicting duties of a lawyer. Some of these duties include: a duty to the client, a duty to the public, a duty to the courts, a duty to third parties, a duty to the law society, etc. And all these duties may exist and conflict at the same time. And they may arise during any work by a lawyer. For example, should a lawyer act for both sides in the purchase and sale of real estate? Should a lawyer act for both the mortgagor and the mortgagee when a client applies for a mortgage loan? Should a criminal defense lawyer cross-examine a prosecution witness, who the lawyer knows to be accurate and truthful, in order to make the witness appear to be mistaken or lying? Should a lawyer give a client, charged with an offense, advice about the law, when the lawyer knows that the advice may induce the client to commit perjury? Should a lawyer act for a client against the client’s spouse, where the lawyer’s current partner was previously a member of a firm that acted for the spouse? Should a lawyer advise a client, who is under investigation by the police, to make no statement to the police under any circumstances? The following information (corresponding with several entries in this legal Encyclopedia) consider the various duties owed by lawyers and how the courts have resolved ethical questions and conflicts that arise between the duties owed by lawyers.
- The lawyer’s duty to the public or to the state
- The lawyer’s duty to the courts
- The lawyer’s duty to the client
- The lawyer’s duty to fellow lawyers
- Duty to third parties
Law is our Passion
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This entry was last updated: February 13, 2017