The ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct were adopted by the ABA House of Delegates in 1983. They serve as models for the ethics rules of most jurisdictions. Before the adoption of the Model Rules, the ABA model was the 1969 Model Code of Professional Responsibility.

Model Rules of Professional Conduct: Table of Contents with links to the rules

In August 2023, the ABA House of Delegates approved Resolution 100 that made explicit the longstanding implicit duty of lawyers under the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct to inquire and assess the facts and circumstances of a representation, particularly for new clients.

Client-Lawyer Relationship | (a) A lawyer shall: (1) promptly inform the client of any decision or circumstance with respect to which the client's informed consent, as defined in Rule 1.0(e), is required by these Rules; (2) reasonably consult with the client about the means by which the client's objectives are to be accomplished ...

Mar 15, 2023 · An essential resource on lawyer ethics - revised and updated: The Annotated Model Rules of Professional Conduct is the ABA's definitive single-volume resource for information about how courts, disciplinary bodies, and …

[1] A lawyer, as a member of the legal profession, is a representative of clients, an officer of the legal system and a public citizen having special responsibility for the quality of justice. [2] As a representative of clients, a lawyer performs various functions. As advisor, a lawyer provides a ...

(a) A lawyer shall not enter into a business transaction with a client or knowingly acquire an ownership, possessory, security or other pecuniary interest adverse to a client unless: (1) the transaction and terms on which the lawyer acquires the interest are fair and reasonable to the client and are ...

Advocate | (a) A lawyer who is participating or has participated in the investigation or litigation of a matter shall not make an extrajudicial statement that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know will be disseminated by means of public communication and will have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing an adjudicative proceeding in the matter.

On August 8, 2016 the ABA House of Delegates approved Standing Committee on Ethics reso lution 109 to amend Model Rule 8.4 to bring into the blackletter of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct an anti-harassment and antidiscrimination provision.

It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to: (a) violate or attempt to violate the Rules of Professional Conduct, knowingly assist or induce another to do so, or do so through the acts of another; (b) commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on …