Lawyers in the United States are expected to act in an ethical manner and must follow very strict rules. The American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct serve as the foundation for lawyers. These rules lay out clear guidance about how attorneys should behave in their roles, including how to balance the duties they have to their clients, the courts, the public and the legal system overall.
These rules are divided into broad categories and are designed to protect the integrity of the legal system. When an attorney violates these rules in a way that leads to client harm, the client may make a claim regarding legal malpractice.
What are the core responsibilities a lawyer has?
Each section of the Model Rules discusses different factors that a lawyer must follow. For example:
- Model Rules 1.1 and 1.3 set standards related to a lawyer’s competence and diligence and how those apply to representation.
- Model Rule 1.6 discusses confidentiality requirements and outlines the few exceptions that are present.
- Model Rule 1.4 requires that lawyers keep clients informed of what’s going on with their case and that they respond to clients’ concerns promptly.
- Model Rule 3.3 covers the expectation of honesty in court by not misleading the court and not presenting false evidence.
- Model Rule 5.3 requires that lawyers have complete oversight of legal assistants, including paralegals.
Anyone who hasn’t been properly represented by their attorney can explore their option to file a claim for legal malpractice. These cases can be intricate because of all the factors that go into proving that the lawyer’s actions led to client harm. Those clients may opt to work with someone familiar with these cases.