On Being a Zealous Advocate
We suggest that lawyers make certain that they understand the actual limits on advocacy inherent in our professional regulatory scheme and avoid stepping beyond accepted standards.
January 24, 2022 at 11:00 AM
9 minute read
Legal Ethics and Attorney DisciplineIt is frequently said that a lawyer must be a zealous advocate. The genesis of the statement can be traced back to Lord Brougham who defended Queen Caroline against charges of treason in proceedings in the House of Lords in 1820. Lord Brougham, discovered that while he was Prince of Wales, King George had secretly married one of his mistresses, a Roman Catholic, which "intermarriage" could mean forfeiture of the Crown. Many urged Brougham to be a "good citizen" and promote the kingdom's welfare by not presenting the evidence which gave Queen Caroline her defense. Brougham's response was: "[A]n advocate, in the discharge of his duty, knows but one person in all the world, and that person is his client. To save that client by all means and expedients, and at all hazards and costs to other persons … is his first and only duty; and in performing this duty he must not regard the alarm, the torments, the destruction which he may bring upon others." Freedman, Henry Lord Brougham and Zeal, 34 Hofstra L. Rev. 1319 (citing to 2 Trial of Queen Caroline 3 (1821)).
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