This week’s column is inspired by the soul-searching television program “What Would You Do,” which prods the sensitive nerves at the fissure between what we should do and what we actually will do in an uncomfortable situation. We shall look at a relatively simple factual pattern involving issues of legal ethics, and then consider how a lawyer should respond in that situation. Think then about how you would respond. Perhaps this little quiz will let you open a dialogue with yourself. No one is monitoring your thoughts or your behavior or sitting on your shoulder telling you what to do. There are only the rules, your conscience, and your personal fears and motivations.
One would think that Legal Ethics is a subject lawyers know cold, in view of its importance to us and the limited quantity of its substantive content. We studied Professional Responsibility in law school, we passed a test on it for bar admission and we reinforce our Ethics knowledge annually with CLE. Still, the truth is that few lawyers are comfortable issue-spotting or analyzing legal ethics questions, no matter how forthright they appear. We all seem to understand the, “Thou shalt not steal” part, but exactly what constitutes a taking or what promptness looks like in action is not always clear. Lawyers encounter complex ethics issues frequently, and we must respond in accordance with the Rules.
