While chatting with my physician/brother-in-law a few years ago, I mentioned my nomination to the Attorney Ethics Committee. He quipped, “attorney ethics—now there’s an oxymoron for you.” My back stiffened, but then, as if to further prove that God is a trial lawyer, a retort came quickly to my tongue: “What about medical care?” The conversation ended with a chuckle. Afterward, however, I compared his Hippocratic oath, which is essentially limited to the practice of medicine, rarely overflowing into his private life, with the oath that lawyers take, buttressed and supplemented by the Rules of Professional Conduct, whose violation, even outside the practice, can result in certain pain.
In practice, lawyers have two codes of ethics. We have the ethical framework instilled in us by our upbringing and the lessons we have acquired over the years. Our religious beliefs, family culture, economic milieu and a host of other factors blend to form a system of morality and ethics that define who we are. Modern jargon calls this our moral compass. Our Rules of Professional Conduct superimpose upon this moral compass an additional layer that governs our professional actions and relationships, posing its weight upon the older structure below. The result is sometimes incongruous or troubling. I include below a few personal anecdotes which demonstrate the occasional discord between our ethical guides.
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