For good cause a lawyer may seek to avoid appointment by a tribunal to represent a person. There is no disciplinary penalty for a violation of this Rule. A lawyer ordinarily is not obliged to accept a client whose character or cause the lawyer regards as repugnant. The lawyer's freedom to select clients is, however, qualified.
All lawyers have a responsibility to assist in providing pro bono publico service.
An individual lawyer fulfills this responsibility by accepting a fair share of unpopular matters or indigent or unpopular clients. A lawyer may also be subject to appointment by a court to serve unpopular clients or persons unable to afford legal services. A lawyer may also seek to decline an appointment if acceptance would be unreasonably burdensome, for example, when it would impose a financial sacrifice so great as to be unjust. This Rule is not intended to be enforced through disciplinary process.