A lawyer appearing before such a body should deal with the tribunal honestly and in conformity with applicable rules of procedure. The requirements of this Rule therefore may subject lawyers to regulations inapplicable to advocates who are not lawyers. In the course of representing a client, a lawyer shall not knowingly make a false statement of material fact or law to a third person. A lawyer is required to be truthful when dealing with others on a client's behalf, but generally has no affirmative duty to inform an opposing party of relevant facts or law. A misrepresentation can occur if the lawyer incorporates or affirms a statement of another person that the lawyer knows is false.
Misrepresentations can also occur by failure to act.
Whether a particular statement should be regarded as one of fact can depend on the circumstances. Under generally accepted conventions in negotiation, certain types of statements ordinarily are not taken as statements of material fact. Estimates of price or value placed on the subject of a transaction and a party's intentions as to an acceptable settlement of a claim are in this category, and so is the existence of an undisclosed principal except where nondisclosure of the principal would constitute fraud. To avoid assisting the client with the crime or fraud, of course, the lawyer must advise the client to refrain from or to rectify the consequences of the criminal or fraudulent act and, if the client refuses or is unable to do so, the lawyer must withdraw from the representation of the client in the matter. Although the lawyer is not permitted to reveal the client's intended or ongoing fraud, the lawyer is required to communicate the fact that he or she has withdrawn from the representation of the client to any person who the lawyer reasonably believes knows of the lawyer's involvement in the matter and whose financial or property interests are likely to be damaged by the client's intended or ongoing misconduct.