Pennsylvania Code › Title 204 - JUDICIAL SYSTEM GENERAL PROVISIONS › Part V - PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND CONDUCT › Subpart A - PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY › Chapter 81 - RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT › Subchapter A - RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT › Section 81.1 - Preamble: A Lawyer's Responsibilities

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(1) A lawyer, as a member of the legal
					 profession, is a representative of clients, an officer of the legal system and
					 a public citizen having a special responsibility for the quality of
					 justice.
(2) As a representative of
					 clients, a lawyer performs various functions. As advisor, a lawyer provides a
					 client with an informed understanding of the client's legal rights and
					 obligations and explains their practical implications. As advocate, a lawyer
					 zealously asserts the client's position under the rules of the adversary
					 system. As negotiator, a lawyer seeks a result advantageous to the client but
					 consistent with requirements of honest dealings with others. As an evaluator, a
					 lawyer acts by examining a client's legal affairs and reporting about them to
					 the client or to others.
(3) In
					 addition to these representational functions, a lawyer may serve as a
					 third-party neutral, a nonrepresentational role helping the parties to resolve
					 a dispute or other matter. Some of these Rules apply directly to lawyers who
					 are or have served as third-party neutrals. See, e.g., Rules
					 1.12 and
					 2.4. In addition, there are Rules
					 that apply to lawyers who are not active in the practice of law or to
					 practicing lawyers even when they are acting in a nonprofessional capacity. For
					 example, a lawyer who commits fraud in the conduct of a business is subject to
					 discipline for engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or
					 misrepresentation. See Rule 8.4.
(4) In all professional functions a lawyer
					 should be competent, prompt and diligent. A lawyer should maintain
					 communication with a client concerning the representation. A lawyer should keep
					 in confidence information relating to representation of a client except so far
					 as disclosure is required or permitted by the Rules of Professional Conduct or
					 other law.
(5) A lawyer's conduct
					 should conform to the requirements of the law, both in professional service to
					 clients and in the lawyer's business and personal affairs. A lawyer should use
					 the law's procedures only for legitimate purposes and not to harass or
					 intimidate others. A lawyer should demonstrate respect for the legal system and
					 for those who serve it, including judges, other lawyers and public officials.
					 While it is a lawyer's duty, when necessary, to challenge the rectitude of
					 official action, it is also a lawyer's duty to uphold legal process.
(6) As a public citizen, a lawyer should seek
					 improvement of the law, access to the legal system, the administration of
					 justice and the quality of service rendered by the legal profession. As a
					 member of a learned profession, a lawyer should cultivate knowledge of the law
					 beyond its use for clients, employ that knowledge in reform of the law and work
					 to strengthen legal education. In addition, a lawyer should further the
					 public's understanding of and confidence in the rule of law and the justice
					 system because legal institutions in a constitutional democracy depend on
					 popular participation and support to maintain their authority. A lawyer should
					 be mindful of deficiencies in the administration of justice and of the fact
					 that the poor, and sometimes persons who are not poor, cannot afford adequate
					 legal assistance. Therefore, all lawyers should devote professional time and
					 resources and use civic influence to ensure equal access to our system of
					 justice for all those who because of economic or social barriers cannot afford
					 or secure adequate legal counsel. A lawyer should aid the legal profession in
					 pursuing these objectives and should help the bar regulate itself in the public
					 interest.
(7) Many of a lawyer's
					 professional responsibilities are prescribed in the Rules of Professional
					 Conduct, as well as substantive and procedural law. However, a lawyer is also
					 guided by personal conscience and the approbation of professional peers. A
					 lawyer should strive to attain the highest level of skill, to improve the law
					 and the legal profession and to exemplify the legal profession's ideals of
					 public service.
(8) A lawyer's
					 responsibilities as a representative of clients, an officer of the legal system
					 and a public citizen are usually harmonious. Thus, when an opposing party is
					 well represented, a lawyer can be a zealous advocate on behalf of a client and
					 at the same time assume that justice is being done. So also, a lawyer can be
					 sure that preserving client confidences ordinarily serves the public interest
					 because people are more likely to seek legal advice, and thereby heed their
					 legal obligations, when they know their communications will be
					 private.
(9) In the nature of law
					 practice, however, conflicting responsibilities are encountered. Virtually all
					 difficult ethical problems arise from conflict between a lawyer's
					 responsibilities to clients, to the legal system and to the lawyer's own
					 interest in remaining an ethical person while earning a satisfactory living.
					 The Rules of Professional Conduct often prescribe terms for resolving such
					 conflicts. Within the framework of these Rules, however, many difficult issues
					 of professional discretion can arise. Such issues must be resolved through the
					 exercise of sensitive professional and moral judgment guided by the basic
					 principles underlying the Rules. These principles include the lawyer's
					 obligation zealously to protect and pursue a client's legitimate interests,
					 within the bounds of the law, while maintaining a professional, courteous and
					 civil attitude toward all persons involved in the legal system.
(10) The legal profession is largely
					 self-governing. Although other professions also have been granted powers of
					 self-government, the legal profession is unique in this respect because of the
					 close relationship between the profession and the processes of government and
					 law enforcement. This connection is manifested in the fact that ultimate
					 authority over the legal profession is vested largely in the courts.
(11) To the extent that lawyers meet the
					 obligations of their professional calling, the occasion for government
					 regulation is obviated. Self-regulation also helps maintain the legal
					 profession's independence from government domination. An independent legal
					 profession is an important force in preserving government under law, for abuse
					 of legal authority is more readily challenged by a profession whose members are
					 not dependent on government for the right to practice.
(12) The legal profession's relative autonomy
					 carries with it special responsibilities of self-government. The profession has
					 a responsibility to assure that its regulations are conceived in the public
					 interest and not in furtherance of parochial or self-interested concerns of the
					 bar. Every lawyer is responsible for observance of the Rules of Professional
					 Conduct. A lawyer should also aid in securing their observance by other
					 lawyers. Neglect of these responsibilities compromises the independence of the
					 profession and the public interest which it serves.
(13) Lawyers play a vital role in the
					 preservation of society. The fulfillment of this role requires an understanding
					 by lawyers of their relationship to our legal system. The Rules of Professional
					 Conduct, when properly applied, serve to define that relationship.