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 › MAINTAINING THE INTEGRITY OF THE PROFESSION › Rule 8.4 - Misconduct

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to:
(a) violate or attempt to violate the Rules
						of Professional Conduct, knowingly assist or induce another to do so, or do so
						through the acts of another;
(b)
						commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer's honesty,
						trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in other respects;
(c) engage in conduct involving dishonesty,
						fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, except that a lawyer may advise, direct, or
						supervise others, including clients, law enforcement officers, and
						investigators, who participate in lawful investigative activities;
(d) engage in conduct that is prejudicial to
						the administration of justice;
(e)
						state or imply an ability to influence improperly a government agency or
						official or to achieve results by means that violate the Rules of Professional
						Conduct or other law;
(f) knowingly
						assist a judge or judicial officer in conduct that is a violation of applicable
						rules of judicial conduct or other law; or
(g) in the practice of law, knowingly engage
						in conduct constituting harassment or discrimination based upon race, sex,
						gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, ethnicity,
						disability, age, sexual orientation, marital status, or socioeconomic status.
						This paragraph does not limit the ability of a lawyer to accept, decline or
						withdraw from a representation in accordance with
						1.16. This paragraph does not
						preclude advice or advocacy consistent with these Rules.
Comment:
(1) Lawyers are subject to discipline when
						they violate or attempt to violate the Rules of Professional Conduct, knowingly
						assist or induce another to do so or do so through the acts of another, as when
						they request or instruct an agent to do so on the lawyer's behalf. Paragraph
						(a), however, does not prohibit a lawyer from advising a client of action the
						client is lawfully entitled to take.
(2) Many kinds of illegal conduct reflect
						adversely on fitness to practice law, such as offenses involving fraud and the
						offense of willful failure to file an income tax return. However, some kinds of
						offenses carry no such implication. Traditionally, the distinction was drawn in
						terms of offenses involving "moral turpitude." That concept can be construed to
						include offenses concerning some matters of personal morality, such as adultery
						and comparable offenses, that have no specific connection to fitness for the
						practice of law. Although a lawyer is personally answerable to the entire
						criminal law, a lawyer should be professionally answerable only for offenses
						that indicate lack of those characteristics relevant to law practice. Offenses
						involving violence, dishonesty, breach of trust, or serious interference with
						the administration of justice are in that category. A pattern of repeated
						offenses, even ones of minor significance when considered separately, can
						indicate indifference to legal obligation.
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (g),
						conduct in the practice of law includes:
(i)
						interacting with witnesses, coworkers, court personnel, lawyers, or others,
						while appearing in proceedings before a tribunal or in connection with the
						representation of a client;
(ii)
						operating or managing a law firm or law practice; or
(iii) participation in judicial boards,
						conferences, or committees; continuing legal education seminars; bench bar
						conferences; and bar association activities where legal education credits are
						offered. The term "the practice of law" does not include speeches,
						communications, debates, presentations, or publications given or published
						outside the contexts described in (i)-(iii).