Duties and Bounds of a Lawyer's Representation Flashcards
Duty as Advisor
A lawyer must exercise independent professional judgment and render candid advice
Scope of Representation: Who Makes Which Decisions
A lawyer must abide by the client’s decisions concerning the objectives of the representation and must consult with the client as to the means of pursuing those objectives
Client: decisions relating to merits of the case
Lawyer: decisions relating to strategy
Bounds of the Law
A lawyer must not counsel or assist client in conduct that the lawyer knows is illegal or fraudulent, must withdraw if he has knowledge of unlawful conduct
Conduct of Litigation
Lawyer must not make frivolous claims or defenses
Candor Towards the Tribunal
A lawyer must not knowingly:
1) make a false statement of fact or law to a tribunal
2) fail to correct a false statement of material fact or law previously made to the tribunal by the lawyer
3) fail to disclose to the tribunal legal authority and the controlling jurisdiction known to the lawyer to be directly adverse to the position of the client and not disclosed by opposing counsel
4) offer false evidence
If Client Seeks to Offer False Evidence
Lawyer must try to convince the client not to offer false evidence. If client refuses, lawyer must seek permission to withdraw. As a last resort, the lawyer must disclose enough information to the tribunal to set the matter straight, even if that means disclosing confidential information
If Criminal Defendant Seeks to Testify Falsely
He must allow the client to testify if he reasonably believes, but does not know, that the testimony is false
If he knows testimony is false, he must try to convince client not to testify falsely, If he refuses, the lawyer may ask the court’s permission to withdraw. As a last resort, the lawyer must refuse to offer the false evidence.
Fairness to Opposing Party and Counsel
A lawyer must not:
1) unlawfully obstruct another party’s access to evidence or unlawfully alter, destroy, or conceal evidence
2) knowingly disobey an obligation except for an open refusal based on a good faith assertion that no valid obligation exists
3) falsify evidence
4) make frivolous discovery requests or fail to make reasonably diligent efforts to comply with proper discovery requests
5) allude to any matter that the lawyer does not reasonably believe to be relevant or will not be supported by admissible evidence
6) advise or cause a person to hide or to leave the jurisdiction for the purpose of becoming unavailable as a witness
Improper Contact with Jury
A lawyer must not:
1) seek to influence the judge, jerk, or other official by means prohibited by law
2) lend anything of value or give anything of more than de minimus value to a judge, officer, or employee of the tribunal
3) communicate ex parte with the judge or official as to the merits of the case
4) comunicate ex parte as to any topic with a juror
5) communicate with a juror after discharge of a jury the juror has made known a desire not to communicate, if the communication involves misrepresentation, coercion, duress, or harassment,
6) engage in conduct intended to disrupt tribunal
7) engage in undignified or discourteous conduct that is degrading to tribunal
Trial Publicity
A lawyer who is participating in a matter must not make an extrajudicial statement that she knows or reasonably should know will be disseminated by means of public communication and will have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing an adjudicative proceeding
