Inherent Powers of Courts to Regulate Lawyers

Question 1

State Courts

Answer 1

State courts regulate all aspects of the practice of law within their jurisdiction, each state with its own bar association and rules of professional conduct.

Question 2

Federal Courts

Answer 2

Each federal court has its own bar and a lawyer must be admitted to the bar of a federal court in order to practice before it.

Question 3

Which court generally oversees the promulgation of legal ethics rules and also supervises the discipline of lawyers in the state?

Answer 3

The highest court in a state.

Question 4

True or false: ABA has direct regulatory authority over lawyers and authority to discipline.

Answer 4

False. Most states base their rules of professional conduct on the ABA Model Rules, but the ABA, a voluntary association of lawyers, has no direct regulatory authority over lawyers and no authority to discipline.

Question 5

True or false: Membership in a state bar association is voluntary in some states and mandatory in others.

Answer 5

True.