Ethics Governance
Ethics & Governance - Resources and Articles |
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| Article - Abstract. To view full article click on the article title. | |
http://www.wsba.org/media/publications/barnews/2004/aug-04-fucile.htm Ethics and the Law: Why Conflicts Matter by Mark J. Fucile. EDITOR'S NOTE: Among the findings of our winter 2003 survey of WSBA members' views of Bar News were requests for more coverage of ethics issues. Mark Fucile had been thinking the same thing, and when he proposed a quarterly column on the subject, we gladly welcomed him into the Bar News family. Both the current Washington Rules of Professional Conduct and the proposed amended version are prefaced with views on their role in the practice of law. The current set notes that the RPCs "point the way to the aspiring and provide standards" to judge lawyers' conduct in a disciplinary sense. The proposed amendments now under consideration echo that intent: "The Rules simply provide a framework for the ethical practice of law." Without diminishing either that aspiration or their role as a disciplinary code, the professional rules — particularly those relating to conflicts — also increasingly form the substantive law of legal malpractice, lawyer breach of fiduciary duty, disqualification, fee forfeiture, and lawyer-related Consumer Protection Act claims. In short, conflicts matter today in a very practical way. In this inaugural edition of the quarterly Ethics page, we'll look at several Washington cases that underscore the practical importance of the conflict rules beyond the disciplinary setting. When "Ethics and the Law" returns in the fall, we'll then consider ways of managing conflicts to reduce risk. Full Article: http://www.wsba.org/media/publications/barnews/2004/aug-04-fucile.htm |
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2006 Ethics-Governance.com |
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