Professional responsibility is the area of legal practice that encompasses the duties of
attorneys to act in a professional manner, obey the law, avoid
conflicts of interest, and put the interests of clients ahead of their own interests.
Common violations include
Following the Watergate scandal, which involved questionable behavior by a number of lawyers, the American Bar Association ("ABA") mandated that all American law schools incorporate a required course on this topic. This is typically offered as an upper-level course, most often taken in the second year. Professional Responsibility courses include matters pertaining to basic legal ethics, as well as bar admissions, legal advertising, disbarment proceedings, ineffective assistance of counsel, and judicial misconduct.
Every state in the United States tests prospective attorneys on their knowledge of professional responsibility. 47 states and the District of Columbia require bar applicants to pass an exam called the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam ("MPRE"). The remaining three states test professional responsibility on their local bar examinations. Furthermore, the ABA promulgated the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct in 1983; when Maine adopts the Model Rules in August 2009, California will be the only remaining U.S. jurisdiction not to have adopted the Model Rules in whole or in part. Most states have only minor variations from the Model Rules, if any. Attorneys who violate professional responsibility rules may be subject to sanctions ranging from reprimands to temporary suspension to permanent disbarment.
