Finally, Ethics Rules Head to High Court

• Jurisdiction: California,United States
• Citation: Vol. 10 No. 2010 Pg. 06
• Publication year: 2010
• Pages: 06

California Bar Journal 2010.

CBJ - October 2010 #06. Finally, ethics rules head to high court

The California Lawyer
October 2010

Finally, ethics rules head to high court

After nine years of debate, the State Bar adopted 67 proposed ethics rules to govern California lawyers' professional conduct. The rules require Supreme Court approval before taking effect, and although the court is free to reject or return any of the proposals for further work, they offer a behavioral roadmap for attorneys and provide clear guidance in particular areas that have been confusing or controversial, and result in discipline for those who ignore them.

Although a rules revision commission was appointed to bring California's rules in line with the ABA Model Rules, the state - in fact the only state whose rules are not patterned after the Model Rules - will continue to differ in 12 key areas, four involving fees. The rules were last revised in 1987, and since beginning its work, the commission has held seven public hearings, sought public response to its recommendations six times and received 530 written comments. Even as the final deadline loomed last month, the group sent out seven final rules for one last...