The Ethical Pocket Guide Every Lawyer Needs

• Author: Josephine M. Bahn
• Pages: 30-30

BOOK REVIEW

awyers face potentia l ethical exposure with de cisions

that are not properly considered. H aving a comprehen-

sive guide to consult in d ifcult decisions in litigat ion

is helpful for mainta ining an ethical law prac-

tice.Fair Figh t: Legal Ethics for Litigato rs(ABA

2017), written by Lawrence J. Fox a nd Susan R. Martyn, pro -

vides lawyers wit h this resource. This book showcas es what

ethical advocac y looks like at both very high and det ailed

levels, including mat ters outside of the courtroom, pleadi ngs,

motion practice, se ttlements, and appeals.

Fair Fight provides a thoughtful bal ancing act that details

how to maintain a leg al practice, ethically, contain ing over

500 pages supplemented wit h charts and extensive notations

for readers to apply to their own ind ividual case scenarios.

The content is heavily foot noted with citations that provide

opportuniti es for readers to engage with legal authority and

secondary sou rces. Breaking down the content into bite -size

sections, t he book features situations where lawyers en gage

with clients or other wise exercise agency in the attor ney-cli-

ent relationship to showcase the appli cable ethical rules in an

easy-to-dig est format.

The book is also popu lated with “Question & Answer”

segments, wh ich highlig ht practical applicat ions of the

attorney-client com munication. Each of these sect ions pro-

vides insight into how at torneys should approach a typi cal

client concern eth ically. Fox and Mart yn use the Q&A s to

present all the lega l and ethical information thei r readers

need in a way that can be appl ied to real client interac tions.

Included in the tex t is each jurisdiction’s Rules of

Professional Conduct , applicable agency and ma lpractice

implications, some not es on fee-shi fting provisions , and a

sprinkli ng of the Rules of Civil P rocedure. Fox and Mar tyn

make this referenc e guide a mains tay for lawyers’ shelves

by creating a book th at helps readers zero in on the releva nt

ethical cons iderations for the everyday pract ice of law.

The book ows logica lly, walking readers t hrough each

ethical ru le and application one at a time. It starts w ith a

discussion of lega l ethics at the 25,000- foot level, describ -

ing what ethica l advocacy looks li ke through many of th e

stages of litigation. T he book outlines the potential pitf alls

for lawyers who believe the y have the power to take on the

toughest advocacy ca ses or “lost causes” without considering

the implications of Fede ral Rule of Civil Procedure 11 or the

ABA Model Rule of Profes sional Conduct 3.1. The commen-

tary sets up a n easy-to-read ow throughout the book.

The book also provides r eaders with an in-depth look

at who their clients rea lly are—depending on t he situation.

Startin g with a look at the dif ferences betwe en actual,

The Ethical Pocket Guide Every

Lawyer Needs

Fair Fight: L egal Ethics for Litigators is avai lable at http://bit.ly/ LN463-fair-g ht.

implied, and pro-

spective cl ients, it

then walks readers

through di fferent

client-lawyer rela-

tionship s, including

explaining the enti-

ties themselves—be it

a pro bono, govern-

ment, joint, or ent ity

client—and how to

interact with them.

The book also di s-

cusses representative

matters—fee str uc-

ture, communica-

tion, condentiality,

work product, and

conict of inte rests

involved when work-

ing with clients .

After laying t he groundwork for working with clients,

Fox and Marty n then outline the limits with in the law—

when to withdraw, the supervi sing of lawyers, cou rt orders,

fraud, and bias— to create a road map that lawyers can eas-

ily follow when they’re in thei r individual represe ntative

capacities.

Next, the authors cover e thical pract ices to abide by

when representing cl ients in pretria l matters and dur ing

trials. For exa mple, the book disc usses the ethics relating

to investigating i ndividual cases , contacting nonclients, dis-

covery concerns, ex pert considerations, and negotiations.

Particula r emphasis is made in the settlement sec tion on

how to best communic ate with opposing cou nsel and an

individual client re garding materia l facts. Fox and Martyn

also explain t he candor required b efore a tribunal, i mpar-

tiality related to e x parte commun ications and publicity,

and how to effectively yet et hically advocate for a client

during the appeal s process.

In short, Fox and Ma rtyn’s expertise in legal et hics led

to the creation of a much-neede d resource: A comprehensive

resource for lawyers who h ave large or small et hics ques-

tions that come up in the d ay-to-day practic e of law. This

guidebook should rema in a mainstay on any lawyer’s desk

as they navigate the prac tice of law, ethically. For lawyers on

the lookout for a desk guide to quick ly comb through sticky

ethical rules, Fair Fight should be at the top of the pile.

By Josephine M . Bahn, Litigatio n News Associate Editor

30 | SECTION OF LITIGATIO N

Published in Litigation News Volume 46, Number 3, Spring 20 21. © 2021 by the American Bar A ssociation. Repr oduced with permissi on. All rights reser ved. This informati on or any portion the reof may not be copie d or disseminated in any

form or by any means or sto red in an electronic da tabase or retrieval sy stem without the ex press writt en consent of the Amer ican Bar Associatio n.