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sunEthics |
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RESEARCHING ETHICS QUESTIONS
1. The Florida Rules of Professional Conduct (“RPC”) were adopted in 1987 to replace the old Code of Professional Responsibility. The Florida Bar re Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, 494 So.2d 977 (Fla. 1986), opinion corrected by The Florida Bar re Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, 507 So.2d 1366 (Fla. 1987). The RPC are found in Chapter 4 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, which are published in: sunEthics.com; the annual September directory issue of Florida Bar Journal; Florida Rules of Court (West Publishing Co.); Volume 35 of Florida Statutes Annotated; Professional Ethics of The Florida Bar (Florida Bar Publications Department); and the Florida Bar web site (under “Regulation”).
2. The Florida Rules Regulating Trust Accounts are found in
Chapter 5 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar. These rules set out the
minimum procedures required in connection with maintaining a trust account.
4. Ethics-related cases from other
jurisdictions, both state and federal, are found in several sources. One of the
easiest-to-use tools is Shepard's Professional Responsibility Citator,
which is organized by ABA Model Rule number (to convert a Florida rule number to
the ABA Model Rule number, just drop the "4-" from the Florida rule). Lexis and
Westlaw computer services are quick and easy, but relatively expensive, ways to
search for cases citing specific rules. In Westlaw, one of the easiest ways to
search ethics issues is to go to the Topical Materials and Areas of Practice and
select Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility, which will search not only
discipline cases, but also state rules of professional conduct and ethics
opinions. Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute Findlaw Professional Responsibility page Bill Frievogel’s Conflicts of Interest site David Hricik’s Ethics and Risk Management site National Organization of Bar Counsel 6. An excellent resource to check when beginning research on an unfamiliar ethics issue is the ABA/BNA Lawyers Manual on Professional Conduct. This multi-volume loose-leaf reference set contains commentary on ethics topics and discusses cases and ethics opinions from throughout the country. Also helpful is the ABA Annotated Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Both of these resources are published by the American Bar Association Center for Professional Responsibility (phone 312-988-5304). ABA members can call “EthicSearch” in Chicago at (312) 988-5323 for answers to ethics questions and research assistance. 7. Other useful legal ethics treatises include: Restatement on the Law Governing Lawyers (American Law Institute 2000); Hillman on Lawyer Mobility (R. Hillman, Aspen 1998); The Law of Lawyering (G. Hazard and W. Hodes, Aspen 2000); Legal Malpractice (R. Mallen and J. Smith, West 2000); Modern Legal Ethics (C. Wolfram, West 1986); and Professional Responsibility of the Criminal Lawyer (J.W. Hall, West 1996). 8. Law review articles are also a great source of information, especially on “hot topics” in legal ethics. Law review articles discuss specific issues in great depth and contain citations to many other authorities. Locate these articles by checking the Index to Legal Periodicals, Current Law Index, or LegalTrac. 9. Informal advisory opinions about a Florida Bar member's own future conduct are available through the Florida Bar Ethics Department. For an oral opinion, call the “Ethics Hotline” directly at 1-800-235-8619 (or call 1-850- 561-5780 and leave a message). For a written informal opinion, which typically is rendered in 3-5 weeks, write to the Florida Bar Ethics Department at 650 Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2300 or send an email message to eto@flabar.org. For more information about how to get an ethics opinions, click here. |
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