[1] A lawyer must pursue a matter on behalf of a client despite the lawyer`s personal opposition, obstruction or inconvenience and take all necessary legal and ethical steps to justify a client`s cause or aspiration. A lawyer must also act with commitment and dedication to the interests of the client and with zeal in defending the client. However, a lawyer is not obliged to lobby for all the benefits that could be realized for a client. For example, a lawyer may be empowered to exercise professional discretion to determine the means by which a case should be pursued. See Rule 1.2. The lawyer`s duty to act with due diligence does not require the use of offensive tactics and does not preclude treating all persons involved in the judicial process with courtesy and respect. Not everyone convicted of a crime is guilty, and not everyone who receives an acquittal or rejection of the charge is innocent. Sometimes an accused who knows or suspects that he is guilty fears that his lawyer will no longer represent him or her effectively if he believes him guilty. This can prevent them from being honest with their lawyer, which hampers the lawyer`s efforts to provide strategic defense. However, a lawyer has a duty to diligently represent every client, whether he or she believes the client is guilty or innocent.
This obligation is reflected in the ABA rules of professional liability, which have been adopted or imitated by the bar associations of most states. Through diligent representation, a lawyer ensures that the power to decide an accused`s guilt or innocence stays where it belongs: with the judge or jury. [3] Perhaps no professional deficiency is more dismissed than procrastination. A client`s interests can often be affected by the passage of time or changes in terms; In extreme cases, for example when a lawyer neglects a limitation period, the client`s legal position may be destroyed. Even if the client`s interests are not substantially affected, undue delay can cause unnecessary anxiety to the client and undermine confidence in the lawyer`s trustworthiness. However, a lawyer`s obligation to act with reasonable promptness does not preclude the lawyer from accepting an appropriate request for deferral that is not prejudicial to the lawyer`s client. 2. „As a lawyer, a lawyer eagerly asserts the client`s position“ Preamble cmt. (2). „If a counterparty is well represented, a lawyer may be a zealous advocate on behalf of a client and at the same time assume that justice will be done.“ Preamble cmt. (8). For example, some general partners have experience in complex corporate securities transactions and are preferred by companies that want to make ends meet without having to pay big city bills.
However, in most cases, a large company will look for a large law firm that has the resources to handle monstrous disputes. An individual practitioner who has no experience in a case that requires the review of millions of documents, and who has never led a large team of lawyers, should probably refer such a case to an experienced law firm. Whatever the problem in the bar, overzealous representation carries dangers common to all aspects of the law – a lawyer who cannot strike a balance between what is achievable and what could be detrimental to others will needlessly gain enemies with his fees. It certainly seems that we can no longer be punished for not providing zealous representation. Does this mean that lawyers no longer have a duty of zealous representation? I don`t think so. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are external online distributors of ALM`s extensive collection of current and archived versions of legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law clients may access and use ALM content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, New York Law Journal and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information. The broader question raised by this article is whether the words „zeal“ and „zeal“ have become so synonymous with „scorched earth“ tactics that they should no longer be used to describe or defend unprofessional or potentially unethical behavior. (3) The preparation and study required by the lawyer to perform the taskThe amount of preparation and study required to perform a task should be appropriate. A lawyer is required to carry out the necessary legal research and must also investigate all facts relevant to a case. See model rule 1.1.
Some lawyers are more ambitious than others, as in any profession, but they should never let their ambitions make the most of it – take the following example: Proper preparation: Requires a lawyer to conduct a reasonable amount of legal research on issues based on the facts of a case. Also requires a lawyer to investigate all factual issues relevant to the case. This can mean finding and interviewing many witnesses as well as reviewing countless documents. Loyalty is a central theme of legal ethics. It is a constant source of controversy because of its sometimes subtle but potentially fatal effects on the outcome of legal representation. Lawyers also have a strict ethical responsibility to be diligent in defending their clients. Due representation does not mean that a lawyer should strive at all costs to „win“ a case if it means unnecessarily harming third parties and opponents in the process. This means doing everything reasonable to help a client achieve the goals set at the beginning of the performance. The ABA`s Model Rules of Professional Conduct takes a decidedly different view.
There are no rules that require zealous representation. Instead, the emphasis is on competent and conscientious representation. The term „zeal“ appears in the Preamble, both in relation to disputes2 and in the Note to Model Rule 1.3. The rule itself requires a lawyer to act with reasonable care and speed when representing a client. Commentary (1) states that „(a) the lawyer must also act with commitment and dedication to the interests of the client and with zeal in representing the client`s interests“. At the same time, this proposal is watered down by the following sentence: „However, a lawyer is not obliged to push for all the benefits that could be realized for a client.“ (2) Experience and training of the lawyerSometimes the knowledge required is that of a general practitioner. General practitioners often deal with „people`s law“ – they work on property closures, divorces, inheritance law and can deal with small business issues. There are no hard and fast rules about what types of legal issues lie outside of a GP`s experience. A lawyer does not need to identify themselves or even agree with a client`s goals to be a zealous lawyer.
The lawyer-client relationship is an agency in which two different and independent people have a common interest. Just as an agent is not required to do everything a client needs, the role of the agent does not conflict with the role of the consultant. Too much identification with the client can lead the lawyer to be a fanatic instead of enthusiastic. In fact, the professional ideal is a lawyer who fundamentally disagrees with the client, but who can still offer independent advice and pursue the client`s goals with zeal, care, and a certain level of passion for the cause. At the other end of the spectrum is the lawyer who rejects the client`s goals, whose personal dislike for the client or the client`s goals leads the lawyer to act half-heartedly. In recent years, we have focused on professionalism and courtesy, fairness and fairness. We tend to characterize professionalism as the opposite of zealous representation.