A Video Explaining What Happens When a Lawyer Acts Unethically Unlisted Video

The Lawyer Who Violates the Rules of Professional Conduct Must Be DisciplinedShow more

When a lawyer violates the Rules of Professional Conduct, he or she can be disciplined by the local bar association and/or the state’s supreme court. Each state has its own disciplinary system managed by a group of investigators, lawyers and administrative law judges.

A lawyer who settled a case without client a
uthorization, charged interest on money that he loaned to a client, converted client funds, failed to cooperate with state in an investigation, and provided false statements to the state is misconduct that amounts to a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct in Louisiana. [Louisiana State Bar Ass'n v. Reis, 513 So. 2d 1173 (La. 1987)." In re Bell (La., 2019)]

In Georgia multiple, previous disciplinary cases addressing violations of various Rules of Professional Conduct have resulted in a reprimand. [In the Matter of Jordan, 305 Ga. 35 (823 SE2d 257) (2019); In the Matter of Smart, 303 Ga. 156 (810 SE2d 475) (2018).]

The violation of Rules of Professional Conduct is limited to the state Bar or the state Supreme Court. In Indiana, for example, there is no independent civil cause of action for a violation of the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct, a breach of fiduciary duty claim against a lawyer is not viable. [Liggett v. Young, 877 N.E.2d 178, 183 (Ind. 2007)]

In Ohio, evidence established that a lawyer chose to ignore, rationalize, or act ignorant of the unambiguous limitations placed on him as a suspended attorney and because he has proven, time and time again that he cannot act as an ethical attorney, he must be permanently disbarred to protect the public. [Disciplinary Counsel v. Dougherty, 2019 OHIO 4418 (Ohio, 2019)]