Washington State Bar Association Creed of Professionalism
/Washington State Bar Association Creed of Professionalism-adopted by the WSBA Board of Governors July 2001
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Resources & Articles
The Robert’s Fund Civility Center for the Law maintains a resource bank of abstracts, essays, articles, and other media on civility from thoughtful leaders and eminent thinkers from across the country.
Abstracts of Relevant Washington Rules of Professional Conduct
/Abstracts of Relevant Washington Rules of Professional Conduct
Preamble and Scope
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Summary
[1] [Washington revision] A lawyer, as a member of the legal profession, is a representative of clients, an officer of the court and a public citizen having special responsibility for the quality of justice.
Rule 1.1 Competence
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Summary
A lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client. Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.
Rule 1.2 Scope of Representation & Allocation of Authority Between Client & Lawyer
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Be Nice: More States Are Treating Incivility as a Possible Ethics Violation
/G. M. Filisko, Be Nice: More States Are Treating Incivility as a Possible Ethics Violation, A.B.A J. (April 2012)
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Summary
Issues of incivility in the legal profession are becoming a greater concern given the heated general tone of public discourse. Incivility may be on the rise because of the increase in pleadings and discovery, the pressure lawyers are under to bill their hours, and the media portrayal of lawyers that give clients an idea of how their lawyer ought to behave and give the lawyer an idea of how he/she ought to behave.
Raise Your Right Hand And Swear To Be Civil: Defining Civility As An Obligation Of Professional Responsibility
/Donald E. Campbell, Raise Your Right Hand And Swear To Be Civil: Defining Civility As An Obligation Of Professional Responsibility, 47 Gonz. L. Rev. 99 (Dec. 2011)
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Summary
Professor Campbell distinguishes ethics, professionalism, and civility as follows: “Ethics addresses minimal obligations placed on lawyers under rules of professional conduct. Professionalism is identified as a lawyer’s obligations to society as a whole, apart from a lawyer’s obligations to her client. Civility is identified as those obligations that lawyers owe to other lawyers, their clients, and the court generally.” Ethical standards impose duties on lawyers that if not followed can lead to sanctions or disbarment, and professional standards provide guidelines to assist lawyers in serving the public good and the profession itself. Civility standards, on the other hand, are meant to provide guidelines on how lawyers ought to conduct themselves in relation to the parties involved, to “ensure that the image of the legal process is preserved and respected by the public, and to ensure that disputes are resolved in a timely, efficient, and cooperative manner.”