The Ethics of Client Representation for State Attorneys General

All lawyers must adhere to their state’s Rules of Professional Conduct, e.g. “the Model Rules.”  Failure to comply can result in severe sanctions including a revocation of a lawyer’s license. 

Obeying these rules is therefore a requirement for the continued employment of a lawyer by a government legal agency including offices of attorney general.   Government lawyers are also bound by state ethics laws and regulations that are generated by their own state law and governmental agencies.  

The Model Rules have been created by the American Bar Association and are focused on the private practice of law. They have been carefully drafted and are replete with numerous advisory rulings and official opinions from various ABA  and state bar committees.  A lawyer who follows the Rules is generally referred to as “ethical.”

Because the Model Rules are designed for the private practice of law they are often not consistent with the requirements of government lawyering.  This Chapter examines the difficulty of aligning the Model Rules with the day-to-day responsibilities of attorneys general and their staff.  This is done by a series of thought provoking articles, specific examples and the use of hypotheticals drawn from real life situations that occur with some frequency that are hidden from the public's view because of attorney client confidentiality.