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6 Prof. Law. 1 (1994-1995)

handle is hein.journals/proflw6 and id is 1 raw text is: Professional Discipline of Law Firms- The Emperor Needs New Clothes Anthony E. Davis The Disciplinary Rules should set forth and enforce standards for law firm conduct which will minimize the chances that lawyers practicing in firms will violate the Disciplinary Rules. More emphasis on law firm (as distinct from individual lawyer) responsibility in the Disciplinary Rules should also help firms avoid exposure to legal liability for conduct which could have been avoided. Both specific standards of conduct for law firms and procedures for disciplining law firms, therefore, should be integrated into the Disciplinary Rules and the statutes providing for the enforcement of those rules. This quotation, perhaps surpris- ingly, is taken from the opening paragraphs of the report of a bar association committee (of which this author is a member) calling for the adoption of spe- cific additions to the ethics codes to effect the changes described in this introductory material.1 Probably the only statement on this subject with which every reader of this article will agree is that it is an emotive one. There is a significant segment of the bar that is resistant to all changes in the states' ethics codes prtnr wt the on the grounds that there are Yk enough minefields encountered by lawyers in their everyday practice - malpractice cases, federal and state court sanc- tions rules, regulatory agency enforcers - without the expansion of the scope for professional disci- pline. And many of those whose ox may be gored by the changes advocated here are likely to add powerful voices on that side of the debate. Nevertheless, there are cogent arguments that the time has come for the adoption of changes to the ethics codes to enlarge their application in order to provide for the discipline of law firms as well ificant segment as individual lawyers. At the at is resistant least, these arguments compel s in the states' serious consideration of the sub- codes. ject. By its compass, this article cannot be discursive; instead, its purpose will be to outline the scope of the changes to the ethics codes needed to establish a meaningful system for f disciplining firms, and the principal arguments h favoring the adoption of these changes. The most fundamental issue which must be addressed at the outset of any debate on the expan- sion of the ethics codes is the role which they are intended to serve. There are two extreme positions which may be asserted. On the one hand is the argu- ment that, like any legislation whose fundamental s purpose is penal (or analogous in its enforcement to e penal legislation), the codes should be specific in * every instance where they seek to establish a basis | for discipline. On the other hand, the argument is Continued on page 4 November 19S4 Volume 6 IwsuMember 1 There isasignificantsegment ofthe barthat isresistant toall changes inthestates' ethics codes.