American jurisprudence requires that lawyers hold ethical and moral obligations to protect a conglomeration of interests; an attorney’s liberty, professional record; their firm, career, and clients; alongside the integrity of the U.S. legal system, all elements of upholding professional morality rely on a lawyer’s ability to adhere to the established standard, (Lewinbuk, K.P., p. 149). The American Bar Association (ABA) developed and continues to enforce this standard using a set of criteria known as the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (MRPC) that the lawyer is personally responsible for upholding, (Lewinbuk, K.P., p. 120). The MRPC includes enumerated obligations and responsibilities expected from the jurist; any violations of these duties are officially recognized to be professional misconduct, (ABA; MRPC, Rule 8.4). Many American courts now adhere to this standard, as past rulings have highlighted the need for a nontheistic objective moral reference; yet the MRPC does not inhibit attorneys from utilizing their own objective worldview correlative to its context. One of the most important moral obligations is found in the MRPC’s first chapter; displaying criteria for the preservation of the integrity of the client-attorney relationship, as the entire practice of law is built upon this foundational principle. This rule implements a system of checks and balances that ensures a valid application of ethics in a lawyer’s conduct with their client.
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The Client-Lawyer Relationship
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American jurisprudence requires that lawyers hold ethical and moral obligations to protect a conglomeration of interests; an attorney’s liberty, professional record; their firm, career, and clients; alongside the integrity of the U.S. legal system, all elements of upholding professional morality rely on a lawyer’s ability to adhere to the established standard, (Lewinbuk, K.P., p. 149). The American Bar Association (ABA) developed and continues to enforce this standard using a set of criteria known as the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (MRPC) that the lawyer is personally responsible for upholding, (Lewinbuk, K.P., p. 120). The MRPC includes enumerated obligations and responsibilities expected from the jurist; any violations of these duties are officially recognized to be professional misconduct, (ABA; MRPC, Rule 8.4). Many American courts now adhere to this standard, as past rulings have highlighted the need for a nontheistic objective moral reference; yet the MRPC does not inhibit attorneys from utilizing their own objective worldview correlative to its context. One of the most important moral obligations is found in the MRPC’s first chapter; displaying criteria for the preservation of the integrity of the client-attorney relationship, as the entire practice of law is built upon this foundational principle. This rule implements a system of checks and balances that ensures a valid application of ethics in a lawyer’s conduct with their client.