/n HEINONLINE DATE DOWNLOADED: Fri Mar 3 13:41:55 2023 SOURCE: Content Downloaded from HeinOnline Citations: Bluebook 21st ed. Larry O. Natt II Gantt, Charles H. Oates & Samuel Pyeatt Menefee, Professional Responsibility and the Christian Attorney: Comparing the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and Biblical Virtues, 19 REGENT U. L. REV. 1 (2006). ALWD 7th ed. Larry O. Natt II Gantt, Charles H. Oates & Samuel Pyeatt Menefee, Professional Responsibility and the Christian Attorney: Comparing the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and Biblical Virtues, 19 Regent U. L. Rev. 1 (2006). APA 7th ed. Gantt, L., Oates, C. H., & Menefee, S. (2006). Professional responsibility and the christian attorney: comparing the aba model rules of professional conduct and biblical virtues. Regent University Law Review, 19(1), 1-94. Chicago 17th ed. Larry O. Natt II Gantt; Charles H. Oates; Samuel Pyeatt Menefee, "Professional Responsibility and the Christian Attorney: Comparing the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and Biblical Virtues," Regent University Law Review 19, no. 1 (2006-2007): 1-94 McGill Guide 9th ed. Larry O. Natt II Gantt, Charles H. Oates & Samuel Pyeatt Menefee, "Professional Responsibility and the Christian Attorney: Comparing the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and Biblical Virtues" (2006) 19:1 Regent U L Rev 1. AGLC 4th ed. Larry O. Natt II Gantt, Charles H. Oates and Samuel Pyeatt Menefee, 'Professional Responsibility and the Christian Attorney: Comparing the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and Biblical Virtues' (2006) 19(1) Regent University Law Review 1 MLA 9th ed. Gantt, Larry O. Natt II, et al. "Professional Responsibility and the Christian Attorney: Comparing the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and Biblical Virtues." Regent University Law Review, vol. 19, no. 1, 2006-2007, pp. 1-94. HeinOnline. OSCOLA 4th ed. Larry O. Natt II Gantt, Charles H. Oates & Samuel Pyeatt Menefee, 'Professional Responsibility and the Christian Attorney: Comparing the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and Biblical Virtues' (2006) 19 Regent U L Rev 1 -- -- Your use of this HeinOnline PDF indicates your acceptance of HeinOnline's Terms and Conditions of the license agreement available at https://heinonline.org/HOL/License -- The search text of this PDF is generated from uncorrected OCR text. REGENT UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW Volume 19 2006-2007 Number 1 PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND THE CHRISTIAN ATTORNEY: COMPARING THE ABA MODEL RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT AND BIBLICAL VIRTUES Larry O. Natt Gantt, II,* Charles H. Oates,** and Samuel Pyeatt Menefee*** I. INTRODUCTION II. CLIENT-LAWYER RELATIONSHIP. 3 6 Larry O. Natt Gantt, II is Associate Professor and Director of Academic Success at Regent University School of Law, where he teaches courses in Professional Responsibility. He is a graduate of Duke University (A.B. 1991), Harvard (J.D. 1994), and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M. Div. 2000). Gantt is author of Integration as Integrity: Postmodernism, Psychology, and Religion on the Role of Moral Counseling in the Attorney-Client Relationship, 16 REGENT U. L. REV. 233 (2003-2004), and More Than Lawyers: The Legal and Ethical Implications of Counseling Clients on Nonlegal Considerations, 18 GEO. J. LEGAL ETHICS 365 (2005). Professor Gantt would like to thank Andrew Ashby and Mike Parsons for their valuable assistance in researching and editing this article. ** Charles Harmon Oates is Professor of Law and Director of the Law Library at Regent University School of Law, where he teaches courses in Professional Responsibility. He is a graduate of the University of Florida (B.A. 1963), Stetson University (J.D. 1967), and Catholic University of America (MLS 1997). Oates is co-author (with Marie Summerlin Hamm) of A New Twist for an Olde Code: Examining Virginia's New Rules of Professional Conduct, 13 REGENT U. L. REV. 651 (2000-2001), and author of A New Twist for an Olde Code: Examining Virginia's New Rules of Professional Conduct Part II, 14 REGENT U. L. REV. 97 (2001-2002). Professor Oates would like to express special thanks to graduate assistants Deborah Dolenti, Krista DeLeon, Oswaldo Estrada, Elizabeth Richter, and Monique Miles for their valuable research and organizational assistance. *** Samuel Pyeatt Menefee is Senior Associate, Center for National Security Law and Maury Fellow, Center for Oceans Law and Policy, University of Virginia School of Law and formerly taught Professional Responsibility as a Professor at Regent University School of Law. He is a graduate of Yale University (B.A. 1972), Oxford (Dip. Soc. Anth. and B.Litt., 1973 and 1975), Harvard (J.D. 1981), Virginia (LL.M. and S.J.D., 1982 and 1993), and Cambridge (M. Phil, 1995). Menefee is co-author (with J. Nelson Happy) of Genesis!: Scriptural Citation and the Lawyer's Bible Project, 9 REGENT U. L. REV. 89 (1997), and “In the Beginning Was the Word": Planning for a Lawyer's Bible Project, 2 FOUNDATIONS, no. 1, at 4 (Fall 1999). 2 REGENT UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 19:1 A. RULE 1.1: COMPETENCE RULE 1.3: DILIGENCE ... B. RULE 1.2: SCOPE OF REPRESENTATION AND ALLOCATION OF AUTHORITY BETWEEN CLIENT AND LAWYER.. C. RULE 1.4: COMMUNICATION D. RULE 1.5: FEES E. RULE 1.6: CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION . F. RULE 1.7: CONFLICT OF INTEREST: CURRENT CLIENTS RULE 1.8: CONFLICT OF INTEREST: CURRENT CLIENTS: SPECIFIC RULES RULE 1.9: DUTIES TO FORMER CLIENTS.. 6 .9 13 15 18 .21 G. RULE 1.10: IMPUTATION OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: GENERAL RULE ………………………. 27 H. RULE 1.11: SPECIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST FOR FORMER AND CURRENT GOVERNMENT OFFICERS AND EMPLOYERS RULE 1.12: FORMER JUDGE, ARBITRATOR, MEDIATOR OR OTHER THIRD-PARTY NEUTRAL RULE 1.18: DUTIES TO PROSPECTIVE CLIENT... I. RULE 1.13: ORGANIZATION AS CLIENT J. RULE 1.14: CLIENT WITH DIMINISHED CAPACITY. K. RULE 1.15: SAFEKEEPING PROPERTY....... L. RULE 1.16: DECLINING OR TERMINATING REPRESENTATION. M. RULE 1.17: SALE OF LAW PRACTICE.. II. COUNSELOR A. RULE 2.1: ADVISOR... B. RULE 2.3: EVALUATION FOR USE BY THIRD PERSONS... C. RULE 2.4: LAWYER SERVING AS THIRD-PARTY NEUTRAL.. III. ADVOCATE ... A. RULE 3.1: MERITORIOUS CLAIMS AND CONTENTIONS. B. RULE 3.2: EXPEDITING LITIGATION C. RULE 3.3: CANDOR TOWARD THE TRIBUNAL D. RULE 3.4: FAIRNESS TO OPPOSING PARTY AND COUNSEL. ...32 .34 .35 ..36 37 39 .40 .40 .41 42 43 43 46 .47 50 E. RULE 3.5: ÎMPARTIALITY AND DECORUM OF THE TRIBUNAL........... 51 F. RULE 3.6: TRIAL PUBLICITY…..... 53 G. RULE 3.7: LAWYER AS WITNESS. 54 H. RULE 3.8: SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF A PROSECUTOR ......... 55 I. RULE 3.9: ADVOCATE IN NONADJUDICATIVE PROCEEDINGS IV. TRANSACTIONS WITH PERSONS OTHER THAN CLIENTS…. .57 57 A. RULE 4.1: TRUTHFULNESS IN STATEMENTS TO OTHERS B. RULE 4.2: COMMUNICATION WITH PERSON REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL.... C. RULE 4.3: DEALING WITH UNREPRESENTED PERSON D. RULE 4.4: RESPECT FOR RIGHTS OF THIRD PERSONS V. LAW FIRMS AND ASSOCIATIONS.... .57 61 .62 .63 64 2006] COMPARING THE ABA MODEL RULES A. RULE 5.1: RESPONSIBILITIES OF PARTNERS, MANAGERS, AND SUPERVISORY LAWYERS RULE 5.3: RESPONSIBILITIES REGARDING NONLAWYER ASSISTANTS.... B. RULE 5.2: RESPONSIBILITIES OF A SUBORDINATE LAWYER. C. RULE 5.4: PROFESSIONAL INDEPENDENCE OF A LAWYER RULE 5.7: RESPONSIBILITIES REGARDING LAW-RELATED SERVICES D. RULE 5.5: UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF LAW; MULTIJURISDICTIONAL PRACTICE OF LAW... E. RULE 5.6: RESTRICTIONS ON RIGHT TO PRACTICE VI. PUBLIC SERVICE A. RULE 6.1: VOLUNTARY PRO BONO PUBLICO SERVICE….. B. RULE 6.2: ACCEPTING APPOINTMENTS... 3 .64 ...... 66 .69 71 .72 .72 .75 C. RULE 6.3: MEMBERSHIP IN LEGAL SERVICES ORGANIZATIONS RULE 6.4: LAW REFORM ACTIVITIES AFFECTING CLIENT INTERESTS RULE 6.5: NONPROFIT AND COURT-ANNEXED LIMITED LEGAL SERVICES PROGRAMS VII, INFORMATION ABOUT LEGAL SERVICES .78 .80 A. RULE 7.1: COMMUNICATION CONCERNING A LAWYER'S SERVICES RULE 7.2: ADVERTISING RULE 7.3: DIRECT CONTACT WITH PROSPECTIVE CLIENTS RULE 7.4: COMMUNICATION OF FIELDS OF PRACTICE AND SPECIALIZATION RULE 7.5: FIRM NAMES AND LETTERHEADS ....... 80 B. RULE 7.6: POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO OBTAIN LEGAL ENGAGEMENTS OR APPOINTMENTS BY JUDGES .83 VIII. MAINTAINING THE INTEGRITY OF THE PROFESSION. A. RULE 8.1: BAR ADMISSION AND DISCIPLINARY MATTERS. B. RULE 8.2: JUDICIAL AND LEGAL OFFICIALS .84 .84 .85 C. RULE 8.3: REPORTING PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT.. D. RULE 8.4: MISCONDUCT ...86 .89 E. RULE 8.5: DISCIPLINARY AUTHORITY; CHOICE OF LAW IX. CONCLUSION….. .91 .92 I. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this article is to consider some correlations between the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct (the "Model Rules" or “Rules”) and Holy Scripture.¹ Just as Christians are exhorted to pattern 1 While this topic has not been discussed extensively in this article, the connection between Scripture and legal ethics has long been recognized. "When legal scholar David Hoffman published the United States' first course on legal ethics over 160 4 REGENT UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 19:1 their conduct directly on Jesus' life and teachings, and more generally on the moral guidance of the Old and New Testaments, so attorneys must conform their actions to rules of professional responsibility. These rules vary from state to state, but their best general embodiment is in the ABA Model Rules, adopted by the American Bar Association's House of Delegates on August 2, 1983, and subsequently amended.2 The Preamble to the Rules notes: Many of a lawyer's professional responsibilities are prescribed in the Rules of Professional Conduct, as well as substantive and procedural law. However, a lawyer is also guided by personal conscience and the approbation of professional peers. A lawyer should strive to attain the highest level of skill, to improve the law and the legal profession and to exemplify the legal profession's ideals of public service.³ While the ABA, for whatever reason, has eschewed making reference to an attorney's religious beliefs, it is clear that these are closely intertwined with the phrase "personal conscience." The Preamble goes on to note: In the nature of law practice, however, conflicting responsibilities are encountered. Virtually all difficult ethical problems arise from conflict between a lawyer's responsibilities to clients, to the legal system and to the lawyer's own interest in remaining an ethical person while earning a satisfactory living. The Rules of Professional Conduct often prescribe terms for resolving such conflicts. Within the framework of these Rules, however, many difficult issues of professional discretion can arise. Such issues must be resolved through the exercise of sensitive professional and moral judgment guided by the basic principles underlying the Rules.4 These "basic principles" are nowhere defined or listed, but most Christian attorneys will have no trouble in identifying them with truths in the Bible.5 years ago, his reading list began with the book of Proverbs from the Old Testament." Larry O. Natt Gantt, II, Discovering the Biblical Principles in the Model Rules of Professional Conduct 1 (Aug. 2004) (unpublished discussion paper at the 2004 Summer Program in Christian Jurisprudence, Regent University School of Law) (on file with author) (citing Gordon J. Beggs, Proverbial Practice: Legal Ethics from Old Testament Wisdom, 30 WAKE FOREST L. REV. 831, 831-32 (1995)). Prof. Oates co-led this discussion with Prof. Gantt in 2004 and, for several years prior to that time, had been working on confirming this connection. 2 3 See THOMAS D. MORGAN & RONALD D. ROTUNDA, 2006 SELECTED STANDARDS ON PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY 1 (2006) (describing the history of the Model Rules). MODEL RULES OF PROFL CONDUCT pmbl. para. 7 (2003) (emphasis added); see also id. R. 2.1 (allowing attorneys to counsel clients on nonlegal, including moral, considerations). 4 5 Id. pmbl. para. 8 (2003). Jewish practitioners will find the following discussion of use insofar as it relates to the books of the Torah. Muslims may find it less relevant, while Hindus, Jains, and many other religious adherents can at least appreciate the textual procedures herein