Ethics of Client Coercion Webinar

Is it ethical for in-house attorneys to leverage their employer’s economic clout to interfere with their outside counsel’s client decisions on unrelated matters? Is it ethical for attorneys to give in to such pressure?

It is understood that clients have full discretion on the hiring and firing of counsel, and that lawyers are free to accept, decline, or withdraw from a representation, consistent with applicable rules. The rules of professional conduct do impose some limits. ABA Model Rules 1.16 and 5.4 protect lawyers’ independent professional judgment in deciding the clients and causes they choose to represent, and Rule 5.6 guards against agreements that might interfere with a future client’s access to counsel. But they’ve not been understood to address the public and private pressure we see currently, that make the representation of controversial clients more costly. In fact, pressure to decline or even drop clients is increasingly common, and law firms acceding to client pressure is often understood as a rational business decision.

How should think we about efforts to deter lawyers from representing controversial clients and causes? Is it consistent with the norms of the legal profession? Do efforts to influence the legal process via access to counsel threaten rule of law principles? Are existing rules sufficient to protect professional independence and ensure access to counsel?

Featuring:

• David Boies, Chairman and Managing Partner, Boies Schiller Flexner
• Prof. Carissa Byrne Hessick, Anne Shea Ransdell and William Garland "Buck" Ransdell, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law, University of North Carolina School of Law
• Prof. Michael S. McGinniss, Professor of Law and J. Philip Johnson Faculty Fellow, University of North Dakota School of Law
• John S. Moran, Partner, McGuireWoods
• Moderator: David Lat, Founder, Original Jurisdiction

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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.