State Bar issues civility guidelines for lawyers

By Julia Cheever

July 21, 2007

The State Bar is asking California's 211,000 lawyers to be a little kinder and gentler.

The bar's board of governors approved a set of voluntary civility guidelines for lawyers at a meeting in Santa Monica on Friday.

Bar spokeswoman Diane Curtis said the recommendations result from an initiative by bar President Sheldon Sloan of Los Angeles to address a perceived rise in unbecoming behavior by lawyers in and out of court.

Sloan said on Friday, "We felt the State Bar ought to take the lead. There's got to be a gold standard somewhere."

The bar leader said an example of lack of civility is lawyers scheduling depositions of witnesses on dates when they know an opposing attorney is planning a vacation or scheduling meetings right before a holiday.

A bar task force developed the guidelines by using the Santa Clara County Bar Association's Code of Professionalism as a starting point.

The group then considered suggestions from 30 county and specialized bar groups and individuals before coming up with the 15-page statewide guidelines.

Individual lawyers in California are asked to pledge voluntarily to follow the guidelines and tell clients of their commitment.

The pledge promises, "I will abstain from rude, disruptive, disrespectful and abusive behavior and will act with dignity, decency, courtesy and candor with opposing counsel, the courts and the public."

Among other items, the guidelines prohibit disrespectful remarks about other lawyers, judges and parties in a case.

"An attorney should not disparage the intelligence, integrity, ethics, morals or behavior of the court or other counsel, parties or participants when those characteristics are not at issue," the document says.

The guidelines also urge lawyers to be considerate and not to try to take advantage of opponents when serving papers and scheduling depositions, which are formal interviews in which witnesses give pretrial sworn statements.

Curtis said the state guidelines are intended to coordinate with and not to replace local codes of conduct already put in place by county bar associations in California.

The State Bar, with headquarters in San Francisco, is a regulatory agency in charge of licensing and disciplining lawyers. All of the approximately 211,000 lawyers practicing in California are required to be members.

Copyright © 2007 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.

####