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Eleven Commandments of Professional Responsibility

Ethics.  The topic of this lecture is frequently called “legal ethics.”  In ordinary language, the term “ethics” is virtually a synonym for “morals.”  In common sense, someone cannot be both moral and unethical.  A person cannot be highly ethical but profoundly immoral.  Ethical rules are rules for moral conduct.

The professional rules and responsibilities for lawyers knock this linguistic equation into a cocked hat.  People do have professional obligations--and these are often called “ethical” obligations--which can prescribe immoral conduct.  Consider the famous case in which the lawyer is defending some sort of tort case in which the plaintiff alleges that he has sustained one form of injury.  As a result of the independent medical examination, defense doctors and the defense lawyers discover that the plaintiff is suffering from a far more serious injury, undoubtedly caused by the tort in question.  Many lawyers believe that they would have an ethical duty to keep their mouths shut, while it seems fairly clear that their moral duty runs the other direction.  Spalding v. Zimmerman, 116 N.W.2d 704 (Minn. 1962).