The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently evaluated a Texas attorney’s conduct in part by referencing the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The case is In the Matter of Proeducation Int’l. Inc., No. 08-20398, located here:
This was a bankruptcy case out of Houston. The trial court disqualified an attorney from representing one party because he had previously worked for a law firm that had represented one of the other parties.
The startling thing about this case is the fact that Texas attorneys are governed by the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, not the ABA Model Rules. The ABA is a private, voluntary organization of attorneys that has no legal authority to regulate the profession. Over the years the ABA has taken controversial positions on a number of political issues, so it definitely does not represent the views of the entire profession.
Fortunately in this case, the Fifth Circuit determined that the lawyer’s conduct met the standards of both the Model Rules and the Texas Disciplinary Rules, finding that he should not have been disqualified. But if the case had gone the other way, would it have been fair for the Court to find the lawyer’s conduct unethical because it failed to meet a standard that explicitly does not apply to him?
The Fifth Circuit is the federal Court of Appeals for Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
Fifth Circuit Applies ABA Model Rules to attorney's conduct
The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently evaluated a Texas attorney’s conduct in part by referencing the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The case is In the Matter of Proeducation Int’l. Inc., No. 08-20398, located here:
http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov:8081/isysquery/irl92c/3/doc
This was a bankruptcy case out of Houston. The trial court disqualified an attorney from representing one party because he had previously worked for a law firm that had represented one of the other parties.
The startling thing about this case is the fact that Texas attorneys are governed by the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, not the ABA Model Rules. The ABA is a private, voluntary organization of attorneys that has no legal authority to regulate the profession. Over the years the ABA has taken controversial positions on a number of political issues, so it definitely does not represent the views of the entire profession.
Fortunately in this case, the Fifth Circuit determined that the lawyer’s conduct met the standards of both the Model Rules and the Texas Disciplinary Rules, finding that he should not have been disqualified. But if the case had gone the other way, would it have been fair for the Court to find the lawyer’s conduct unethical because it failed to meet a standard that explicitly does not apply to him?
The Fifth Circuit is the federal Court of Appeals for Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.