The Lawyer Must be EthicalThe practice of law demands more than knowledge of statutory and case law. It requires more than technical proficiency in the nuts and bolts of legal practice. A lawyer is an officer of the legal system whose conduct should conform to the requirements of the law, both in professional service to clients and in the lawyer's business and personal affairs.The practice of law requires that every lawyer treat each client, each adversary, and the court ethically and in good faith.The practice of law is different from other professions because it requires that the lawyer act for his or her client, not him or herself, only if the actions for the client are ethical and in good faith. What is Ethical Behavior?The concept of ethical behavior refers to well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues, all of which are essential to the lawyer. Ethics, for example, refers to those standards that impose the reasonable obligations to refrain from murder, rape, theft, assault, slander, and fraud. Ethical standards also include those that imply virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty.

There are rights presumed to exist such as those described in the Declaration of Independence submitted to King George of England in 1776 that held: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The unalienable rights also include the right to life, the right to freedom from injury, and the right to liberty. Such standards are adequate standards of ethics because they are supported by consistent and well-founded reasons. Ethics, for example, refers to those standards that impose the reasonable obligations to refrain from murder, rape, theft, assault, slander, and fraud. Ethical standards also include those that imply virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty. There are rights presumed to exist such as those described in the Declaration of Independence submitted to King George of England in 1776 that held: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The unalienable rights also include the right to life, the right to freedom from injury, and the right to liberty. Such standards are adequate standards of ethics because they are supported by consistent and well-founded reasons.

Ethics also refers to the study and development of one's standards of conduct. Feelings, laws, and social norms can deviate from what is ethical. It is necessary, especially to people involved in the practice of law, to constantly examine one's standards to ensure that they are reasonable and well-founded conduct that ethically treats a client, an adversary, and the court with the utmost good faith. There is no single answer to the question of what is ethical behavior by a lawyer. Ethical behavior is subjective and fact dependent.