Legal Ethics

Legal Ethics: The Model Code and the Model Rules By Anthony J. Fejfar, B.A., J.D., Esq., Coif © Copyright 2008 by Anthony J. Fejfar In the United States some jurisdictions still have the Old Model Code, while most have the Model Rules or some variation thereof. I would like to take a few minutes and explore why the two are different. The Old Model Code is based upon morality. It smacks of conventional morality which has been criticized by Developmental Psychologists as irrational. Half of the Model Code is Ethical Considerations which are supposed to be voluntary in nature, but are sometimes wrongly applied to discipline lawyers. This is wrong. The Model Rules on the other hand are based upon Ethics. Morality is wrongly, and typically based upon some uncritical authority, while Ethics are based upon principled reasoning. The Model Rules have two ethical principles that underly their application, namely, Responsibility and Autonomy. In his book the “Responsible Self,” Neihbor tells us that responsibility is a valued and good ethic. One is required to be responsible for oneself and for others. This is a conservative principle. On the other hand, Autonomy is found in developmental psychology and in John Rawl’s Book, “A Theory of Justice.” Autonomy is based upon the principle of Free Will. The Model Rules are a great improvement over the Model Code and should be supported.