SYNOPSIS OF CANONS Quotations, Sharswood, Ryan, Lincoln. Preamble... The Canons of Ethics... 1. The Duty of the Lawyer to the Courts. 2. The Selection of Judges. 3. Attempts to Exert Personal Influence on the Court. 4. When Counsel for an Indigent Prisoner. 5. The Defense or Prosecution of Those Accused of Crime. 6. Adverse Influences and Conflicting Interests. 7. Professional Colleagues and Conflicts of Opinion. 8. Advising Upon the Merits of a Client's Cause. 9. Negotiations With Opposite Party. 10. Acquiring Interest in Litigation. 11. Dealing With Trust Property. 12. Fixing the Amount of the Fee. 13. Contingent Fees. 14. Suing a Client for a Fee. 15. How Far a Lawyer May Go in Supporting Client's Cause. 16. Restraining Clients From Improprieties. 17. Ill Feeling and Personalities Between Advocates. 18. Treatment of Witnesses and Litigants. 19. Appearance of Lawyer as Witness for His Client. 20. Newspaper Discussion of Pending Litigation. 21. Punctuality and Expedition. 22. Candor and Fairness. 23. Attitude Toward Jury. 24. Right of Lawyer to Control the Incidents of the Trial. 25. Taking Technical Advantage of Opposite Counsel; Agree- 26. Professional Advocacy Other Than Before Courts. 27. Advertising, Direct or Indirect. 28. Stirring Up Litigation, Directly or Through Agents. 32. The Lawyer's Duty in Its Last Analysis. Article I. Article II. "There is certainly, without any exception, no profession in which so many temptations beset the path to swerve from the line of strict integrity, in which so many delicate and difficult questions of duty are continually arising. There are pitfalls and mantraps at every step, and the mere youth, at the very outset of his career, needs often the prudence and self-denial as well as the moral courage, which belongs commonly to riper years. High moral principle is the only safe guide, the only torch to light his way amidst darkness and obstruction."-George Sharswood. "Craft is the vice, not the spirit of the profession. Trick is professional prostitution. Falsehood is professional apostasy. The strength of a lawyer is in thorough knowledge of legal truth, in thorough devotion to legal right. Truth and integrity can do more in the profession than the subtlest and wildest devices. The power of integrity is the rule; the power of fraud is the exception. Emulation and zeal lead lawyers astray; but the general law of the profession is duty, not success. In it, as elsewhere, in human life, the judgment of success is but the verdict of little minds. Professional duty, faithfully and well performed, is the lawyer's glory. This is equally true of the Bench and of the Bar."-Edward G. Ryan. "Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loserin fees, expenses and waste of time. As a peacemaker, the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. Never stir up litigation. A worse man can hardly be found than one who does this. Who can be more nearly a fiend than he who habitually overhauls the register of deeds in search of defects in titles, whereupon to stir up strife and put money in his own pocket? A moral tone ought to be enforced in the profession which would drive such men out. of it."-Abraham Lincoln. CANONS OF ETHICS. ADOPTED SESSION OF 1909 I PREAMBLE In America, where the stability of Courts and of all departments of government rest upon the approval of the people, it is peculiarly essential that the system for establishing and dispensing Justice be developed to a high point of efficiency, and so maintained that the public shall have absolute confidence in the integrity and impartiality of its administration. The future of the Republic, to a great extent, depends upon our maintenance of Justice pure and unsullied. It cannot be so maintained unless the conduct and motives of the members of our profession are such as to merit the approval of all just men. II THE CANONS OF ETHICS No code or set of rules can be framed which will particularize all the duties of the lawyer in the varying phases of litigation or in all the relations of professional life. The following Canons of Ethics are adopted by the North Carolina Bar Association as a general guide, yet the enumeration of particular duties should not be construed as a denial of the existence of others equally imperative, though not specifically mentioned. THE DUTY OF THE LAWYER TO THE COURTS 1. It is the duty of the lawyer to maintain toward the Courts a respectful attitude, not for the sake of the temporary incumbent of the judicial office, but for the maintenance of its supreme importance. Judges, not being wholly free to defend themselves, are peculiarly entitled to receive the support of the Bar against unjust criticism and clamor. Whenever there is proper ground for serious complaint of a judicial officer, it is the right and duty of the lawyer to submit his grievances to the proper authorities. In such cases, but not otherwise, such charges should be encouraged and the person making them should be protected. THE SELECTION OF JUDGES. 2. It is the duty of the Bar to endeavor to prevent political situations from outweighing judicial fitness in the selection of Judges. It should protest earnestly and actively against the appointment or selection of those who are |