Lawyers’ Ethical Rule 1.14 Under Review Nationally

The American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct govern most lawyers’ ethical duties. For elder law attorneys, particularly, one of the main principles goes by the name of one of those rules: Ethical Rule 1.14. What does Rule 1.14 say? It addresses representation when a client has diminished capacity. The lawyer must treat the client as nearly normally as possible. Elder law attorneys often see clients with dementia, mental health issues or other limiting factors. Our job is to try to look past those limitations and figure out the client’s wishes — and how to help them as much as possible. The ABA extensively updated its rules just after the turn of the century. Arizona quickly followed suit. Ethical Rule 1.14 was rewritten in Arizona (along with the entire set of ethical rules) in 2003. That’s the most recent major update, though some tinkering has taken place. Now comes news that the ABA is reviewing its Model Rules — including Ethical Rule 1.14. And in general, the changes are even more supportive of the client’s control and self-determination. Join us for a discussion of some of the changes — in text and tone.