The Consequences of Unethical and Unprofessional Conduct

ABSTRACT The legal profession has established national and state professional codes of conduct applicable to those practicing law. Failure to adhere to the prescribed rules can result in serious consequences. A particular requirement is that attorneys must protect all information exchanged between both current and former clients. This article analyzes that requirement as applied to an incident of specific professional misconduct. INTRODUCTION In an age of egregious and unethical activities undertaken for personal aggrandizement, it is of some satisfaction to recognize that in certain professions there are established national and state standards setting forth rules of professional conduct. For example, the legal profession within all 50 states operates under regulations to assure that conduct complies with specific standards and unethical conduct faces pronounced consequences. Peer review boards consisting of co-professionals measure individual conduct against the standards and implement sanctions for violation of the professional rules. In many situations, the misconduct and resulting injury to a client can be readily identified allowing for a complaint to be initiated by an injured party; but in other situations unethical conduct is cleverly obfuscated such that a person may suffer harm without recognizing that a professional violation has occurred and that a remedy exists. It is one of these latter types of cases that is chosen as the focal point of this article. Essentially, the discussion will describe a breach of professional relationship when broadcasting and print media outlets were used by an attorney for personal recognition, advertisement, and professional gain by providing information for video and hardcopy publications that resulted in harm to others. The outcome of the case and the potential ethical and legal theories arising will be explored herein. The remainder of the introduction discusses the Rules of Professional Conduct with a focus on unethical conduct. The article then 1 0026-2005/10. Copyright ©2010 by the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. MICHIGAN ACADEMICIAN XL (2010), 1–16