Join us on Thursday January 15th at 4:30 p.m. Eastern for a special Happy Hour with the Alaska Association of Collaborative Professionals for a timely and thought-provoking discussion of Zealous Advocacy
Zealous advocacy refers to a lawyer’s duty to vigorously, loyally, and competently represent a client’s interests, while still operating within the law and ethical rules. It emphasizes dedication and commitment—but not at any cost.
A zealous advocate acts with commitment and dedication to the client’s cause
Historically, the American Bar Association defined the phrase in the ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility (1969), which stated:
“A lawyer should represent a client zealously within the bounds of the law.”
However, the ABA no longer uses the phrase “zealous advocacy” as a standalone rule, but the concept remains embedded throughout the Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
The key modern statement appears in the Preamble to the Rules:
“As advocate, a lawyer zealously asserts the client’s position under the rules of the adversary system.”
At the same time, the Preamble makes clear that a lawyer’s duty is tempered by ethical limits.
The ABA’s modern view is more of zeal with restraint. Under the current ABA framework zeal is expected, but not absolute. Loyalty to the client is balanced against truthfulness, fairness, professionalism and civility and the lawyer’s duty to the court and legal system.
The ABA intentionally moved away from rhetoric that could be interpreted as “win at all costs.”
Advocacy in the Collaborative Process is defined under the Ethical Standards Section 3.2. Those standards require Collaborative Professionals to respect each client’s self-determination. It is our job to assist the clients in establishing realistic expectations. Most importantly the Ethical Standards require Collaborative Professionals to consider the impact that their own values, opinions, beliefs and behaviors will have on the Collaborative matter and will avoid contributing to interpersonal conflict of the clients.
That falls in line with the ABA’s position of a more tempered form of advocacy.
