Professional Misconduct Considerations
Professional
misconduct by an attorney occurs when the attorney does something that violates
the integrity of profession. This can include a host of actions. The American
Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 8.4[1]
names several actions, including being dishonest, committing fraud, violating
any of the Rules of Professional Conduct, harassing someone, or discriminating
against someone.
Misconduct
by an attorney can be intentional or reckless. It is possible that some conduct
that seems like it would be misconduct are simply matters of poor judgment or
due to excusable human error.[2]
The circumstances around the action will determine whether it should be
classified as professional misconduct or not.
Rule 8.3
sets strict standards for when professional misconduct by a lawyer or judge
should be reported by a lawyer.[3]
Attorneys should be reported for professional misconduct if they violate the
ethical standards set for this profession, if there is a risk that their
actions will harm a client, or if they are violating the integrity of the
profession. If there is any question as to whether a report should be filed or
not, it is usually best to file the report and allow the subsequent
investigation to determine what happened.
An
attorney should report an attorney misusing funds that are being held for a
client.[4]
A new situation is slowly becoming evident with the use of AI. An attorney in
Florida was recently sanctioned over providing false legal citations that were
generated via AI.[5]
In this case, the lawyer did not uphold his duty to ensure the information he
was providing to the court on his client’s behalf was accurate. Instead of
taking the time and providing the attention the case required, he tried to take
a shortcut, and he ended up being sanctioned for it.
Misconduct
that is due to addiction should be held to the same standard as misconduct for
other causes. Addiction is a medical condition that is recognized by the
American Medical Association, so there may be recovery-focused alternatives
that are more useful than a broad, general punishment. There has to be a
balance of compassion about the situation and accountability to uphold the
integrity of the profession.
In many
cases, substance abuse disorder occurs along with other mental health distress.
Attorneys who are dealing with that should receive treatment for those issues.
In the study entitled “The Prevalence of Substance Abuse and Other Mental
Health Concerns Among American Attorneys,” 28% reported symptoms of depression,
23% reported stress, and 19% reported anxiety[6].
Those issues, along with substance abuse, demand multifaceted interventions
that are balanced with the penalties for the professional misconduct.
[1]
American Bar Association, Model Rules of Professional Conduct r. 8.4 (Am. Bar
Ass’n 2020),
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_8_4_misconduct/.
[2]
U.S. Dep’t of Just., Office of Prof’l Responsibility, Attorney Professional
Misconduct Matters, https://www.justice.gov/opr/professional-misconduct (last
visited May 22, 2025).
[3]
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_8_3_reporting_professional_misconduct/
[4]
Lawyer Disbarred for Misuse of Client Funds, The Fla. Bar News (Dec. 15, 2018),
https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-news/lawyer-disbarred-for-misuse-of-client-funds/.
[5]
Florida Judge Sanctions Lawyers Over AI-Generated False Legal Citation, Daily
Bus. Rev. (May 22, 2025),
https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/2025/05/22/florida-judge-sanctions-lawyers-over-ai-generated-false-legal-citation/.
[6]
Patrick R. Krill, Ryan Johnson & Linda Albert, The Prevalence of Substance
Use and Other Mental Health Concerns Among American Attorneys, 10 J. Addict.
Med. 46 (2016).