Supreme Court Rules - Rule 4 - Rules Governing the Missouri Bar and the Judiciary - Rules of Professional Conduct: Maintaining the Integrity of the Profession

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		Section/Rule:	4- 8. 4
Subject:	Rule 4 - Rules Governing the Missouri Bar and the Judiciary - Rules of Professional Conduct	Publication / Adopted Date:	September 28, 1993
Topic:	Maintaining the Integrity of the Profession - Misconduct	Revised / Effective Date:	July 1, 2012

RULE 4-8.4: MISCONDUCT

It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to:

(a) violate or attempt to violate the Rules of Professional Conduct, knowingly assist or induce another to do so, or do so through the acts of another;

(b) commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects;

(c) engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation;

(d) engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice;

(e) state or imply an ability to influence improperly a government agency or official or to achieve results by means that violate the Rules of Professional Conduct or other law;

(f) knowingly assist a judge or judicial officer in conduct that is a violation of applicable rules of judicial conduct or other law; or

(g) manifest by words or conduct, in representing a client, bias or prejudice based upon race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, or sexual orientation. This Rule 4-8.4(g) does not preclude legitimate advocacy when race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, or other similar factors, are issues.

COMMENT

[1] Lawyers are subject to discipline when they violate or attempt to violate the Rules of Professional Conduct, knowingly assist or induce another to do so, or do so through the acts of another, as when they request or instruct an agent to do so on the lawyer's behalf. Rule 4-8.4(a), however, does not prohibit a lawyer from advising a client concerning action the client is legally entitled to take.

[2] Many kinds of illegal conduct reflect adversely on fitness to practice law, such as offenses involving fraud and the offense of willful failure to file an income tax return. However, some kinds of offenses carry no such implication. Traditionally, the distinction was drawn in terms of offenses involving "moral turpitude." That concept can be construed to include offenses concerning some matters of personal morality, such as adultery and comparable offenses, that have no specific connection to fitness for the practice of law. Although a lawyer is personally answerable to the entire criminal law, a lawyer should be professionally answerable only for offenses that indicate lack of those characteristics relevant to law practice. Offenses involving violence, dishonesty, breach of trust, or serious interference with the administration of justice are in that category. A pattern of repeated offenses, even ones of minor significance when considered separately, can indicate indifference to legal obligation.

[3] Rule 4-8.4(g) identifies the special importance of a lawyer’s words or conduct, in representing a client, that manifest bias or prejudice against others based upon race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, or sexual orientation. Rule 4-8.4(g) excludes those instances in which a lawyer engages in legitimate advocacy with respect to these factors. A lawyer acts as an officer of the court and is licensed to practice by the state. The manifestation of bias or prejudice by a lawyer, in representing a client, fosters discrimination in the provision of services in the state judicial system, creates a substantial likelihood of material prejudice by impairing the integrity and fairness of the judicial system, and undermines public confidence in the fair and impartial administration of justice.

Whether a lawyer’s conduct constitutes professional misconduct in violation of Rule 4-8.4(g) can be determined only by a review of all of the circumstances; e.g., the gravity of the acts and whether the acts are part of a pattern of prohibited conduct. For the purpose of Rule 4-8.4(g), “manifest … bias or prejudice” is defined as words or conduct that the lawyer knew or should have known discriminate against, threaten, harass, intimidate, or denigrate any individual or group. Prohibited conduct includes, but is not limited to, unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:

(a) submission to that conduct is made, either explicitly or implicitly, a term or condition of an individual’s employment;

(b) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as a factor in decisions affecting such individual; or

(c) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or of creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment.

[4] A lawyer may refuse to comply with an obligation imposed by law upon a good faith belief that no valid obligation exists. The provisions of Rule 4-1.2(f) concerning a good faith challenge to the validity, scope, meaning, or application of the law apply to challenges of legal regulation of the practice of law.

[5] Lawyers holding public office assume legal responsibilities going beyond those of other citizens. A lawyer's abuse of public office can suggest an inability to fulfill the professional role of lawyers. The same is true of abuse of positions of private trust such as trustee, executor, administrator, guardian, agent, and officer, director, or manager of a corporation or other organization.

(Adopted September 28, 1993, Amended Nov. 21, 1995, eff. Jan. 1, 1996. Amended November 25, 2003, eff. January 1, 2004, Rev. July 1, 2007. Amended June 28, 2011, effective January 1, 2012.)