Professor Kathryn C. Fitzhugh
Governing Rules for Arkansas
Current: Arkansas Rules of Professional Conduct (Jan. 1, 1986, as amended May 1, 2005). The Arkansas Supreme Court adopted the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct on Dec. 16, 1985, and made them effective as of Jan. 1, 1986 by Per Curiam, 287 Ark. 495, 702 S.W. 2d 326. The following sources provide Arkansas’s rules:
Arkansas Court Rules Annotated, Volume 2 (Charlottesville, VA: Lexis Law Publishing, 1986- ).
Print
Back issues
Online
Westlaw:
Lexis:
Microfiche, from 2004 to date. Microforms Room
Arkansas Judiciary Website: Arkansas Rules of Professional Conduct.
ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct. (Chicago, American Bar Association). This tool is considered to be “the most essential weapon in the legal researcher’s arsenal of legal ethics resources.” [Stephen Young, Researching Legal Ethics, 16 Perspectives: Teaching Legal Res. & Writing 29 (2007).]
Print
BNA Database:
Lexis: Ethics>ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct
Westlaw: ABA-BNA
Brill, Howard W. Arkansas Professional and Judicial Ethics. (8th ed., Fayetteville, Ark.: Arkansas Law Press, 2011). Brill provides an annotated version of the rules and describes how the Arkansas rules differ from the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
Lexis: AR-Arkansas State and Federal Court Rules
Westlaw: AR-RULES
West’s Arkansas Court Rules Annotated. (St. Paul, MN: Thomson West, 2004- ).
1970-1985: Arkansas Code of Professional Responsibility. The Arkansas Bar Association adopted the ABA’s Model Code of Professional Responsibility on Sept. 15, 1969; the Arkansas Supreme Court approved the code on Feb. 23, 1970. The Arkansas Code of Professional Responsibility is found in:
Arkansas Statutes Annotated, Title 27 Appendix. In this statute book, the code is called the “Rules of the Court Regulating Professional Conduct of Attorneys at Law.”
Robinson, Thomas A. The Arkansas Code of Professional Responsibility. (Fayetteville, AR: Arkansas Law Review, 1980). Reprinted from 33 Ark. L. Rev. 605 (1980).
1908-1969: Canons of Professional Ethics. Arkansas’s 47 canons were published in 237 Ark. 984 (1964). They were based on the American Bar Association’s Aug. 27, 1908, Canons of Professional Ethics.
Arkansas Ethics Advisory Opinions
ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct [Electronic Resource] (Chicago: American Bar Association), Arkansas State Ethics Opinions, 96-1, Dec. 9, 1996- .
Print
BNA Database:
Westlaw: ABA-BNA
Lexis: Ethics>ABA/BNA Lawyers Manual on Professional Conduct
Ethics Advisory Opinions of the Arkansas Bar Association
Arkansas Case Law
The Rules of the Arkansas Supreme Court and the Arkansas Court of Appeals, Rule 1-2(a)1 gives the Arkansas Supreme Court the authority to make decisions on appeals involving attorney discipline.
The Arkansas Digest indexes Arkansas state and federal cases. See the key numbers under Attorney and Client.
Our library’s online research guide on researching case law outlines how to research cases.
Lexis: AR>Ethics Cases, coverage varies.
Westlaw: ARETH-CS, 1837 to date.
Arkansas Websites
The Committee on Professional Conduct provides current and most recent superseded rules and administrative orders.
The Attorney Search provides contact information of attorneys licensed to practice in Arkansas. The contact information is updated twice a year. In addition, It provides records of disciplinary and non-disciplinary actions for each attorney listed.
ABA Codes, Rules, and Opinions
ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Aug. 2, 1983 (as amended).
ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct (Chicago, American Bar Association, Center for Professional Responsibility, 2009).
Print
BNA Database:
Lexis: Ethics>ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct
Westlaw: ABA-BNA
Annotated Model Rules of Professional Conduct. (6th ed. Chicago, IL: Center for Professional Responsibility, American Bar Association, 2007).
Print
Westlaw: ABA-AMRPC
ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility, 1969
ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct (Chicago, American Bar Association, ____).
Print
BNA Database:
Lexis: Ethics>ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct.
Westlaw: ABA-BNA
Model Code of Professional Responsibility and Code of Judicial Conduct. (Chicago: American Bar Association, 1979-1983).
Annotated Code of Professional Responsibility. (Chicago: American Bar Foundation, 1979).
ABA Canons of Professional Ethics/Canons of Judicial Ethics, 1908 (last amended in 1963).
Canons of Professional Ethics and Canons of Judicial Ethics. (Chicago, American Bar Association, 1908).
ABA Center for Professional Responsibility. ABA Canons of Professional Ethics (pdf).
Legislative History
The Legislative History of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct: Their Development in the ABA House of Delegates (Chicago: American Bar Association, Center for Professional Responsibility, 1987).
A Legislative History: the Development of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, 1982-2005. (Chicago: Center for Professional Responsibility, American Bar Association, 2006).
ABA Ethics Opinions
The ABA Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issues formal and informal ethics opinions. Attorneys ask the committee to render opinions on whether certain conduct violates ethics rules. The Committee gives responses in the form of formal and informal ethics opinions. These opinions are recommendations to the attorneys and are not enforceable. They may be cited in another case as persuasive authority to show how the ABA has interpreted the Code or Rules. [Jane Banson, Legal Ethics, <http://www.law.duke.edu/lib/researchguides/legale.html> (last visited 3/28/2011).]
ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct [Electronic Resource] (Chicago: American Bar Association).
Print
BNA Database:
Westlaw:
Recent Ethics Opinions. (Chicago: American Bar Association, Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, 1999- .).
Formal and Informal Ethics Opinions, 1983-1998. Formal opinions 349-412, Informal opinions 1496-1530. (Chicago: American Bar Association, Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, 2000).
Formal and Informal Ethics Opinions, 1967-1982. Formal Opinions 316-348, Informal Opinions 1285-1495. (Chicago: American Bar Association, Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, 1985).
Informal Ethics Opinions. Volume 1 contains informal opinion C-230 to opinion 866; volume 2 contains informal opinions 867-1284. (Chicago: American Bar Association, Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, 1975).
Compilations of Model Codes, ABA Standards & Other Ethics Codes
ABA Compendium of Professional Responsibility Rules and Standards. (Chicago: Center for Professional Responsibility, American Bar Association, 1997- ).
Compendium of Client Protection Rules. (2007 ed. Chicago: Center for Professional Responsibility, ABA, 2007) .
Restatement
“Perhaps one of the most misunderstood and neglected resources by law students across the country are the restatements. … The publication of the Restatement of the Law Third – The Law Governing Lawyers in 2000 was the American Law Institute’s first attempt to clarify and synthesize the current state of the law in this area, and is now considered an essential resource in legal ethics.” [Stephen Young, Researching Legal Ethics, 16 Perspectives: Teaching Legal Res. & Writing 29 (2007).]
American Law Institute. Restatement of the Law Third: The Law Governing Lawyers. (2000).
Print
Lexis: Restatement 3d, Law Governing Lawyers – Rule Section
Restatement 3d, Law Governing Lawyers – Citations Section
Westlaw: REST-LGOVL
Hornbooks and Treatises: a Selective List
Robert H. Aronson & Donald T. Weckstein. Professional Responsibility in a Nutshell. (2d ed. St. Paul, MN: Thomson West, 1991).
Monroe H. Freedman & Abbe Smith. Understanding Lawyers’ Ethics. (4th ed., Newark, NJ: LexisNexis, 2010).
Geoffrey C. Hazard & W. William Hodes. The Law of Lawyering. (3d ed. Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen Law & Business, 2001- .).
Deborah L. Rhode, ed. Ethics in Practice: Lawyers’ Roles, Responsibilities, and Regulation. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).
Deborah L. Rhode & Geoffrey C. Hazard, Jr. Professional Responsibility and Regulation. (2d ed. New York: Foundation Press; St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson/West, 2007).
William G. Ross. The Honest Hour: The Ethics of Time-Based Billing by Attorneys. (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 1996).
Charles F. Wolfram. Modern Legal Ethics. (St. Paul, MN: West Pub. Co., 1986).
Student Edition.
Richard A. Zitrin. The Moral Compass of the American Lawyer: Truth, Justice, Power, and Greed. (New York: Ballantine Books, 1999).
For other books on professional responsibility, use THEMIS and try a keyword search or a subject search using one of the following subject headings:
Attorney and Client
Confidential Communications–Lawyers
Electronic Discovery (Law)
Judicial Ethics
Lawyers – Malpractice
Lawyers – United States – Discipline
Legal Ethics
Legal Ethics – Problems, exercises, etc.
Treatises: Corporate Counsel
Legal Ethics for In-House Corporate Counsel. (Arlington, VA: Bureau of National Affairs, 2007).
National Institute on Internal Corporate Investigations and In-House Counsel. (Chicago, IL: American Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education, 2009).
Second Annual National Institute
Treatises: Criminal
John M. Burkoff. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel. (Deerfield, IL: Clark Boardman Callaghan, 1993- .).
Westlaw: INASCNSL
Ethical Problems Facing the Criminal Defense Lawyer: Practical Answers to Tough Questions. (Chicago, IL: Criminal Justice Section, American Association, 1995).
John Wesley Hall, Jr. Professional Responsibility in Criminal Defense Practice. (3d ed., St. Paul, MN: Thomson West, 2005).
Peter A. Joy. Do No Wrong: Ethics for Prosecutors and Defenders. (Chicago, IL: American Bar Association, 2008).
Joseph F. Lawless. Prosecutorial Misconduct: Law, Procedure, Forms. 4th ed., Newark, NJ: LexisNexis, 2003).
Lexis: Prosecutorial Misconduct
Prosecutorial Misconduct. (St. Paul: West, 2002- .).
Treatises: Family Law
Louis I. Parley. The Ethical Family Lawyer: a Practical Guide to Avoiding Professional Dilemmas. (Chicago, IL: Family Law Section, American Bar Association, 1995).
William Wesley Patton. Legal Ethics in Child Custody and Dependency Proceedings: a Guide for Judges and Lawyers. (Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006).
Treatises: Trusts and Estates
Engagement Letters: A Guide for Practitioners; For Use with the ACTEC Commentaries on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. (2d ed. Los Angeles, CA: American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Foundation, 2007).
Treatises: Other Areas
The Attorney-Client Privilege in Civil Litigation. (4th ed. Chicago, IL: American Bar Association, 2008).
John M. Barkett. The Ethics of E-Discovery. (Chicago, IL: ABA, 2009).
Ethics in a Brave New World: Professional Responsibility, Personal Accountability, and Risk Management for Immigration Practitioners. (Washington, C.D.: American Immigration Lawyers Association, 2004).
Edna Epstein. The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work-Product Doctrine. (5th ed., Chicago: Section of Litigation, American Bar Association, 2007).
Paul R. Rice. Attorney-Client Privilege in the United States. (2d ed. St. Paul, MN: West Group, 1999- .).
Westlaw: ACPRIV-FED
Irma S. Russell. Issues of Legal Ethics in the Practice of Environmental Law. (Chicago, IL: American Bar Association, 2003)
Patricia E. Salkin, ed. Ethical Standards in the Public Sector. (2nd ed. Chicago: American Bar Association Section of State and Local Government Law, 2008).
Westlaw: ABA-ESPS
Marc I. Steinberg. Attorney Liability after Sarbanes-Oxley. (New York: ALM Properties, 2005-date).
Journals
Georgetown Journal Of Legal Ethicsin HeinOnline
Journal of Ethics & Social Philosophy
Journal of the Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics in HeinOnline
Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics in HeinOnline
Journal of the Legal Profession in HeinOnline
Journal of the Professional Lawyer in HeinOnline
Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy in HeinOnline
HeinOnline, Lexis, and Westlaw
HeinOnline provides the best choice for retrieving law reviews and bar journals when you have a citation. HeinOnline’s coverage dates usually extend to volume one of each law review and bar journal it covers.
Both Lexis and Westlaw include law reviews and bar journals dealing with professional responsibility. Coverage dates typically begin in the early 1980s.
Westlaw: ETH-TP database covers selected articles from law reviews and bar journals, in addition to CLE course materials, treatises, and other texts.
Lexis: the Legal Ethics Law Review Articles, Combined, file provides selected articles.
Periodicals Indexes
Wilson Web: Legal Periodicals Full Text and Retro, (formerly Index to Legal Periodicals).
Legaltrac, 1980 to date.
Research Guides and Articles
Lee F. Peoples. Legal Ethics: A Legal Research Guide. (2d ed. Buffalo, NY: Hein, 2006)
Stephen Young, Researching Legal Ethics, 16 Perspectives: Teaching legal Res. & Writing 29 (2007).
Westlaw: 16 No. 1 PERSPEC 29.
Web Sites
Arkansas Judiciary. Arkansas Court Rules and Administrative Orders.
Arkansas Rules of Professional Conduct. Current and superseded.
ABA Center for Professional Responsibility. This website offers the text of the Model Rules, the 1969 Model Code, and the 1908 Canons. It also provides links to state ethics rules.
Rev. April 1, 2011