Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility: Model Codes

In addition to the individual states' rules of ethics, the American Bar Association (ABA) has enacted several model codes of legal ethics. These are (in order):

Virtually every state has adopted all or part of one or more of these model codes. This is why these rules, and the ethics opinions based on them, are so important to research in this area.

Sources for the Model Rules of Professional Conduct are listed below. (Note: It is not safe to assume that each of these sources is current or represents the most recent edition. For both print and electronic sources, note the version and date of the rules included in each source.)

  • LexisNexis database of ABA Model Rules
  • Westlaw database of ABA Model Rules Annotated
  • Model Rules of Professional Conduct (Law Reserve KF 305 A2 2000a)
  • Annotated Model Rules of Professional Conduct (Law Reserve KF 306 A742 2003)
  • The Law of Lawyering: a Handbook on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (Law Annex KF 306 H39 1998 Supp.)
  • The Legislative History of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct: Their Development in the ABA House of Delegates (Law Reserve KF 306 L45 1987)
  • A Legislative History: The Development of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, 1982-1998 (Law Annex KF 306 L45 1999)

Sources for the Model Code of Professional Responsibility

  • Annotated Code of Professional Responsibility (Law Reserve and Law Annex KF 306 A752 1979)
  • Model Code of Professional Responsibility and Code of Judicial Conduct (Law Annex KF 305 A15 A5 1986)

Compilations of the Model Rules, Model Code, and other ethical standards, which may include tables comparing sections of the Model Rules to the Model Code

  • ABA/BNA Lawyers' Manual on Professional Conduct (Law Reserve KF 305 A15 A2), the "Manual" volume contains an unannotated version of the Model Rules, Model Code, and various other standards promulgated by the ABA. The second part of this volume is a citation-heavy treatise.
  • Professional Responsibility, Standards, Rules & Statutes (Law Reserve KF 305 A29 P76 2003-04)
  • Regulation of Lawyers: Statues and Standards (Law Reserve KF 305 A15 R44 2003)
  • Model Code of Professional Responsibility, Model Rules of Professional Conduct, and Other Selected Standards Including California Rules on Professional Responsibility (Law Reserve KF 305 A2 2004)

Page maintained by: David Bachman
Last updated: May 2008