There’s an old adage that says “Charity begins at home”.  I would like to paraphrase that and say “Governance begins at home”.   I’ve listed below some of the standard texts in the King County Law Library and a few that you may not be aware of that discuss legal ethics.

Washington

Washington Legal Ethics Deskbook.  Washington State Bar Association, 2003.
            The purpose of this book is to “create a deskbook that lawyers can turn to for guidance on ethical dilemmas in their daily practice.  It consolidates under the various chapter topics relevant information from a variety of sources, such as formal and informal Washington and ABA ethics opinions, commentary to the ABA Model Rules, appellate decisions, and the Restatement (Third) of the Law Governing Lawyers.”  Chapter topics include advertising and solicitation, fees and fee agreements, conflict of interest, and attorney malpractice.

Washington Court Rules Annotated, 2d ed.  Rules of Professional Conduct.  vol. 1. West.   
            Contains the text of the Rules of Professional Conduct, commentary, references to law reviews and journals, case annotations, and secondary sources such as Washington Practice, ALR’s and Am Jur Proof of Facts.  The editors indicate if a comment is a Washington revision.

American Bar Association

ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct, American Bar Association and Bureau of National Affairs.
            Topical sections within this set include an overview, background information, analysis of the law, and descriptions of how courts and ethics committees have applied the law regarding professional conduct.  This treatise contains the full text of ABA ethics opinions issued since 1986 and digests of state and local ethics opinions.  It also contains links to state web sites for full text of state ethics rules and opinions.

Legal Ethics:  The Lawyer’s Deskbook on Professional Responsibility by Ronald D. Rotunda and John S. Dzienkowski.  American Bar Association.  2007.
            This book reflects changes made to the Model Rules through May 2007 as well as the developments in the case law, literature, and regulations governing legal ethics.  The authors examine and analyze not only the current version of the Rules, but also discuss and analyze the Rules’ predecessors.

American Law Institute

Restatement of the Law (Third) The Law Governing Lawyers.  American Law Institute, 2000.
            “The Restatement addresses the formation of the client-lawyer relationship, primarily but not exclusively a contract arrangement, whereas the ethics codes presuppose that such a relationship has been established.  It addresses issues of civil liability of lawyers.  And it makes a distinction between decisional law and statutory law.”  (Ethics codes in almost all jurisdictions have the form and force of statutes, or at least administrative regulation.)  As with all Restatements, this Restatement has become a major influence in the amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct both at the ABA level and the individual states.

Other Treatises

The Law of Lawyering, 3d ed. by Geoffrey C. Hazard, Jr. and W. William Hodes.  Aspen Publishers.
            This two volume set is arranged into eight major topics:  the client-lawyer relationship, the lawyer as counselor, the lawyer as advocate, transactions with persons other than clients, forms of law practice and the unauthorized practice of law, public service, information about legal services, and maintaining the integrity of the legal profession.  This is a well-written and very popular set.

Legal Malpractice: Liability, Prevention, Litigation, Insurance, by Ronald E. Mallen and Jeffrey M. Smith.  West.
            This title is “intended to examine all subjects concerning lawyers’ professional liability, including the risks of disqualification and fee disputes.”  Because case law is constantly growing in the area, the publisher now reissues this title on an annual basis, rather than issuing pocket parts or other forms of supplementation.

Red Flags: A Lawyer’s Handbook on Legal Ethics, by Lawrence J. Fox and Susan R. Martyn.  American Law Institute-American Bar Association, 2005.
            This book approaches ethics from the practitioner’s perspective.  The authors help you identify your client and establish your right to the proper fees for your work.  Then they apply the “4 C’s”: Communication, Competence, Confidentiality, and Conflicts of Interest.  They follow up with those crucial situations in which you must say “no”, as well as the remedies against violations of the rules.