• New York professional conduct in the law.Justice image by MVit from Fotolia.com
  
  "Rules of Professional Conduct" normally concern the legal profession in a specific state. The legal profession is self-governing and represents, to an extent, a separate branch of government, or at least, an autonomous part of the judicial branch of the state. As a result of this autonomy, the legal profession, represented by the state bar association, draws up a usually detailed document delineating the basic ethical principles that define the conduct of the legal profession and identifying areas of ethical conflict.
  
  

Clients

• The first concern of the New York Bar lies in the representation of the client. The basics here are legal competence and ability, preparation of a case in all thoroughness and maintaining lines of communication at all times. Every lawyer-client relationship represents the legal profession and the respect of the population for the law. If a lawyer acts unethically, it is not merely the lawyer that suffers, but the law itself, which stands to lose respect.
  
  

Views

• The New York rules strongly state that a person should not be denied legal representation due to his unpopularity or controversial status. It is equally clear that legal representation does not imply the endorsement of the views of the lifestyle of a client. Clients receive the protection of the legal profession because they are citizens, not because they are popular.
  
  

Fees

• The charging of fees is another important area of professional conduct for the New York Bar. The professional variables in charging a client are reduced to the basics: the difficulty of the case, the clients lost as a result of taking the current client, the normal fees charged in the local market, and the experience and reputation of the lawyer receiving the client. All of these must be taken into consideration when charging a client.
  
  

Conflict

• Conflict of interest makes up the bulk of the New York Bar's Rules of Professional Conduct. Basically, a lawyer may not take a case that would directly involve his own financial or personal interests in the outcome of the case. This general rule covers many things, but it lies at the foundation of legal conduct that is ethical and proper. This idea of "conflict" also reaches to the interests of former clients. The New York Bar makes it very clear that the interests of former clients are not to be harmed by taking on new clients opposed to them, except through the written permission of the former clients.