How ethical should an advocate be to become an ethical lawyer?

Good ethics are a fundamental requirement for any vocation. Ethics refers to the ability of human
action to distinguish between right and wrong. Professional ethics are the established rules or
moral precepts that guide a person's behavior in a professional setting or during the course of
their employment. A lawyer must abide by ethical rules for treating clients fairly and upholding
self-possession in the legal profession. Human behavior that distinguishes between what is true
and what is false is referred to as ethical. Professional ethics are the established rules or moral
precepts that guide a person's conduct in a professional setting or during the course of their
employment. An attorney must abide by ethical rules for treating clients fairly as well as uphold
their sense of self-possession.

Under the Advocate Act of 1961, the Indian government created a statutory body known as The
Bar Council of India.

The obligation to behave in each client's best interest is also present. According to the
partisanship principle, a lawyer's main responsibility is to protect a client's rights and present the
strongest argument possible without taking into account how it might affect other parties. This is
not intended to support criminal action, but rather to detach a significant portion of the morality
from legal arguments made on behalf of clients. A lawyer should also put out every possible
effort on behalf of their client. The reasoning behind this is that although a client has legal rights,
they frequently lack the knowledge to exercise them. The constant conundrum in partisan
strategy is the possibly conflicting ethical duties placed on a lawyer: those to the client and those
to the professions’ and the society's overall interests. The ethical requirements of a lawyer extend
beyond any personal moral conflicts they may experience. By definition, ethics is the moral
foundation for business dealings. Beyond their client's needs, a lawyer's ethical obligations
encompass the larger interests of the law, society, and justice. Because of this, it is not always
possible to say that a lawyer is working ethically when they only follow the usual conception.

A lawyer has an ethical obligation to keep client information private. The respect for the client's
right to privacy and the position of trust bestowed upon a lawyer inspire this idea. There is a
unique duty that lawyers have in the law to keep client information confidential. The most
notable exception to confidentiality is when the customer gives permission for the information to
be disclosed. Ensuring that conversations between clients and attorneys are kept private serves
both the public interest and the interests of the profession. According to the legal privilege
doctrine, communications between attorneys and clients as well as any documents created for
legal proceedings cannot be disclosed to third parties without the client's permission. Keeping
within the bounds of the law is crucial since there is also a criminal exemption resulting from
Section 10(2) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, which specifies that the privilege
does not apply to goods held with the intention of furthering a criminal purpose.

A further obligation is to avoid conflicts of interest. A lawyer should avoid situations where there
is a conflict between the interests of one client and the interests of another client, or even just the
possibility of such a conflict. The first is that you shouldn't put yourself in a position where your
interests or those of a client conflict. The second is that you shouldn't put yourself in a situation
where the interests of one client conflict with the interests of another client. This is known as a
"client conflict."

Further, legal professionals are said to have social obligations to people besides their clients. The
ethical rules for lawyers emphasize their responsibility to the court. The most challenging
question with regard to this duty is whether or not the attorney has an obligation to divulge the
information even if it helps the opponent. There are obligations owed to the public in addition to
this, but if a lawyer also has a responsibility to the state generally, then they would also be
required to take action on any information they learn that suggests a significant risk to the
public's health or finances.

To fulfill their client's requests within the bounds of the law is the role of the lawyer. If the
attorney's ethics conflict to the point where they are unable to represent the client in court, they
should resign from their post. If the client's admission of guilt caused the ethical conflict, the
attorney could technically plead not guilty because the prosecution has not proven its case
beyond a reasonable doubt, even though there would be no way for the attorney to show in court
that the client did not commit the crime. This is so that no attorney can intentionally mislead the
court. In contrast to an ethical standpoint, the attorney has the option of continuing to represent
the client in the aforementioned situation or choosing to stop representing the client altogether.
The attorney should be aware that since they are defending the interests of their client rather than
their own, conflicts are inevitable in many cases. Only when the attorney's ethical position
prevents them from representing the client and they are adamant about their position in the
dispute should there be a disagreement.

Through several judicial pronouncements, the authorities have time and again reiterated the role
of a lawyer and their duties towards not only towards their clients but also to law as a profession.
In The Supreme Court ruled in State of Orissa v. Nalini Kanta Muduli, that because members
of the bar are officers of the court, it is their duty to support the court and not mislead it. The
advocate or lawyer has a fiduciary duty to his client. It denotes a lawyer who defends his client
in court. He defends his client's interests throughout the dispute and the legal process. Even
while the connection between an advocate and his client is contractual in nature, it nonetheless
entails the highest level of confidence and trust. In essence, it is a devoted and religious
connection.

The Supreme Court ruled in Bar Council of India v. Kurapati Satya Narayana, that a
delinquent advocate's failure to give his client the decretal money he had received on their behalf
constituted a breach of trust and serious professional misconduct. The Bar Council of India made
a mistake when it believed that the offender had used the money for his treatment and had no
intention of keeping it. As a result, the proper punishment of having his name removed from the
State Roll was applied.

The Supreme Court ruled in State of Punjab v. Ram Singh, that "misconduct" can include
moral turpitude, improper or unlawful behavior, unlawful behavior, performing a forbidden act,
being careless or negligent in the course of one's duties, or an act that has forbidden qualities or
characteristics. Thus, it can be said that even though law cannot rest on morality but it does have
a moral obligation towards the society and the lawyers are the first step towards that since it is
through the lawyers, the client can plead justice not just on the basis of law but also certain moral
obligations.

The upkeep of the nation's temple of justice which is impenetrable to lawyers and is kept spotless
is essential for the nation's future. It cannot be maintained in this way unless the operation and
motivations of the legitimate members are as they claim. Therefore, it becomes clear and easy for
attorneys to use all legal means at their disposal to exert influence and to help create the Bar that
is required. The main goals of legal conduct are to uphold the honor and dignity of the legal
profession safeguard the spirit of amicable cooperation, foster respectful and impartial
cooperation with his client, the opposing party, and the witness, foster a sense of brotherhood
within the Bar, and ensure that advocates fulfill their obligations to the general public. The
cornerstone of government is the legal community. Legal practice is a profession, not a business
created by the government with the community's best interests in mind.

Thus, any profession must priorities ethics. However, in the realm of law, public opinion of the
morality of laws and their application determines the legal framework and faith in the
administration of justice. People would lose faith in the court and the legal process, which would
have dangerous consequences in the absence of strong ethics and the enforcement of correct
ethical behavior. We risk anarchy and the breakdown of society as we know it if people lose faith
in the rule of law and disregard the authority of the judiciary.

Name: Ritisha Choudhary