WCBA COMMITTEE FOR DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
DISCRIMINATION AND UNFAIR BIAS IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION? STATE BAR CONSIDERS NEW ETHICS RULES BY TAWANDA FOSTER ARTIS | SENIOR STAFF ATTORNEY, NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
UPON THE RECOMMENDATION of its Ethics Committee, the State Bar Council recently voted to publish for comment a proposed amendment concerning the adoption of anti-discrimination language in the Preamble of the Rules of Professional Conduct. The proposed amendment would make avoiding discriminatory conduct while employed or engaged in a professional capacity a fundamental value of the profession. The State Bar Council approved a substantially similar amendment to the Preamble in 2010; however, the North Carolina Supreme Court did not approve the amendment at that time. The proposed 2020 amendment states while acting in a professional capacity, attorneys “should not discriminate on the basis of a person’s race, gender, national origin, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or socioeconomic status.” This responsibility would not prevent an attorney from making arguments on any issue or impede the attorney’s ability to accept, decline, or withdraw from a representation in accordance with the rules. In addition to this published proposed amendment, the Ethics Committee is considering two other changes to the Rules of Professional Conduct. The first would amend Rule 8.4 Misconduct to include a provision that is the same or similar to ABA Model Rule 8.4(g) adopted in 2016. Paragraph (g) of ABA Model Rule 8.4 states that it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to “engage in conduct that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know is harassment or discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or socioeconomic status in conduct related to the practice of law.” This rule does not prevent an attorney from making arguments on any issue, or impede the attorney’s ability to accept, decline or withdraw from a representation in accordance with the rules. The second issue involves studying a proposal to include awareness of implicit bias in the comment to Rule 1.1 Competency. Subcommittees of the Ethics Committee will study each of these issues. Today, more than half of the states in the United States have adopted a similar rule to ABA Model Rule 8.4(g) and/or a comment related to the prohibition of discriminatory and harassing conduct by attorneys. No matter where the State Bar or Supreme Court ends up on these issues, their consideration has sparked important and relevant conversations around the impact of bias, harassment and discrimination in the practice of law in our state. Any questions or comments on these proposals can be submitted to the Ethics Committee. WBF
YLD UPDATE PRO BONO OPPORTUNITY WITH TRIANGLE FAMILY SERVICES NOVEMBER 7 The WCBA YLD Public Service Committee will hold a remote YLD Virtual Pro Bono Clinic with Triangle Family Services on Saturday, November 7 from 10 a.m. to 1p.m. Clients and attorneys will be paired off in advance for 30-minute question-andanswer sessions, and we are looking to recruit one, or preferably two, lawyers in each of the following areas: (1) Criminal law; (2) Family law; (3) Benefits law; and (4) Immigration law. If you have any questions, please contact YLD Pro Bono Co-chairs Will Dickey (wdickey@lanierlawgroup.com) and Leigh Wiclair (leigh@ncprobono.org). Registration is open online. WBF
WAKE BAR FLYER
20
FOURTH QUARTER 2020
