The American Bar Association says that it is professional misconduct to discriminate against or harass opposing counsel, or anyone else for that matter, in the course of practicing law, the New York Times reported today. The ethics rule now forbids comments or actions that single out someone on the basis of race, religion, sex, disability and other factors. Nearly two dozen state bars and the District of Columbia bar have similar rules. But there has been no national prohibition of such behavior, which, many female lawyers complain, results in too many “honeys,” “darlings” and other sexist remarks and gestures toward them while they are trying to practice their profession. Any penalties would be determined by state bar associations and might include fines or suspension from practice, depending on the severity of the offense. While critics argued that such a broad rule would impair free speech while representing clients and impinge on the freedom to reject potential clients, no lawyers signed up to speak against the revised rule, which was passed on Monday by a voice vote at the A.B.A.’s annual meeting in San Francisco.
