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Ethics: Questions & Morality of Human Actions, 3rd Edition

Codes of civility

by Timothy L. Hall

Definition: Informal standards of etiquette observed by members of the legal professions

Type of Ethics: Legal and judicial ethics

Significance: Courts and legal organizations have attempted to curb excessive rancor among lawyers by adopting codes of civility.

Toward the end of the twentieth century, many observers were noticing a decline in civility among lawyers, especially among trial lawyers. Lawyers, according to a common lament, too often resort to win-at-all-costs, scorched-earth practices characterized by rudeness and uncooperativeness. Although lawyers must comply with the rules of professional ethics, established rules such as the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct seem to be insufficient to restrain the aggressive tendencies of many lawyers. As a result, judges and professional legal organizations have increasingly turned to codes of civility as blueprints for less rancorous professional conduct.

The codes are relatively informal exhortations for lawyers to treat one another—and other participants in the judicial process—with greater politeness and typically suggest how politeness might express itself in particular contexts. For examples, lawyers are encouraged to refrain from engaging in disparaging comments toward other attorneys, parties, or witnesses; to refrain from scheduling hearings and other court matters at times calculated to pose scheduling conflicts for other lawyers; and to avoid delaying procedures as a tactical device.

See also: American Inns of Court; Attorney-client privilege; Attorney misconduct; Code of Professional Responsibility; Etiquette; Jurisprudence; Law; Legal ethics; Professional ethics.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Hall, Timothy L. "Codes Of Civility." Ethics: Questions & Morality of Human Actions, 3rd Edition, edited by George Lucas & John K. Roth, Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Ethics_0375.
APA 7th
Hall, T. L. (2019). Codes of civility. In G. Lucas & J. K. Roth (Eds.), Ethics: Questions & Morality of Human Actions, 3rd Edition. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Hall, Timothy L. "Codes Of Civility." Edited by George Lucas & John K. Roth. Ethics: Questions & Morality of Human Actions, 3rd Edition. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2019. Accessed October 22, 2025. online.salempress.com.