The Attorney Guidelines of Civility and Professionalism provide best practices of civility in the practice of law and are offered to promote both the effectiveness and the enjoyment of the practice of law and economical client representation.
At the request of Shelly Sloan, then president-elect of the State Bar Board of Trustees, the board appointed the Attorney Civility Task Force in August 2006 to study and recommend aspirational civility guidelines for adoption by the board. In July 2007, after the task force made further revisions to incorporate suggestions made in public comment, the Board of Trustees adopted the “California Attorney Guidelines of Civility and Professionalism” as a model set of guidelines for members, voluntary bar associations, and courts to use and implement in a way that is effective for the legal community.
Rule 9.7 of the California Rules of Court, effective May 27, 2014, (adopted as rule 9.4 and renumbered effective January 1, 2018), was adopted to supplement the attorney oath for new lawyers. Rule 9.7 states:
In addition to the language required by Business and Professions Code section 6067, the oath to be taken by every person on admission to practice law is to conclude with the following: “As an officer of the court, I will strive to conduct myself at all times with dignity, courtesy, and integrity.”
The following are links to guidelines on civility and professionalism adopted by bar associations and courts:
The following are links to articles on attorney civility and professionalism: