ABA Adopts Anti-Discrimination Conduct Rule

At a San Francisco meeting this week, the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates approved a new rule that makes it professional misconduct for attorneys to harass or discriminate in actions related to the practice of law. Critics of the proposed rule said that it would abridge lawyers’ personal freedoms, but Myles Lynk, chair of the ALA’s ethics committee, said, “It is time for the ABA to catch up.” The rule restricts behavior that “the lawyer knows or reasonably should know is harassment or discrimination” based on race, sex, marital status, gender identity, or age. “Half of my students are women. A quarter are students of color,” said NYU School of Law legal ethics expert Stephen Gillers. “The ABA has looked to them like an organization of old white guys. This vote will help.”