Ban On Sex With Clients Draws Some Lawyers’ Ire

California’s Bar Association is considering an all-out ban on lawyers having sex with their clients, but some attorneys are pushing back, saying it’s an unjustified invasion of privacy. The question has come up as California, which has the largest bar association in the country, overhauls its ethics rules for the first time in 30 years. Coercing a client into having sex, or demanding sexual acts in exchange for legal representation are already banned. But the state bar commission has considered the blanket ban on sexual activities during the last few months when it has crafted and amended 70 rules at the behest of the California Supreme Court. The sex ban has divided the rules commission. In an October meeting, lawyer and commission member Daniel Eaton said the current rules over sex with clients aren’t working, citing a lack of disciplinary action against attorneys as evidence. Other opponents, including the Los Angeles Bar Association ethics committee, say the rule is unnecessary and would be struck down as an invasion of privacy. “Proponents of a complete ban cannot articulate why a lawyer should be disciplined for sexual relations with a mature, intelligent, consenting adult, in the absence of any quid pro quo, coercion, intimidation or undue influence,” James Ham, another lawyer on the commission, wrote in a dissent. As of May 2015 more than a dozen states have adopted the rule as set forth by the American Bar Association. Like the ABA’s ban, California’s would except relationships that pre-date the attorney-client relationship. The rules commission has until the end of March 2017 to get board approval for the proposals.