Abstract

US courts regulate civil advocates in two ways. First, state judiciaries adopt rules of professional conduct that include provisions governing lawyers' work in civil litigation. Additionally, in the course of ruling on sanctions motions in civil lawsuits, courts develop and enforce standards of conduct on an ad hoc basis in common law fashion. Sometimes rules of conduct incorporate the case law and sometimes the case law builds on professional conduct rules, but other times the rules and case law diverge. This article discusses the role of rules and case law in regulating US civil advocates, the relationship between rules and case law, and the comparative advantages of each