Competence is a bedrock obligation of every lawyer in every setting. The Rules of Professional Conduct in fact begin with an explicit requirement of competence. RPC 1.1 prohibits lawyers from handling or neglecting a matter in a manner constituting gross negligence or exhibiting a pattern of negligence or neglect. Competence is “the cornerstone for the rest of the rules.” NJ Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, Opinion 671 (1993). The Committee noted that even when an attorney has no prior experience in an area of law, the attorney may be able to provide competent advice by engaging in “some combination of education, study, reflection, experience, research and other background.” Id.

Regardless of the legal setting and circumstances, deviation from the standard of practice may qualify as professional malpractice, a basis for reversal and unethical conduct. Examples of conduct falling sufficiently short of the standard of competence that warranted disciplinary action include:

  1. Ignoring an estate matter for years, becoming paralyzed by not knowing how to handle the matter, among other transgressions, In re Kantor, 180 N.J. 226 (2004) (respondent lawyer was disbarred);
  2. Failing to prepare for trial as a municipal prosecutor, In re Segal,130 N.J. 268 (1992) (public reprimand);
  3. Failing to memorialize an agreement among other failures of due diligence, In re Albert, 120 N.J. 698 (1990) (three month suspension); or
  4. Drafting grossly deficient documents due to lack of experience with promissory notes, In re Wallace, 104 N.J. 589 (1986) (six months suspension from practice).

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