Lawyers generally know their conduct when representing clients or appearing in court can be subject to review under the applicable bar rules. But courts and bars are becoming more proactive in reviewing lawyers’ fitness to practice based on missteps in their personal lives, separate from their professional activity.

To many bars and courts, a lawyer’s reputation can be tarnished by bad behavior in his or her personal life because such conduct can bear on the lawyer’s penchant for honesty or could even put the public at risk. Bars and courts reviewing a lawyer’s conduct as a private citizen often focus on the fact that members of the bar have elected a profession that is premised on morality, honesty and integrity.