New Jersey lawyers may soon be subject to stronger ethics rules against harassing and discriminatory conduct, standards that would apply in more settings.

The New Jersey State Bar Association has asked Chief Justice Stuart Rabner to align RPC 8.4(g) with a model version of that rule adopted by the American Bar Association. If the change is adopted, lawyers could be brought before disciplinary authorities for their interactions with others in their firm or law office, at bar association events or in business or social events related to the practice of law.

The ABA adopted the expanded model rule in September 2016 on the recommendation of its Diversity and Inclusion 360 Commission, according to Thomas Prol, the immediate past president of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Prol, on behalf of the association, sent a letter on May 16 asking Rabner to adopt the revised RPC 8.4(g). The letter was signed before the end of Prol's term.