To most lawyers, the Rules of Professional Conduct govern matters such as conflicts of interest and the disclosure of confidential and sensitive information, but do not impact how they manage their offices, how they conduct their private affairs, or how they deal with staff and others. This perception is not accurate because the rules have always applied to much more than just the items covered in a law school ethics course.

The rules apply, for example, to a lawyer’s personal and professional conduct, which is how and why attorneys may be disciplined for criminal and other conduct unrelated to their practices. A recent proposal circulated by the Disciplinary Board on Aug. 31, in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, 49 Pa.B. 4941, confirms that the perception that the rules only apply to traditional lawyerly conduct is incorrect.