With a license to practice law comes great responsibility, and that responsibility is generally not excused simply because a junior attorney was “following orders” from a more senior attorney.  Indeed, associates who believe that a bar association will ignore ethical violations by associates because they were acting under the direction of partners may be in for a rude awakening.

Rule 5.2(a) of the California Rules of Professional Conduct specifically provides that a lawyer shall comply with the applicable rules “notwithstanding that the lawyer acts at the direction of another lawyer or person.” However, young lawyers entering law firms can be heavily dependent on partners for guidance and for work as they become acclimated to the practice of law. In addition, associates are often eager to please partners to establish themselves as valuable additions to the firm.