Research Guides: Researching Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility: Rules

Overview

Legal ethics and professional responsibility are governed by rules, cases, and ethics opinions. The rules can often be found in an annotated code.

State Rules

Many states follow the previous or current model rules of professional conduct. You can usually find the rules within a print annotated code.

Codes from State Bar Websites
ABA Center for Professional Responsibility
State Ethics Rules
ABA/BNA Lawyers' Manual on Professional Conduct for Law students and faculty only.
State Ethics Rules on Westlaw
Law students & faculty only. In the Westlaw search box: [State] Statutes & Court Rules
(in place of [state] put the name of the state from which you want the rules)
Ethics Rules on Lexis
Law students & faculty only.

Citation

Bluebook

Rule 12.9.5 of The Bluebook (22d ed. 2025) covers the citation of the ABA Model Rules.

Elements

The citation should include the following:

Code
Rule
Institutional Author
Year adopted (unless the version cited includes subsequent amendments, then give year of last amendment)

Example

Practitioner typeface:

Model Rules of Pro.Conduct r. 1.5 (A.B.A. 2009).

Scholarly citation typeface:

Model Rules of Pro. Conduct r. 1.5 (A.B.A. 2009).

ALWD

Rule 23.5 of the ALWD Citation Manual (7th ed.) covers the citation of model codes and rules of professional responsibility.

Elements

The citation should include the following:

Title
Rule
Institutional author
Date

Example

Model Rules of Pro. Conduct r. 1.5 (Am. Bar Ass'n 1983).

Model Rules

The American Bar Association promulgates model ethics rules. These rules are not binding law in any jurisdiction unless affirmatively adopted by the legislature of that jurisdiction. Many states follow the previous or current model rules of professional conduct in some fashion. You can find the model rules in print on reserve but you can also find them on Lexis, Wesltaw, and in the ABA / BNA Lawyer’s Manual.

Annotated Model Rules of Professional Conduct
Law Stacks KF 305 .A2 2015
This is the current ethical codes of the American Bar Association. Since their creation in 1983, they have been adopted in some form by numerous states. The Model Rules consist of a Preamble, a statement of their scope, and a list of approximately 58 rules, organized into eight subject areas. Each Rule is followed by a comment, explaining the Rule.
Annotated Model Rules of Professional Conduct (Westlaw) Law students & faculty only. ABA Annotated Model Rules of Professional Conduct contains the rule accompanied by commentary and annotations.
Model Rules of Professional Conduct
ABA website
Model Rules of Professional Conduct
ABA / Bloomberg Law Lawyers' Manual on Professional Conduct (Law students & faculty only)
ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and Code of Judicial Conduct (Lexis) Law students & faculty only. Model Rules of Professional Conduct contains 1987 Edition up to current. Model Code of Judicial Conduct contains 1997 Edition up to 2010 Edition. Annotated Model Code of Judicial Conduct contains the Third and 2020 Edition. Model Code of Professional Responsibility contains the 2010 Edition. Amendments to these rules are included as well, so when searching on a particular rule, both the original rule and any subsequent amended versions of that rule will be retrieved. The Model Rules of Professional Conduct consists of Rules and accompanying comments. These Rules were adopted by the ABA in 1983 to replace the Model Code. The Model Code of Professional Responsibility consists of Canons, Ethical Considerations and Disciplinary Rules. The Code of Judicial Conduct consists of Canons and Sections. This Code was originally adopted by the ABA in 1972. The ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct was adopted by the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association on August 7, 1990, and amended in 1997, 1999 and 2007.
Model Code of Professional Responsibility
ABA website
Created by the ABA in 1969, this Code was adopted by courts in almost every state. Many states still have ethical codes based on the Model Code. The Code is divided into three parts: Canons, Disciplinary Rules, and Ethical Considerations, plus a set of Definitions. The Canons are general statements, defined as "axiomatic norms." The Disciplinary Rules are considered to be mandatory, while Ethical Considerations contain objectives towards which lawyers should strive.
Model Code of Professional Responsibility
Bloomberg Law (law students & faculty only)
ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct
The Model Code of Judicial Conduct was adopted by the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association on August 7, 1990 and amended on August 6, 1997, August 10, 1999, August 12, 2003, February 12, 2007, and August 10, 2010.