This text is an abridgement of the Restatement of the Law Third–The Law Governing Lawyers, intended primarily for use in law school legal ethics courses as either a textbook or as supplemental reading. This restatement addresses such issues as the formation of the client-lawyer relationship, legal malpractice, and the potential liability of lawyers to third-party non-clients.

​​This volume introduces the reader to national standards to illustrate the growing body of law that​ ​governs lawyer conduct: the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct, the American Law Institute’s Restatement of the Law Governing Lawyers, and selected federal statutes and rules.​ New to the 2023-2024 Edition: 2022 American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct, as amended through December 2022

Submitted by the Council to the members of the American Law Institute for discussion.

This volume introduces the reader to national standards to illustrate the growing body of law that governs lawyer conduct: the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct, the American Law Institute’s Restatement of the Law Governing Lawyers, and selected federal statutes and rules. New to the 2024-2025 Edition: 2023 American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct, as amended through December 2023

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.