Integrity In Law And Corruption

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Integrity means the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. I believe that once a lawyer takes the oath to uphold the law, integrity should become their number one priority. All the ethics’ codes that lawyers must stand by have clear guidelines and disciplinary consequences if not upheld.
The opposite of integrity for a lawyer is corruption. Corruption is defined as dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power. Lawyers who take their knowledge of law and use it against their clients and the legal system are corrupt. The top five corruption practices have been documented in an article published by cracked.com and are as follows:
A divorce lawyer taking the feelings of their already distressed client and manipulates …show more content…

We are not talking about the run of the mill extra money either, we are talking about millions of dollars. Everyone has different ethical standards and there is always that point where you chose to cross the line or not. Think about the lawyer who opens life insurance policies for the soon to be deceased, that attorney hasn’t really hurt anyone, just made a profit by being smart. What harm was really done there? The injured party is already deceased. The family didn’t know the policies were even there. Where was the line that turned from honest to dishonest? In the eyes of that lawyer, it isn’t wrong because no one was …show more content…

A lawyer shall treat their client’s interests as the most important above anyone else and their own interest.
Undertaking. A lawyer must honor any client they take on and perform any work in a timely manner.
Client’s Freedom. A lawyer shall respect a client’s freedom to chose any lawyer they want.
Client Property. A lawyer shall account for and keep a client’s property safe and separate from the lawyer’s property.
Competence. A lawyer shall carry out their work in a competent and timely manner.
Fees. A lawyer is entitled to fees for work and shall not charge an unreasonable fee or generate unnecessary work (IBA).
The basic purpose of rules on integrity in the legal profession is to keep the professional conduct of an attorney honest in order to avoid the potential for corruption. These laws are necessary because of the corrupt lawyers described above. There is clear disciplinary action in place to keep a lawyer honest. The Oregon State Bar has a Board of Directors who investigate every complaint that comes into their office. Many claims are set aside as frivolous and do not need any further action, but others warrant investigation and under some circumstances suspension of a lawyer’s license, sanctions against them financially, imprisonment, forced resignation of their law degree and closing of their law practice (Disciplinary Rule

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