The duty in context
Integrity integrity
The lawyer must act with integrity, maintaining strong ethical principles, and must not do anything reasonably seen by the public to undermine their honesty, integrity or independence.
How the codes express this duty
E&W Solicitors SRA Principles & Code Principle 5 strong 788 cases
You act: 1.5 with integrity.
SRA Principles · 2023 · archived copy · official source ↗
E&W Barristers BSB Handbook CD3; rC8 strong 58 cases
CD3 You must act with honesty, and with integrity. rC8 You must not do anything which could reasonably be seen by the public to undermine your honesty, integrity (CD3) and independence (CD4).
BSB Handbook · current · archived copy · official source ↗
Cayman Islands Legal Services Code 2026 P.3; R.3.1 strong
An attorney-at-law shall not do anything which could be seen by a reasonable person to undermine the attorney-at-law's honesty, integrity and independence.
Cayman Islands Legal Services Code of Professional Conduct · 2026 · archived copy
AU Solicitors Solicitors' Conduct Rules Rule 4.1.4 strong 17 cases
A solicitor must also:... 4.1.4 avoid any compromise to their integrity and professional independence.
Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules · 2015 (June 2026 compilation) · archived copy · official source ↗
AU Barristers Uniform Barristers Rules rr12(a),12(c) strong 8 cases
A barrister must not engage in conduct which is: (a) dishonest or otherwise discreditable to a barrister; ... (c) likely to diminish public confidence in the legal profession or the administration of justice or otherwise bring the legal profession into disrepute.
Legal Profession Uniform Conduct (Barristers) Rules · 2015 (as amended 14 May 2025) · archived copy · official source ↗
IE Solicitors Law Society Guide Ch1 — Core values: Integrity strong
Solicitors must maintain strong ethical principles in their professional dealings. This means solicitors must not unfairly discriminate by allowing their personal view to affect their professional judgement... A solicitor's word must be their bond; they must not mislead, in any respect, the courts or others by their acts or omissions.
Solicitor's Guide to Professional Conduct (Law Society of Ireland) · 4th ed. (2022) · archived copy · official source ↗
IE Barristers Bar Code of Conduct Rule 2.3(b) strong
It is the duty of Barristers: ... (b) to act at all times with honesty and integrity;
Code of Conduct for the Bar of Ireland · 2024 · archived copy · official source ↗
JM Attorneys Canons of Professional Ethics Canon I; Canon I(c) strong 13 cases
AN ATTORNEY SHALL ASSIST IN MAINTAINING THE DIGNITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION AND SHALL AVOID EVEN THE APPEARANCE OF PROFESSIONAL IMPROPRIETY. ... (c) An Attorney shall observe these Canons and shall maintain his integrity and encourage other attorneys to act similarly.
Legal Profession (Canons of Professional Ethics) Rules · 1978 (principal) · archived copy · official source ↗
JE Lawyers Law Society of Jersey Code P.3; R.4.1 strong
Members must, at all times, act with honesty and integrity... Members must not do anything which could reasonably be seen by the public to undermine their honesty, integrity and independence.
Law Society of Jersey Code of Conduct · 1 January 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗
ON Lawyers LSO Rules of Prof. Conduct r 2.1-1 strong
A lawyer has a duty to carry on the practice of law and discharge all responsibilities to clients, tribunals, the public and other members of the profession honourably and with integrity.
Law Society of Ontario — Rules of Professional Conduct · current · archived copy · official source ↗
BC Lawyers BC Code r 2.2-1 strong
A lawyer has a duty to carry on the practice of law and discharge all responsibilities to clients, tribunals, the public and other members of the profession honourably and with integrity.
Code of Professional Conduct for British Columbia (BC Code) · 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗
NZ Lawyers Conduct & Client Care Rules r 12 partial
A lawyer must, when acting in a professional capacity, conduct dealings with others, including self-represented persons, with integrity, respect, and courtesy.
Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 · SR 2008/214 · archived copy · official source ↗
SCO Solicitors LSS Standards of Conduct B1.2 strong 12 cases
You must be trustworthy and act honestly at all times so that your personal integrity is beyond question.
Law Society of Scotland — Practice Rules 2011, Rule B1 (Standards of Conduct) · 2011 · archived copy · official source ↗
SG Lawyers Professional Conduct Rules 2015 r 4(c) strong 2 cases
A legal practitioner has a duty to discharge honourably and with integrity all of the legal practitioner’s responsibilities to any tribunal before which the legal practitioner appears, the legal practitioner’s clients, the public and other members of the legal profession.
Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules 2015 · 2015 · archived copy · official source ↗
HK Solicitors Solicitors' Guide Principle 1.01 / r 2(a) & (d) Solicitors' Practice Rules strong
A solicitor shall not, in the course of practising as a solicitor, do or permit to be done on his behalf anything which compromises or impairs or is likely to compromise or impair— (a) his independence or integrity; ... (d) his own reputation or the reputation of the profession;
Hong Kong Solicitors' Guide to Professional Conduct (Volume 1) · current · archived copy · official source ↗
HK Barristers Bar Code of Conduct para 10.3(b) strong
permit his absolute independence, integrity and freedom from his personal interests or external pressures to be compromised or do anything in such circumstances as may lead to any inference that his absolute independence, integrity and freedom from his personal interests or external pressures may be compromised.
Code of Conduct of the Bar of the Hong Kong SAR · 2018 · archived copy · official source ↗
Cases dealing with this duty
13 decisions · link basis: found breached = a tribunal finding; rule cited = the mapped provision is cited in the decision; text match = high-precision text pattern
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Antoneita Alicia Hall
Suspended | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered February 28, 2026. || Guilty of Misconduct in a Professional Respect | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered November 22, 2025. View PDF SANCTION DECISION OF THE…
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Trudy-Ann Francene G. Russell
Guilty of Professional Misconduct | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered January 17, 2026. || Struck off | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered February 07, 2026. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTE…
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Michael Alexander Brown
Guilty of Professional Misconduct | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered November 23, 2024. || Fined | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered May 13, 2025. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE …
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Tanya Latoya Walters Powell
Guilty of Professional Misconduct | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered December 3, 2021. ||Restitution ordered, Fined | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered March 09, 2022 View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINA…
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Lancelot A. St. Martin Cowan
Guilty of Professional Misconduct | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered July 10, 2021. || RESULT: Restitution ordered | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered October 23, 2021. View PDF in Full Screen …
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Jacqueline Marie Minto
Guilty of Professional Misconduct, Fined | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered June 19, 2021. || RESULT: Fined | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered June 19, 2021. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMI…
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Ivor George Peynado
Guilty | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered June 24, 2017. || Suspended | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered April 17, 2019. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL COM…
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Humphrey Lee Mcpherson
Struck off, Restitution ordered | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered January 30, 2016. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL COMPLAINT NO: 206/2002 BETWEEN IELA JOYCE STUART…
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Owen Kirkwood Clunie
Struck off again | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered January 24, 2015. | Appeal part allowed - Court of Appeal decision delivered September 22, 2014. | Struck off, Restitution ordered - Disciplinary Committee de…
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Akin Joseph Adaramaja
Struck off, Restitution Ordered | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered November 02, 2013. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL COMPLAINT NO: 35/2013 BETWEEN ELAINE FARR FRANC…
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Antonnette Haughton Cardenas
Struck off, Repayment Ordered | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered July 31, 2009. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL COMPLAINT 41/2007 BETWEEN AVIS SMITH COMPLAINANT AND …
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Therol E. L. Voche
Struck off | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered March 06, 2004. View PDF REASONS FOR DECISION Complaint No. 92 of 2001 In the matter of JEFFREY DUJON, Cricket Coach and Therol Voche, an Attorney-at-Law AND In the…
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Dahlia Allison B. Allen
Struck off, Restitution ordered | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered March 09, 2002. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL COMPLAINT 197/1999 BETWEEN BARRINGTON G. ROBINSON …
Duty classification does not yet cover every jurisdiction (Ontario, New Zealand and Singapore decisions are indexed but not yet duty-classified), so counts here understate those corpora.