The duty in context
Personal probity and fitness to practise integrity
The lawyer must remain a fit and proper person to practise and must not engage in conduct, in or out of practice, demonstrating they are unfit.
How the codes express this duty
E&W Solicitors SRA Principles & Code Principle 2; CCS Introduction partial 874 cases
Conduct does not need to take place in a workplace in order to relate to your practice - these requirements capture conduct which touches realistically upon your practice of the profession ... 1.2 in a way that upholds public trust and confidence in the solicitors' profession and in legal services provided by authorised persons.
SRA Principles · 2023 · archived copy · official source ↗
E&W Barristers BSB Handbook CD5; gC25; gC27 strong 85 cases
CD5 You must not behave in a way which is likely to diminish the trust and confidence which the public places in you or in the profession. gC25 ... conduct which is likely to be treated as a breach of CD3 and/or CD5 includes ... .3 criminal conduct, other than minor criminal offences (see Guidance C27); ... .5 dishonesty;
BSB Handbook · current · archived copy · official source ↗
Cayman Islands Legal Services Code 2026 P.2; R.3.1 partial
Attorneys-at-law shall not, in their professional and personal lives, act in any way which brings or which may reasonably bring the legal profession or the provision of legal services in the Cayman Islands into disrepute.
Cayman Islands Legal Services Code of Professional Conduct · 2026 · archived copy
AU Solicitors Solicitors' Conduct Rules Rule 5.1.1 strong 156 cases
A solicitor must not engage in conduct, in the course of legal practice or otherwise, which: 5.1.1 demonstrates that the solicitor is not a fit and proper person to practise law.
Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules · 2015 (June 2026 compilation) · archived copy · official source ↗
AU Barristers Uniform Barristers Rules rr12(a),13 strong 51 cases
A barrister must not engage in conduct which is: (a) dishonest or otherwise discreditable to a barrister ... A barrister must not engage in another vocation which: (a) is liable to adversely affect the reputation of the legal profession or the barrister's own reputation.
Legal Profession Uniform Conduct (Barristers) Rules · 2015 (as amended 14 May 2025) · archived copy · official source ↗
IE Solicitors Law Society Guide Ch6 — Professional standard of conduct strong 7 cases
A solicitor, whether in their professional capacity or otherwise, must not engage in any conduct that is fraudulent, deceitful, or in any way contrary to their position as a solicitor and as an officer of the court.
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(c); Rule 2.12 strong 7 cases
not to engage in conduct (whether in pursuit of their profession or otherwise) which may bring the Barristers' profession into disrepute, which may injure the dignity and high standing of the profession, or which is likely to diminish the trust and confidence placed in them or in the profession;
Code of Conduct for the Bar of Ireland · 2024 · archived copy · official source ↗
JM Attorneys Canons of Professional Ethics Canon III(k); Canon I(b) strong 70 cases
Where an Attorney commits any criminal offence which in the opinion of the Disciplinary Committee is of a nature likely to bring the profession into disrepute, such commission of the offence shall constitute misconduct in a professional respect ... [I(b)] An Attorney shall at all times maintain the honour and dignity of the profession and shall abstain from behaviour which may tend to discredit the profession.
Legal Profession (Canons of Professional Ethics) Rules · 1978 (principal) · archived copy · official source ↗
JE Lawyers Law Society of Jersey Code P.2; GP.6 strong
Members must not, in their professional and personal lives, act in any way which brings or which may fairly bring the legal profession or the provision of legal services in Jersey into disrepute... Disgraceful conduct (including conviction of any criminal offence, other than a minor traffic offence) outside a member's practice may place them in breach of P.2.
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 commentary [3] strong
Dishonourable or questionable conduct on the part of a lawyer in either private life or professional practice will reflect adversely upon the integrity of the profession and the administration of justice. Whether within or outside the professional sphere, if the conduct is such that knowledge of it would be likely to impair a client's trust in the lawyer, the Law Society may be justified in taking disciplinary action.
Law Society of Ontario — Rules of Professional Conduct · current · archived copy · official source ↗
BC Lawyers BC Code r 2.2-1, commentary [3] strong 2 cases
Dishonourable or questionable conduct on the part of a lawyer in either private life or professional practice will reflect adversely upon the integrity of the profession and the administration of justice. Whether within or outside the professional sphere, if the conduct is such that knowledge of it would be likely to impair a client's trust in the lawyer, the Society may be justified in taking disciplinary action.
Code of Professional Conduct for British Columbia (BC Code) · 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗
NZ Lawyers Conduct & Client Care Rules r 1.4 strong
The kinds of conduct ... for which a lawyer ... may be disciplined are as follows: ... (c) negligence or incompetence ... so frequent as to reflect on the lawyer's fitness to practise ...; (d) conviction of an offence punishable by imprisonment where the conviction reflects on the lawyer's fitness to practise, or tends to bring the legal profession into disrepute.
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 partial 4 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) partial 16 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 1.03 Commentary strong
As an Officer of the Court, proper standards of behaviour whether in his practice or in his independent business activities are required of a solicitor as a member of an honourable profession.
Hong Kong Solicitors' Guide to Professional Conduct (Volume 1) · current · archived copy · official source ↗
HK Barristers Bar Code of Conduct para 4.1(b) strong
not to engage in conduct (whether in pursuit of his profession or otherwise) which is:- (i) dishonest or otherwise discreditable to a barrister; (ii) likely to bring the profession of barrister into disrepute or otherwise diminish public confidence in the profession of barrister;
Code of Conduct of the Bar of the Hong Kong SAR · 2018 · archived copy · official source ↗
Cases dealing with this duty
1,235 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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Philip John Burbidge
Breaches, Code of Conduct 2011, Dishonesty, Lack of Integrity, SRA Principles 2011
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Waterstreet, Charles Christian
Breaches of rule 117(b) of the NSW Barristers' Rules 2014 (‘the 2014 Rules’); rule 123(1)(b) of the Legal Profession Uniform Conduct (Barristers) Rules 2015 (‘Uniform Barristers Rules 2015') and rule 12(c) of the 2014 R…
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Farrukh Najeeb Husain
Breaches, Lack of Integrity, SRA Principles 2019
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Michael John Little
Code of Conduct 2007, Code of Conduct 2011, Criminal Convictions, Dishonesty, Lack of Integrity, SRA Principles 2011
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Lawson Akhigbe
Code of Conduct 2011, Dishonesty, Failures, Lack of Integrity, Practice Framework Rules, SRA Principles 2011
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Mohammed Ekramul Hoque Mazumder; Naser Khan; Salauddin Khan
Breaches, Code of Conduct 2011, Dishonesty, Lack of Integrity, SRA Principles 2011
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Anthony David GRAY
In respect of each of Charges 1 and Charge 2 there is a finding of professional misconduct.
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Cancellation of Practising Certificate pursuant to sections76(b) and 92(2)(b) of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW) on the ground that the solicitor is not a fit and proper person to be the holder of an Australian Practising Certificate; and section 94 of the Uniform Law. The Council of the Law Society of NSW resolved that the solicitor is not entitled to apply for a practising certificate for a period of three (3) years. By decision dated 9 April 2025, the above Disciplinary Action was varied by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, as follows (Abboud v Council of the Law Society of New South Wales [2025] NSWCATOD 34): "The decision of the Respondent to restrict the Applicant from being entitled to apply for the grant of an Australian practising certificate for three years is varied so that the Applicant is restricted from being entitled to apply for the grant of an Australian practising certificate for one year." $0.00 Disciplinary Action 1 PDF View decision
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Rajinder Heer
Code of Conduct 2011, Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, Dishonesty, Solicitors Accounts Rules 2011, Solicitors Accounts Rules 2019, SRA Principles 2019
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Matthew Nester
Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, Dishonesty, Lack of Integrity, SRA Principles 2019
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Frederick William Adams
Code of Conduct for Firms 2019, Lack of Integrity, SRA Principles 2019
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Michael Lennon
Client Money, Dishonesty, Lack of Integrity, Solicitors Accounts Rules 2011, SRA Principles 2011
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Krystel Marzan
Breaches, Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, Dishonesty, SRA Principles 2011, SRA Principles 2019
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Paul Fraser Langley
Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, Lack of Integrity, SRA Principles 2019
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Amanda Marie Lennon
Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, Dishonesty, Lack of Integrity, SRA Principles 2011, SRA Principles 2019
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Zaki, Nader Youssef
Failure to apply for renewal of practising certificates before 30 June between 2014 -2023 raising concerns that the lawyer has practised without a practising certificate and/or professional indemnity insurance Failure t…
Refusal of grant of practising certificate for the practice year ending 30 June 2024 $0.00 About About the OLSC The Commissioner History Mission statement Structure Contact Contact the OLSC Give us your feedback: online surveys Access to information (GIPAA) Community information Information for lawyers Fact sheets FAQs Other regulatory and complaint-handling organisations Contact LawAccess NSW for legal information " You and Your Lawyer", Hot Topics 78 Legal Information Access Centre (LIAC), State Library of NSW , provides access to information about the law in NSW regarding your lawyer Privacy Copyright and Disclaimer Website accessibility View decision -
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Jack Grunhut
Breaches, Code of Conduct 2011, Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, Dishonesty, Lack of Integrity, SRA Principles 2011, SRA Principles 2019
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Andrew Lynsey Jones
Dishonesty, Lack of Integrity, SRA Principles 2011
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Caroline Mitchell
Breaches, Lack of Integrity, SRA Principles 2019
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.