The Choice of Rules Clause: A Solution to the Choice of Law Problem in Ethics Proceedings

When a legal transaction has ties to multiple jurisdictions there is a choice of law problem in determining which jurisdiction's ethics rules govern the conduct of the lawyers involved. The current choice of law system for ethics proceedings is insufficient. The current regime suffers from imperfect rules and a lack of uniformity across states. Consequently, it is often difficult to determine which jurisdiction's ethics rules will govern a legal transaction. Most of the scholarship in this area has focused on finding the perfect choice of law rule for ethics proceedings and developing strategies for uniform adoption of this rule by the states. This Note takes a different path. Learning lessons from the field of conflict of laws and its experience with choice of law clauses, this Note proposes that lawyers and clients should be allowed to specify; which jurisdiction's ethics rules will govern their legal transaction: a choice of rules clause. With appropriate safeguards in place, choice of rules clauses have the potential to remedy many of the problems created by the current inadequate choice of law system for ethics proceedings.