[textbook]Traversing the Ethical Minefield Problems, Law, and Professional Responsibility by Susan R. Martyn (z-lib.org)(1) (1)

B. Control
Model Rules 1.2, 1.4
RLGL §§ 20-23, 26, 27
1. Authority Between Client and Lawyer
Like other agents, lawyers have a duty to act on the client’s behalf, subject to the client’s
right to control the objectives of the representation. 1 At the same time, most clients defer to
and rely on their lawyers’ expertise regarding the means to accomplish client goals. The
Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the law of agency recognize three spheres of
authority between client and lawyer, summarized in the following chart.
In the first sphere (the left column), clients retain sole authority to make decisions
concerning the outcome of the representation, including whether and when to settle or
appeal a matter, and in criminal cases, how to plead, whether to waive a jury trial, and
whether to testify. 2 Clients can authorize their lawyers to make a particular decision within
this sphere, but the ultimate authority of clients to decide cannot be completely ceded to
their lawyers. 3
In the second sphere (the right column), lawyers retain sole authority to refuse to
perform, to counsel, or to assist a client’s unlawful act, 4 and in spite of client preferences to
the contrary, lawyers also may take actions in tribunals they reasonably believe to be
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