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

called “noisy withdrawal”: giving notice of the fact of withdrawal and, if necessary,
“disaffirming any opinion, document, affirmation or the like.” 34
Key Understandings
The consequences of lawyer and client dishonesty require several key understandings in
representing clients, summarized in the list below. Consider what would have occurred if
the lawyers in Greycas, Cruse, and Stratos had followed these steps.
1. Be competent, know relevant facts and law.
2. Do not commit fraud by making a knowing misrepresentation of a material fact or
failing to correct a previously made representation you now know to be false.
3. Communicate the limits of the criminal and civil law of fraud to your clients.
4. Do not counsel or assist a client fraud.
5. If your client persists in fraudulent activity, withdraw from the representation and
determine whether disclosure is necessary.
6. You must know your jurisdiction’s confidentiality exceptions to determine whether
you may or must disclose your client’s activity, as well as your jurisdiction’s crimefraud
exception to determine whether you can be forced to testify.
7. If you are retained to defend past criminal or fraudulent activity, you are not
assisting it, unless you know the activity continues.
8. If you represent an entity, know your special obligations to address serious
constituent illegalities. 35
Client Advocacy and Fraud
Every legal representation requires a lawyer to know the bounds of the law and
communicate them to his or her client. The common law and the Rules of Professional
Conduct agree that lawyers cannot lie, and if a client lies, the client’s lawyer probably has to
do something about it.
Lawyers who misrepresent a material fact can be held criminally or civilly accountable,
or lose a benefit that they lied to obtain. They also can be professionally disciplined for acts
of misrepresentation or dishonesty, whether they involve client representation or conduct of
the lawyer apart from law practice.
Beyond their own conduct, lawyers must be alert to whether clients are committing
fraud. Failure to withdraw from a representation in which a client seeks to use the lawyer’s
services to commit a fraud can result in civil or criminal accountability as well as
professional discipline. Failure to correct a fraud on a court or a substantial fraud outside of
court can bring about similar consequences. Understanding fraud as a red-flag legal
boundary that applies to all client representations can help you avoid any or all of these
adverse aftermaths.
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