The role of a lawyer as an argument in defence of codex ethics

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to present arguments for understanding the code of ethics as a framework of: rules within which a lawyer should move, and goals to be pursued. I intend to carry out this task in three stages. Firstly, I shall present the main accusations that are put against codex ethics. This argument claims that the codical nature of professional ethics leads or may lead to a marginalisation of moral responsibility and loss of subjective agency. Then I will proceed to defend codex ethics. To this end, I refer to the concept of role, showing that the conflict situation in the legal profession is a feature of this profession. Therefore, it is necessary to build an institutional frame-work that allows coordinated activity in the face of various tensions. This argument reinforces the presence of the code of ethics as a safeguard against the lawyer, leaving the role in a conflict related to professional activities. The purpose of this protection is to protect the client.