II The Function of the Lawyer in Society

A lawyer’s function in society does not begin and end with the faithful performance of what he is instructed to do so far as the law permits.A lawyer must serve the interests of justice as well as of those who seek it and it is his duty, not only to plead his client’s cause, but to be his adviser.A lawyer’s function therefore lays on him a variety of duties and obligations（sometimes appearing to be in conflict with each other）towards-

◆the client;

◆the client’s family and other people towards whom the client is under a legal or moral obligation;

◆the Courts and other authorities before whom the lawyer pleads his client’s cause or acts on his behalf;

◆the legal profession in general and each fellow Member of it in particular; and

◆the public, for whom the existence of a free and independent but regulated profession is an essential guarantee that the rights of man will be respected.

Where there are so many duties to be reconciled, the proper performance of the lawyer’s function cannot be achieved without the complete trust of everyone concerned.All professional rules are based from the outset upon the need to be worthy of that trust.