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Del. Lawyers' R. Prof. Cond. 6.2

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Rule 6.2 Accepting appointments

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Rule Text

A lawyer shall not seek to avoid appointment by a tribunal to represent a person except for good cause, such as: (a) representing the client is likely to result in violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct or other law; (b) representing the client is likely to result in an unreasonable financial burden on the lawyer; or (c) the client or the cause is so repugnant to the lawyer as to be likely to impair the client-lawyer relationship or the lawyer’s ability to represent the client.

Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)

This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.

When a court asks a lawyer to take on a case, the lawyer generally has to accept it. Lawyers can't turn down these assignments just because they don't feel like taking the case or would rather work on something else. Courts rely on lawyers being willing to step in when needed, including for clients who can't afford to pay or cases nobody else wants to handle.

That said, a lawyer can say no if there's a good reason. This includes situations where taking the case would force the lawyer to break ethics rules or other laws. It also covers cases where the cost of representing the client would create a serious financial hardship for the lawyer, not just an inconvenience.

A lawyer can also decline if the client or the case is so troubling to the lawyer personally that it would get in the way of doing a good job. For example, if a lawyer has such strong personal objections to a client's situation that it would damage their ability to work together or represent the client fairly, that counts as a valid reason to step back. The point of this rule is to make sure people who need legal help can get it, while still protecting lawyers from being forced into impossible or unethical situations.

Committee Notes

[1] A lawyer ordinarily is not obliged to accept a client whose character or cause the lawyer regards as repugnant. The lawyer’s freedom to select clients is, however, qualified. All lawyers have a responsibility to assist in providing pro bono publico service. See Rule 6.1. An individual lawyer fulfills this responsibility by accepting a fair share of unpopular matters or indigent or unpopular clients. A lawyer may also be subject to appointment by a court to serve unpopular clients or persons unable to afford legal services. [2] Appointed Counsel. — For good cause a lawyer may seek to decline an appointment to represent a person who cannot afford to retain counsel or whose cause is unpopular. Good cause exists if the lawyer could not handle the matter competently, see Rule 1.1, or if undertaking the representation would result in an improper conflict of interest, for example, when the client or the cause is so repugnant to the lawyer as to be likely to impair the client-lawyer relationship or the lawyer’s ability to represent the client. A lawyer may also seek to decline an appointment if acceptance would be unreasonably burdensome, for example, when it would impose a financial sacrifice so great as to be unjust. [3] An appointed lawyer has the same obligations to the client as retained counsel, including the obligations of loyalty and confidentiality, and is subject to the same limitations on the client-lawyer relationship, such as the obligation to refrain from assisting the client in violation of the Rules.

← Previous Rule 6.1: Voluntary pro bono publico service Next → Rule 6.3: Membership in legal services organization