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Rule 4.1 1. Truthfulness in Statements to Others

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Rule Text

In the course of representing a client a lawyer shall not knowingly:

(a) make a false statement of material fact or law to a third person; or

(b) fail to disclose a material fact to a third person when disclosure is necessary to avoid assisting a criminal or fraudulent act by a client, unless disclosure is prohibited by Rule 1.6.

Amendment history: Effective January 1, 2005

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 lawyer is working on behalf of a client, they must be honest with other people involved in the case, like opposing parties, witnesses, or other lawyers. This means a lawyer cannot knowingly lie about an important fact or about the law when dealing with someone outside their own client relationship.

There's also a second part to this rule. If staying silent would help a client commit fraud or a crime, the lawyer usually has to speak up and share the important information to prevent that harm. However, this duty to disclose doesn't apply if sharing that information would break the rules about client confidentiality found in Rule 1.6.

In short, lawyers can't knowingly deceive people through lies, and in most cases, they can't stay quiet if their silence would help a client cheat or break the law. The main exception is when speaking up would violate the lawyer's duty to keep client information private.

Committee Notes

Comment

Misrepresentation

[1] A lawyer is required to be truthful when dealing with others on a client's behalf, but generally has no affirmative duty to inform an opposing party of relevant facts. A misrepresentation can occur if the lawyer incorporates or affirms a statement of another person that the lawyer knows is false. Misrepresentations can also occur by partially true but misleading statements or omissions that are the equivalent of affirmative false statements. For dishonest conduct that does not amount to a false statement or for misrepresentations by a lawyer other than in the course of representing a client, see Rule 8.4.

Statements of Fact

[2] This Rule refers to statements of fact. Whether a particular statement should be regarded as one of fact can depend on the circumstances. Under generally accepted conventions in negotiation, certain types of statements ordinarily are not taken as statements of material fact. Estimates of price or value placed on the subject of a transaction and a party's intentions as to an acceptable settlement of a claim are ordinarily in this category, and so is the existence of an undisclosed principal except where nondisclosure of the principal would constitute fraud. Lawyers should be mindful of their obligations under applicable law to avoid criminal and tortious misrepresentation.

Crime or Fraud by Client

[3] Under Rule 1.2(d), a lawyer is prohibited from counseling or assisting a client in conduct that the lawyer knows is criminal or fraudulent. Paragraph (b) states a specific application of the principle set forth in Rule 1.2(d) and addresses the situation where a client's crime or fraud takes the form of a lie or misrepresentation. Ordinarily, a lawyer can avoid assisting a client's crime or fraud by withdrawing from the representation. Sometimes it may be necessary for the lawyer to give notice of the fact of withdrawal and to disaffirm an opinion, document, affirmation or the like. In extreme cases, substantive law may require a lawyer to disclose information relating to the representation to avoid being deemed to have assisted the client's crime or fraud. If the lawyer can avoid assisting a client's crime or fraud only by disclosing this information, then under paragraph (b) the lawyer is required to do so, unless the disclosure is prohibited by Rule 1.6.

← Previous Rule 3.9: 9. Advocate in Nonadjudicative Proceedings Next → Rule 4.2: 2. Communication with Person Represented by Counsel

Cross-References

References (1)

Ind. R. Prof. Cond. Rule 1.6

This Rule Set

View All Ind. R. Prof. Cond. Rules

Last updated: August 2026

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