Rule 3.1 Meritorious Claims and Contentions

(a) A lawyer shall not bring or defend a proceeding, or assert or controvert an issue therein:

(1) without having first determined through diligent investigation that there is a bona fide basis in law and fact for the position to be advocated;

(2) for the purpose of harassment, delay, advancement of a nonmeritorious claim or solely to gain leverage; or

(3) to extend, modify or reverse existing law unless a bona fide basis in law and fact exists for advocating doing so.

(b) A lawyer for the defendant in a criminal proceeding, or the respondent in a proceeding that could result in incarceration, may nevertheless so defend the proceeding as to require that every element of the case be established.