I'm a Rhode Island lawyer who is also a state employee. Can I participate in a strike by state employees?

Plain-English summary

An attorney who was also a member of the Rhode Island bar and an employee of the State of Rhode Island asked the panel whether it was permissible under the Code of Professional Responsibility for him to honor a strike by state employees.

The panel began from the general legal premise, citing an ALR annotation and two Rhode Island Supreme Court decisions, that public employees are denied the right to strike against their public employer even absent an express statutory prohibition. It then quoted EC 1-5, which directs a lawyer to maintain high standards of professional conduct, to be temperate and dignified, and to refrain from illegal and morally reprehensible conduct, noting that even minor violations of law by a lawyer may lessen public confidence in the legal profession. The panel also quoted DR 1-102(A), which bars a lawyer from engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, (5), or in any other conduct that adversely reflects on fitness to practice law, (6).

On this basis, the panel took the position that the inquiring attorney may not participate in a strike by state employees. It noted that this position was consistent with Ohio Bar Ethics Committee Opinion 81-1, which the panel quoted for the proposition that engaging in a strike subjects a lawyer to discipline because the conduct adversely affects the public image of the legal profession and is prejudicial to the administration of justice.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1988, before the Rhode Island Supreme Court's adoption of the 2007 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct, and it applies the ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility's Ethical Considerations and Disciplinary Rules then in effect. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: I'm a lawyer employed by the State of Rhode Island. Can I join a strike by state employees?

A: No, according to this opinion. The panel held that doing so would violate DR 1-102(A)(5) and (6), since public employees are already barred from striking against their public employer.

Q: Did the panel rely on any other ethics committee's reasoning?

A: Yes. The panel found its position "consistent with that taken by the Ethics Committee of the Ohio Bar, in Opinion 81-1," which it quoted for the proposition that participating in a strike "subjects the lawyer to discipline because his actions adversely affect the public image of the legal profession and are prejudicial to the administration of justice."

Background and rules framework

The opinion applies EC 1-5 (maintaining high standards of professional conduct and refraining from illegal conduct) and DR 1-102(A)(5) and (6) (barring conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice or that adversely reflects on fitness to practice) of the ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility, then in force in Rhode Island, to a lawyer's proposed participation, as a state employee, in a strike against the state.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• RI EC 1-5 (maintaining high standards of professional conduct)
• RI DR 1-102(A)(5) (conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice)
• RI DR 1-102(A)(6) (conduct adversely reflecting on fitness to practice law)

Statutes:

• None cited.

Cases:

• City of Pawtucket v. Pawtucket Teachers' Alliance Local 930, 87 R.I. 364, 141 A.2d 624 (1958), public employees' lack of a right to strike against their public employer
• School Committee of the City of Pawtucket v. Pawtucket Teachers Alliance No. 930 AFT, AFL, 101 R.I. 243, 221 A.2d 806 (1966), same

Other opinions cited:

• Ohio Bar Ethics Committee Opinion 81-1: participating in a strike is prejudicial to the administration of justice and subjects the lawyer to discipline

See also

No sibling opinions yet indexed.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.courts.ri.gov/attorney-resources/Pages/Ethics-Advisory-Panel-default.aspx
• Original PDF: https://www.courts.ri.gov/Opinions/EAP%2088-21.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.

237

DIGEST OF ETHICS ADVISORY PANEL
OPINION #88-21, REQUEST #15
Issued August 30, 1988

An attorney seeks Panel advice as to whether it is permissible under the Code of Professional Responsibility for him to honor a strike by state employees. The attorney advises the Panel that in addition to being a member of the Rhode Island bar, he is an employee of the State of Rhode Island.

It is well established that even absent an express statutory prohibition, public employees are denied the right to strike against their public employer. Annotation, Public Employees-Right to Strike 37 ALR 3d 1147; City of Pawtucket et al v. Pawtucket Teachers' Alliance Local 930 et al, 87 R.I. 364, 141 A.2d 624 (1958); School Committee of the City of Pawtucket v. Pawtucket Teachers Alliance No. 930 AFT, AFL et al., 101 R.I. 243, 221 A.2d 806 (1966). Ethical Consideration 1-5 provides:

A lawyer should maintain high standards of professional conduct and should encourage fellow lawyers to do likewise. He should be temperate and dignified, and he should refrain from all illegal and morally reprehensible conduct. Because of his position in society, even minor violations of law by a lawyer may tend to lessen public confidence in the legal profession. Obedience to law exemplifies respect for law. To lawyers especially, respect for the law should be more than a platitude.

Disciplinary Rule 1-102(A) provides, in pertinent part, that:

A lawyer shall not . . . (5) engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice. (6) Engage in any other conduct that adversely reflects on his fitness to practice law.

The Panel takes the position that you may not participate in a strike by state employees. This position is consistent with that taken by the Ethics Committee of the Ohio Bar, in Opinion 81-1:

"Engaging in [a strike] subjects the lawyer to discipline because his actions adversely affect the public image of the legal profession and are prejudicial to the administration of justice."

Ethics Advisory Panel advice is protective in nature. There is no requirement that an attorney abide by a Panel opinion, but if he or she does, he or she is fully protected from any charge of impropriety.