Preamble
The New York State Standards of Civility for the legal profession set forth principles of behavior to which the bar, the bench and court employees should aspire. They are not intended as rules to be enforced by sanction or disciplinary action, nor are they intended to supplement or modify the Rules Governing Judicial Conduct, the Code of Professional Responsibility and its Disciplinary Rules, or any other applicable rule or requirement governing conduct. Instead they are a set of guidelines intended to encourage lawyers, judges and court personnel to observe principles of civility and decorum, and to confirm the legal profession’s rightful status as an honorable and respected profession where courtesy and civility are observed as a matter of course. The Standards are divided into four parts: lawyers’ duties to other lawyers, litigants and witnesses; lawyers’ duties to the court and court personnel; court’s duties to lawyers, parties and witnesses; and court personnel’s duties to lawyers and litigants.
As lawyers, judges and court employees, we are all essential participants in the judicial process. That process cannot work effectively to serve the public unless we first treat each other with courtesy, respect and civility.
LAWYERS’ DUTIES TO OTHER LAWYERS, LITIGANTS AND WITNESSES
I. Lawyers should be courteous and civil in all professional dealings with other persons.
A. Lawyers should act in a civil manner regardless of the ill feelings that their clients may have toward others.
B. Lawyers can disagree without being disagreeable. Effective representation does not require antagonistic or acrimonious behavior. Whether orally or in writing,lawyers should avoid vulgar language, disparaging personal remarks or acrimony toward other counsel, parties or witnesses.
C. Lawyers should require that persons under their supervision conduct themselves with courtesy and civility.
II. When consistent with their clients’ interests, lawyers should cooperate with opposing counsel in an effort to avoid litigation and to resolve litigation that has already commenced.
A. Lawyers should avoid unnecessary motion practice or other judicial intervention by negotiating and agreeing with other counsel whenever it is practicable to do so.
B. Lawyers should allow themselves sufficient time to resolve any dispute or disagreement by communicating with one another and imposing reasonable and meaningful deadlines in light of the nature and status of the case.
III. A lawyer should respect the schedule and commitments of opposing counsel, consistent with protection of the client’s interests.
A. In the absence of a court order, a lawyer should agree to reasonable requests for extensions of time or for waiver of procedural formalities when the legitimate interests of the client will not be adversely affected.
B. Upon request coupled with the simple representation by counsel that more time is required, the first request for an extension to respond to pleadings ordinarily should be granted as a matter of courtesy.
C. A lawyer should not attach unfair or extraneous conditions to extensions of time. A lawyer is entitled to impose conditions appropriate to preserve rights that an extension might otherwise jeopardize, and may request, but should not unreasonably insist on, reciprocal scheduling concessions.
D. A lawyer should endeavor to consult with other counsel regarding scheduling matters in a good faith effort to avoid scheduling conflicts. A lawyer should likewise cooperate with opposing counsel when scheduling changes are requested, provided the interests of his or her client will not be jeopardized.
E. A lawyer should notify other counsel and, if appropriate, the court or otherpersons at the earliest possible time when hearings, depositions, meetings or conferences are to be canceled or postponed.
IV. A lawyer should promptly return telephone calls and answer correspondence reasonably requiring a response.
V. The timing and manner of service of papers should not be designed to cause disadvantage to the party receiving the papers.
A. Papers should not be served in a manner designed to take advantage of an opponent’s known absence from the office.
B. Papers should not be served at a time or in a manner designed to inconvenience an adversary.
C. Unless specifically authorized by law or rule, a lawyer should not submit papers to the court without serving copies of all such papers upon opposing counsel in such a manner that opposing counsel will receive them before or contemporaneously with the submission to the court.
VI. A lawyer should not use any aspect of the litigation process, including discovery and motion practice, as a means of harassment or for the purpose of unnecessarily prolonging litigation or increasing litigation expenses.
A.A lawyer should avoid discovery that is not necessary to obtain facts or perpetuate testimony or that is designed to place an undue burden or expense on a party.
B. A lawyer s