Chamber of Advocates Rules (Professional Ethics), 5746-1986

Chamber of Advocates Rules (Professional Ethics), 5746-1986

Unabridged and revised version
Table of contents

1

Chamber of Advocates Rules (Professional Ethics), 5746-1986*
By the authority vested in it under section 109 of the Chamber of Advocates Law, 5721-1961 (hereinafter: the Law), the Chamber of Advocates National Council hereby enacts the following rules:
Chapter 1: Interpretation

Definitions

1

1. In these Rules -
   

"court" - a court, religious court and any judicial or quasi-judicial tribunal established by law;
"judge" - a person appointed to adjudicate disputes in a court, religious court, or any judicial or quasi-judicial tribunal established by law;

"District Committee" - the Chamber of Advocates District Committee operating in the judicial district to which the advocate is affiliated.

Chapter 2: Basic Provisions

An advocate's duty

1. An advocate shall represent his client faithfully, diligently andboldly, while maintaining fairness, the honor of the profession and respect for the court.
   

Chapter 3: The Advocate's Office

Meetings with clients

1. (a) Meetings between the advocate and his client shall take place in the advocate's office.
   (b) An advocate may meet his client outside his office provided that he does so under conditions which are not demeaning to the profession.
   (c) An advocate who serves as the client's permanent advisor, may deviate from the provisions of subsection (a) in order to provide such client with an effective service, under conditions which are not demeaning to the profession.
   

Exclusivity of advocate's office

1. (a) The advocate's office and all parts thereof, including the waiting and secretary's rooms shall not be used for any purpose other than the advocate's professional work.
   (b) The provisions of subsection (a) shall not prevent the advocate from -
   (1) allowing his office to serve as the registered office of a corporation
   which he advises;
   (2) designating part of his residence for use as an office;
   (3) acting in his office for the sake of public causes.

Rules 5748-1988
(c) The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to an advocate whose
waiting rooms were shared between himself and another person on 12th
Tevet 5726 (4th January 1966) provided that he informed the Central Committee
of the shared use by 13th Shevat 5726 (3rd February 1966).
Branches
Rules 5748-1988

1. (a) An advocate shall not maintain more than one office, unless each office is staffed by an advocate whose permanent place of work is in that office.
   (b) The Central Committee in consultation with the District Committee having jurisdiction in the area in which the advocate's office is located, may for special reasons permit a deviation from the provisions of subsection (a), for such period and subject to such conditions as it shall see fit.

Rules 5761-2001

Chapter 4: Publicity and Advertising

(Repealed)
Rules 5761-2001

1. (Repealed)

6A. (Repealed)

1. (Repealed)
2. (Repealed)
   

Chapter 5: The Advocate and the Client
Prohibition on non-pecuniary consideration

1. (a) An advocate shall not be paid for his professional work other than by money.
   (b) Where the law so allows, the fee may be calculated as a percentage of the subject matter of the case.
   Rules 5772-2012
   (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) and provided it was agreed in writing between him and the client, an advocate who is dealing with a pecuniary matter for a client may receive all or part of his fee in the form of a shared proprietary interest; in this subsection -
   "shared proprietary interest " - Any shared proprietary right which is recognized by law, including through a share, warrant or other security which vests in its owner rights in relation to a corporation;
   "pecuniary matter" - Any civil matter connected to commerce and business
   dealings, such as the business activity of a person, the acquisition of a proprietary interest, contractual right or a right in relation to a corporation, including the legal protection of such rights and assurance of their existence and realization.
   

Prohibition on giving a guarantee

1. An advocate shall not give a personal guarantee in relation to a matter under his care, even if he would derive no material benefit from doing so; however, this provision shall not prohibit an advocate from taking personal responsibility for the expenses of witnesses or other court costs.
   

Prohibition on deriving a benefit

1. Apart from his fees, an advocate shall not derive a material benefit from any matter in relation to which he is acting as a trustee, liquidator, executor or receiver.
   

Rules 5763-2003
11A. (Repealed).
Prohibition on providing legal services in special cases

Rules (No.2) 5758-1998
11B. (a) An advocate shall not provide legal services to a client who was not referred to
him by a colleague or a law firm/corporation but by an unqualified source working
for profit which with that end in mind publicly advertises that it provides legal
services.

(b) An advocate employed by someone other than an advocate, law
firm/corporation (hereinafter - the employer) shall not providea legal service to
someone other than theemployer if the employer is a commercial enterprise and
charges for such alegal service.

(c) For special reasons concerning public welfare, the Central Committee, in
consultation with the District Committee, may allow a deviation from the
foregoing provisions for such period and subject to such conditions as it shall
determine.

Declining instructions to act

1. An advocate may, in his discretion, decline to take on a matter providedthat he informs the person who asked him to do so of his decision not to act within a reasonable time.
   

Discontinuation of representation

1. (a) Once an advocate has agreed to act, he must continue dealing with the matter in question unless a dispute arises with the client regarding the manner in which it is being handled, a legal or ethical obstacle was created which prevents him from continuing to represent the client, his fees and expenses had not been paid or some other factor exists to justify his resignation from the matter.
   (b) Should an advocate decide to discontinue handling a matter before it has been concluded, then he shall notify the client forthwith and, wherepossible, resign in a way that does not prejudice his interests.
   (c) Where the matter in question is pending before the court, the advocate may only resign from the case if a statutory provision exists which allows him to do so.
   

Conflict of interests

1. (a) An advocate shall not represent, continue to represent or undertake to representa client, if a concern exists that due to a personal interest, an obligation or fiduciary duty which he owes to a third party, an excessive workload or another similar reason, he may not be able to discharge his professional obligations towards that client.
   (b) Anadvocate shall not represent parties in a matter regarding which they have conflicting interests vis-à-vis its outcome.
   (c) An advocate shall not represent a party to a case where one of the other parties is his permanent client, even if in that case he is not acting for him, A "permanent client" in this context shall mean one who regularly uses the advocate's professional services.
   (d) The provisions of subsections (b) and (c) shall not apply to the drawing up of an agreement or to the handling of a matter which the parties had agreed in writing was to be dealt with by the same advocate.
   (e) An advocate and his client may agree, in writing, to limit the professional service which the advocate is to provide to the client in order to avoid a conflict with his representation of another client or an interest or other obligation of the advocate, provided that the restriction of the service is reasonable in the circumstances and does not detrimentally affect the advocate's fiduciary duty to his clients.
   

Challenging the validity of an agreement

1. An advocate who drafted or participated in the drafting of a document or who acted in a transaction or was involved in dealing with it shall not subsequently argue against the validity of that document or transaction and shall not represent a person whose interest may reasonably require the pleading of such an argument.
   

Prohibition on taking action against a client

1. (a) An advocate shall not act against a client -
   (1) in or in connection with a matter which he handled for that client;
   (2) in a matter which has a material connection to information which the advocate received from that client or under his auspices.
   (b) The District Committee, or a person it has authorized to do so, may decide, in response to an enquiry received from an advocate, that the giving of an opinion, a simple consultationor an action in a particular case, did not constitute dealing with a matter on behalf of a client, or that certain information has no material connection to the matter, or that the information which was received does not prevent the advocate from dealing with a matter, provided that the decision as aforesaid shall be given before the advocate shall undertake to handle the matter in question.
   

Prohibition on representation following adjudication

1. An advocate shall not represent a person in a matter which he adjudicated as a judge or arbitrator.
   

Transferring a matter to another advocate

1. Notwithstanding a general provision in a power of attorney allowing him to do so, an advocate shall not without his client's separate, express and written consent, transfer representation to another advocate, although he may, in reliance upon that general provision, delegate some of his powers to another advocate or be assisted by another advocate in his actions.

Chapter 6: Confidentiality
Confidentiality

1. Unless the client shall have expressly agreed otherwise, an advocate shall keep confidential any information which he obtained from or under the auspices of that clientwhile discharging his duties; this provision shall not apply to a disclosure made during a legal proceeding, investigation or search which is not covered by attorney-client privilege as defined in section 90 of the Law.
   

Confidentiality obligation with regard to employees

1. An advocate shall instruct his employees to keep confidential all matters which came to their attention during the course of their work.
   

Prohibition on using information obtained from clients

1. An advocate shall not use information which came to him from and while discharging his obligations towards his client and which he could not have obtained through reasonable diligence from another source.

Chapter 7: Prohibition on Recording
Recording another person

1. (a) An advocate shall not record a conversation with his client or with another advocate without their knowledge.
   (b) An advocate recording a court hearing shall inform the court that he is doing so.
   (c) An advocate shall not make use of a recording which was made in violation of this section.
   

Chapter 8: The Advocate and the Opposing Side
Conduct towards the opposing litigant

1. An advocate shall behave respectfully towards the opposing litigant.
   

Prohibition on threats

1. An advocate shall not make threats when addressing the opposing party, however, he is entitled -
   (1) To describe the steps which his client intends to take in order to realize his rights;
   (2) To refer the opposing party to the provisions of any law.
   

Contact with a person who is represented

1. (a) An advocate who knows that in relation to a given matter the opposing party has legal representation -
   (1) shall not contact the opposing party other than through the advocate who is representing him in the matter;
   (2) shall only meet with the opposing party in order to discuss the matter in question in the presence of his advocate.
   (b) An advocate may deviate from the provisions of subsection (a) -
   (1) with the consent of the opposing party's advocate;
   (2) where a legal obligation exists to serve a document directly on the opposing party, provided that a copy was forwarded to the opposing party's advocate.

Chapter 9: Relations between Advocates
Cordial relations

1. In all professional matters an advocate shall behave cordially towards his colleague and shall not deny him any facilitation which would not harm a client's interests, including by agreeing to a request to alter a date where his colleague has been called up for active reserve duty, is on maternity or pregnancy leave, illness or bereavement; for the purposes of this section, "harm a client's interests" - significant harm that may cause the client real damage.
   "maternity leave" -
   With regard to a female advocate - maternity leave pursuant to Section 6 of the Employment of Women Law, 5714-1054 (hereinafter - The Employment of Women Law), adoption leave or expectant parent leave, as the case may be, as defined in the Employment of Women Law; and if she is a self-employed advocate - the period of leave that she would have been entitled to as aforesaid had she beena salaried employee;
   With regard to a male advocate - paternity leave pursuant to Section 6(h) of the
   Employment of Women Law, adoption leave or expectant parent leave, as the case may be, within the meaning of the Employment of Women Law; and if he is aself-employed advocate - the period during which he is entitled to a birth allowance under section 49 of the National Insurance Law [Consolidated
   Version], 5755 1995 (hereinafter - the National Insurance Law);

"pregnancy leave" - as defined in Section 58 of the National
InsuranceLaw.

Acting in a matter being handled by another advocate

1. Where an advocate has been instructed to act in relation to a particular matter
   which he knows is being dealt with by another advocate, he shall dispatch a
   notice to that other advocate without delay informing him that the matter has beenpassed to his care and shall verify that the notice was delivered.
   

Rules 5769-2008

1. (Deleted).
   

Rules 5759-1999

1. (Repealed).
   

Fee sharing between advocates

1. An advocate who transfers a matter to the professional care of a colleague shall not be entitled to share his fee unless it was expressly agreed otherwise, provided that if the advocate transferring the matter was prevented from dealing with it by the provisions of section 14, he shall be prohibited from receiving any payment from the advocate receiving the matter to his care.
   

Disputes between advocates

1. Before an advocate commences legal proceedings on behalf of his client against another advocate, he shall contact that advocate in writing, and if possible even verbally, in order to try and resolve the dispute amicably, provided that such contact shall not cause damage to the client.
   

Chapter 10: The Advocate and the Court

Respect for the court

1. (a) When appearing before the court, an attorney shall behave in a respectful manner, while protecting hisclient's rights fairly, devotedly and preserving the honor of the profession.
   (b) When appearing in court, an advocate shallmaintain a dignified appearance and wear suitable attire as determined by law.

Respect towards the opposing litigant

1. An advocate shall plead his submissions before the court, whether verbally or in writing, in a courteous manner, while preserving the dignity of the opposing litigant and of any other person connected to the legal proceedings.
   

Prohibition on deception

1. (a) An attorney shall not plead verbally or in writing a factual or legal argument which he knows to be incorrect.
   (b) The provisions of subsection (a) shall not prevent a denial in pleadings in a civilproceeding or a denial of facts in a criminal proceeding.
   

Payment of witness

1. An advocate shall not pay, offer to pay, nor lend a hand to any payment or otherconsideration to a witness in return for his testimony, where such payment is conditional upon the outcome of the case.
   

The advocate as a witness

1. (a) An advocate shall not represent a person in legal proceedings, including an appeal, if he intends to testify on behalf of that same person at some stage during those proceedings; should an advocate be called to testify on behalf of a person after he began representing him, he shall cease representing him.
   (b) The provisions of subsection (a) shall not apply where an advocate is called to testify by an opposing litigant, in relation to a technical matter, with the court's leave or the permission of the District Committee.
   

Contact with witnesses

.

1. (a) An advocate may talk to a person who is likely to testify on his client's behalf.
   (b) An advocate shall not talk to a person who he knows is going to be testifying in a case for the opposing party regarding a matter associated with his testimony unless the opposing party, and if he is represented, the opposing party's attorney, consented to him doing so.
   (c) The provisions of subsection (b) shall not apply where the advocate is going to subpoena to testify on behalf of his client (hereinafter - the client) a person who was subpoenaed to testify on behalf of another party, if one of the following applies:
   (1) The witness is the client, and if the client is a corporation, the chairman of the board of directors, chairman of the board of management or its CEO;
   Rules 5747-1987
   (2) The court or the District Committee or a person authorized by the District Committee for the purpose gave permission and the party who gave the permission may stipulate conditions to which it is subject.
   (3) In a civil case, the witness had acted on the client's behalf in the matter on which the case is predicated.
   

Propriety of cross examination