Real Zeal: The Thin Line Between Zealous Advocacy and Unethical Conduct

This presentation explores the legal and ethical boundaries of zealous advocacy and how an attorney should conduct themselves to further a client’s interests. It also analyzes relevant provisions of the Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct and other states’ codes of professional conduct, specifically those that do not mention “zeal” and instead emphasize an attorney’s duties of competence, diligence, and ethicality. This presentation will include real life examples and hypotheticals based on recent cases that apply these core principals in practice.