California IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Rules on Lawyers’ Sex Conduct OKd

The state Supreme Court has approved, but weakened, a first-in-the-nation standard to discipline lawyers for unethical sexual relationships with clients. After more than a year of review, the court endorsed a State Bar proposal to prohibit lawyers from demanding or coercing sex from clients. The rule also tells lawyers not to enter into a sexual relationship with a client that hampers legal representation. Spouses and others with pre-existing relationships are excluded. But the court, without explanation, deleted the strictest part of the proposal: a presumption that any lawyer-client sex affects the competence of the lawyer’s representation of the client, requiring the lawyer to prove otherwise. The rule that was approved requires State Bar prosecutors to prove that quality of representation was affected.