When must a lawyer report an ethical violation under ABA rules?

A lawyer must report an ethical violation when it raises a significant question about another lawyer's honesty, integrity, or fitness as a lawyer. This obligation is grounded in the American Bar Association (ABA) Model Rules of Professional Conduct, specifically Rule 8.3, which outlines a lawyer’s responsibility to report professional misconduct. The rationale behind this rule is to promote trust and integrity within the legal profession and to ensure that clients and the public can have confidence in the legal system.

When a lawyer observes a significant ethical violation impacting another attorney's honesty, it poses a risk to the integrity of the profession as a whole and potentially harms clients and the public. It is crucial for the profession to self-regulate by holding its members accountable, thereby upholding a standard of conduct that fosters public trust.

Regarding the other options, while embarrassment to the profession and disagreements with a colleague's approach may be concerns, they do not meet the threshold set by the ABA rules for mandatory reporting. Lawyers are expected to exercise their judgment in determining whether a violation constitutes a significant question of honesty, rather than solely reporting based on personal disagreement or potential embarrassment. Additionally, a client’s insistence on unethical behavior does not obligate a lawyer to report another lawyer; rather, the attorney