ABSTRACT

Counseling allows the lawyer to provide independent, candid advice in addition to their more public-facing role as an advocate or negotiator on behalf of the client. As an advocate, the lawyer often expresses the outer range of objectives or demands the client wishes to put forth in early stages of litigation or negotiation. Attorneys representing clients before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have certain rights and responsibilities under rules promulgated by the SEC. The ethical and values-oriented aspects of client counseling are generally classified in three modes: client-oriented, collaborative, and lawyer-centered. Client-oriented counseling prioritizes client autonomy. Collaborative counseling makes lawyers and clients partners in goal setting and problem solving, and it promotes joint responsibility for ethical and values-oriented outcomes. Client-oriented counseling is an analytical model that is, in some respects, a reaction to the role of the professional in the lawyer-centered model as an expert decision maker.