ABSTRACT
Independence is only one quality of an ideal avocat. The ideal of individual morality is closely related to that of independence. Because the avocat acts on her own, uncontrolled by state or client, she must be guided by morality. The French ideal of avocat morality also reflects a Catholic heritage. The avocat had never represented the wife, either separately or together with her husband, so from the United States or English perspective there was no conflict of interests. The virtue that some authorities require under the name of courtesy, others exact under other names: honor, delicacy, moderation, confraternity, or tact. As elsewhere, avocats are held to a standard that is far from precise. Sometimes the literary imagination of avocats presses against the traditional manners the bar demands. Courtesy and its related virtues apply to more than an avocat's choice of language. Avocats express varying views about the moral level of the bar.
