Ethics
All attorneys in North Carolina must adhere to a professional code of conduct. At Hodges & Coxe, P.C. we take our ethical duties seriously. In an era where lawyers and the legal system are often joked about and scorned, a strict adherence to the letter and spirit of our profession's ethical rules both benefits and protects our clients and raises the confidence of Americans in their attorneys and the system.
The North Carolina State Bar has adopted comprehensive Rules of Professional Conduct. These rules, together with opinions from the State Bar based on specific circumstances, form the code of ethics by which Hodges & Coxe, P.C., and all attorneys in North Carolina, are bound. Broadly speaking, these rules require Competence, Communication, Confidentiality, and a lack of any Conflict of Interest.
Competence requires us to not only diligently and zealously represent our clients, but also to recognize where a potential client's case does not require our expertise or requires a different specialty of the law. For that reason, should the situation require it, we will advise you on actions that you can take for your problem that would not require you to hire us. It is also the reason why we will be glad to provide a competent referral, but will not represent you for actions not within our expertise, such as traffic tickets, criminal law, or divorce. For matters within our areas of practice, we will pursue a resolution of your case with committment and dedication regardless of opposition, obstruction, or personal inconvenience.
Communication requires us to promptly and periodically inform our clients about their cases. The single biggest complaint to the State Bar regarding lawyers' behavior is "he won't return my phone calls." At Hodges & Coxe, P.C. we recognize that each client's case is usually that client's only case. Every client deserves to know what is happening at any time with his or her case, and we pride ourselves on keeping our clients fully informed at all times. Communication also requires us to advise you of, and make sure you understand, the risks and benefits or each action we take on your behalf.
Confidentiality between an attorney and client is one of the principal foundations of our legal system. The attorney/client privilege is one of the strongest privilege doctrines in the law. Anything that you tell us as a client, we are prohibited from sharing with anyone unless you give an informed consent to the disclosure of any protected information. This allows you to fully disclose all aspects or your case to us so that we can give the best advice and representation possible.
Generally, a Conflict of Interest exists if the representation of one client might affect the representation of another client. Both before and after taking your case, we will be diligent in investigating any possible conflict. If one arises, a potential conflict of interest is immediately communicated to our clients. A conflict of interest may be so serious that it could potentially affect our competent representation of a client. In those cases, we cannot pick and choose which client to keep, but would withdraw from all representation. Importantly, our duty of confidentiality continues beyond the representation, regardless of when and for whatever reason the representation ends.
At Hodges & Coxe, P.C. our ethical duties are very important to us and are applied to all our cases and clients equally. We will not compromise these duties or our reputation by providing you anything less than our full attention, skill, experience, committment, and dedication.