Maine Second State to Adopt ABA Anti-Harassment Ethics Rule

Maine recently became the second U.S. state to adopt the American Bar Association’s controversial revised rule on lawyer misconduct that includes a section prohibiting harassment and discrimination.

Maine’s amendment to its existing rule added section 8.4(g), and “is intended to dispel uncertainty as to what conduct is prohibited,” the rule’s guidance section said. The changes adopted by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court went into effect June 1.

Stories of harassment and discrimination in the workplace have been in the public eye for several years. The legal industry has had to face its own reckoning, as judges and law firm ...