The Supreme Court of Virginia said that lawyers’ competence is impacted by their health and well-being.
Last month the court adopted Comment [7] to Virginia Rule of Professional Conduct 1.1 (competence), which provides:
A lawyer’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being impacts the lawyer’s ability to represent clients and to make responsible choices in the practice of law. Maintaining the mental, emotional, and physical ability necessary for the representation of a client is an important aspect of maintaining competence to practice law. See also Rule 1.16(a)(2).
Rule 1.16(a)(2) provides that a lawyer can’t take on or must withdraw from a representation ...