Attorney Discipline for Offensive Personality in California

This Article examines California Business and Professions Code section 6068(f), which somewhat archaically provides that an attorney shall "abstain from all offensive personality .... ", and finds that this rather obscure statute has potentially profound ramifications for all attorneys practicing in the state. The author extrapolates a functional definition of the term "offensive personality" and constructs a number of hypothetical situations illustrating that conduct prohibited by the offensive personality statute is potentially broader than past application indicates. Finally, the Article undertakes an analysis of the free speech and due process implications of section 6068(f), concluding that the statute would be unable to withstand Constitutional muster if challenged.