Preamble
The Supreme Court of Alabama has inherent responsibility to supervise the conduct of lawyers who are its officers, and, in furtherance thereof, it promulgates the following Rules of Disciplinary Procedure (Interim), superseding all other rules and statutes pertaining to disciplinary procedure heretofore promulgated or enacted.
The purpose of lawyer discipline and disability proceedings is to maintain appropriate standards of professional conduct to protect the public and the administration of justice from lawyers who have demonstrated by their conduct that they are unable or are likely to be unable to properly discharge their professional duties.
The license to practice law in this state is a continuing proclamation by the Court that the holder is fit to be entrusted with professional matters and to aid in the administration of justice as a lawyer and as an officer of the Court. It is the duty of every recipient of that privilege to conduct himself or herself at all times, both professionally and personally, in conformity with the standards imposed upon members of the bar as conditions for the privilege to practice