TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Dec 4, 2025

In 2026, California will become the first U.S. state to require attorneys to take an annual civility oath to “conduct themselves with dignity, courtesy, and integrity,” Reuters reports. The new requirement was proposed by a 2021 task force, approved by the state Supreme Court in September and finalized by the State Bar of California last month. Brian Currey, a retired California appeals court judge and chair of the task force, says, “Incivility is ‘sand in the gears’ of the legal system. When lawyers waste their time and energy sniping at each other, it makes resolving disputes or issues more difficult.” In 2018, the Tennessee Supreme Court amended the oath that new Tennessee lawyers take, swearing that they will conduct themselves "with honesty, fairness, integrity, and civility."