It’s Halloween season, so what better time than to reflect on the role of “Devil’s advocate,” suggests ISBA General Counsel Charles J. Northrup in his October Illinois Bar Journal ethics column, “Giving the Devil His Due.” The essential characteristic of the Devil’s advocate is good communication, Northrup continues. “And as a fundamental part of good communication, it should come as no surprise that the idea of being a good Devil’s advocate is fully embraced by the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct.”

Read on for Northrup’s application of the Rules to occasions when donning the role of Devil’s Advocate to deliver blunt candor to clients is neither a trick nor a treat.

Read the October IBJ article, "Giving the Devil His Due."