IN · rules
Ind. Prof. Cond. Rule 8.1
Bar Admission and Disciplinary Matters
Effective January 1, 1987
An applicant for admission to the bar, or a lawyer in connection with a bar admission application or in connection with a disciplinary matter, shall not:
(a) knowingly make a false statement of material fact; or
(b) fail to disclose a fact necessary to correct a misapprehension known by the person to have
arisen in the matter, or knowingly fail to respond to a lawful demand for information from an
admissions or disciplinary authority, except that this Rule does not require disclosure of
information otherwise protected by Rule 1.6.
Comment
[1] The duty imposed by this Rule extends to persons seeking admission to the bar as
well as to lawyers. Hence, if a person makes a material false statement in connection with
an application for admission, it may be the basis for subsequent disciplinary action if the
person is admitted, and in any event may be relevant in a subsequent admission application. The duty imposed by this Rule applies to a lawyer's own admission or discipline as
well as that of others. Thus, it is a separate professional offense for a lawyer to knowingly
make a misrepresentation or omission in connection with a disciplinary investigation of
the lawyer's own conduct. Paragraph (b) of this Rule also requires correction of any prior
misstatement in the matter that the applicant or lawyer may have made and affirmative
clarification of any misunderstanding on the part of the admissions or disciplinary authority of which the person involved becomes aware.
[2] This Rule is subject to the provisions of the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution and corresponding provisions of state constitutions. A person relying on such a
provision in response to a question, however, should do so openly and not use the right of
nondisclosure as a justification for failure to comply with this Rule.
[3] A lawyer representing an applicant for admission to the bar, or representing a lawyer
who is the subject of a disciplinary inquiry or proceeding, is governed by the rules
applicable to the client-lawyer relationship, including Rule 1.6 and, in some cases, Rule
3.3.
Provenance
- Source
- rules.incourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-02
- Edition
- supplied-in-22-2024-10-01
- Content hash
774994498e6017d0b21ab999aca0f9fea23c3c0f02aae1a8c352984bd5cbed7b
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