ETHICS OPINION 333-1936

NUMBER 333 1936

Question. Is it proper professional conduct for an attorney, who acted on numerous occasions for receivers or trustees in bankruptcy, to request any judge of a U.S. District Court to appoint the said attorney as receiver or trustee in any bankruptcy matter which may hereafter come before such judge?

Answer. Canon 12 of the Canons of Judicial Ethics adopted by the American Bar Association requires that appointees to the positions referred to in the question shall be selected with a view solely to their character and fitness. Membership in the Bar and professional experience in the particular field may well be considered by a judge as bearing upon these qualities, and may therefore be properly brought to his attention in a dignified manner with a declaration of desire or consent to serve. Pains must be taken, however, to avoid any importunity, personal, political or otherwise, which may embarrass the judge in making his selections, or tend to interfere with his observance of Canon 12 in any particular.