Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct, rule 1.3 · Chapter 1. Lawyer-Client Relationship
Diligence
Text — 2026 edition, as the State Bar of California publishes it (read October 22, 2026)
(a) A lawyer shall not intentionally, repeatedly, recklessly or with gross negligence fail to act with reasonable diligence in representing a client.
(b) For purposes of this rule, “reasonable diligence” shall mean that a lawyer acts with commitment and dedication to the interests of the client and does not neglect or disregard, or unduly delay a legal matter entrusted to the lawyer.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
Comment
[1] This rule addresses only a lawyer’s responsibility for his or her own professional diligence. See rules 5.1 and 5.3 with respect to a lawyer’s disciplinary responsibility for supervising subordinate lawyers and nonlawyers.
[2] See rule 1.1 with respect to a lawyer’s duty to perform legal services with competence.
Source of truth
- Edition
- 2026 edition, as the State Bar of California publishes it (read October 22, 2026)
- Official file
- https://www.calbar.ca.gov/sites/default/files/portals/0/documents/rules/Rules-of-Professional-Conduct.pdf (PDF pages 16)
- Text hash
- sha256 f768ce9f946b81041bfadbd6214979938c1851163117ccc68c93f1cc601fffa3
- Composed by
- rpc/build 2026-10-22: the State Bar's 2026 PDF (pages 12-71) read by two readers, PyMuPDF glyph positions and pdfminer with the PDF's tagged structure, agreeing on 834 of 843 paragraphs character for character, the other nine (paragraph boundaries only) resolved against the rendered page; 205,485 printed glyphs accounted for; the State Bar's chapter pages a third reading
This rule cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
California Rules of Professional Conduct
Cited by 2 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct, rule 1.3. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
California Rules of Professional Conduct
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.