Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct, rule 3.2 · Chapter 3. Advocate
Delay of Litigation
Text — 2026 edition, as the State Bar of California publishes it (read October 22, 2026)
In representing a client, a lawyer shall not use means that have no substantial* purpose other than to delay or prolong the proceeding or to cause needless expense.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
Comment
See rule 1.3 with respect to a lawyer’s duty to act with reasonable* diligence and rule 3.1(b) with respect to a lawyer’s representation of a defendant in a criminal proceeding. See also Business and Professions Code section 6128, subdivision (b).
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 44–45)
- Text hash
- sha256 64a5438b3be336b4de9f37025ec28c66bb9f790c022c70127f29dabccf1dfe27
- 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.
Business and Professions Code
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.