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Post v. Bregman12/24/1996
"). Appellant's attempt to link the Rules of Professional Conduct and "law" which is presumed a part of every contract as if expressly provided for in its terms is grounded upon a misconception of the proper role that the Rules of Professional Conduct play in our society.
It is necessary first to recall the principle restated by the Court of Appeals in Attorney Gen. of Maryland v. Waldron, 289 Md. 683, 426 A.2d 929 (1981), that "in addition to the specific powers and functions expressly granted to the three organs of government by the Constitution, each branch possesses additional powers perforce implied from the right and obligation to perform its constitutional duties." Id. at 690 (citations omitted). As the Court further explained:
Cognizant of the constitutionally imposed responsibility with respect to the administration of justice in this State, this Court has heretofore recognized and held that the regulation of the practice of law, the admittance of new members to the bar, and the discipline of attorneys who fail to conform to the established standards governing their professional conduct are essentially judicial in nature and, accordingly, are encompassed in the constitutional grant of judicial authority to the courts of this State.
Id. at 692 (emphasis added) (citations omitted). This power springs from the fierce protection that the judicial branch must exercise of its ability to govern itself free from interference by the legislature. Quoting with approval the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, the Court stated in Maryland State Bar Ass'n v. Boone, 255 Md. 420, 258 A.2d 438 (1969):
It is a necessary implication from the exclusive jurisdiction of the judicial department of control of membership in the bar that the judicial department is not restricted in the [manner] of review in such proceedings to methods prescribed by statute. If this were not true the judicial department would be restricted by legislative action in the performance of its duties with respect to membership in the bar of which it has "exclusive cognizance."
Id. at 431. Thus, the Court has drawn a clear distinction between legislative enactments and the legislature in general and rules passed by the judiciary for the purpose of regulating the conduct of attorneys. In light of this separation, we cannot place our imprimatur on the proposition that the Rules of Professional Conduct are "laws" to be read into each contract, as appellant maintains.
Appellant, however, does not rest its argument there, but characterizes the Rules as "judicial precedent," which, appellant argues, also find their way automatically into each contract under the Von Hoffman rule. See Denice v. Spotswood I. Quinby, Inc., 248 Md. 428, 433, 237 A.2d 4 (1968) (citing 17A C.J.S. Contracts § 330 (1963)). This conclusion, says appellant, follows quite naturally from the recognition that the Rules "constitute, as opinions do, proclamations of the judiciary." These rules, appellant concludes, should "inform and be implied in all agreements between counsel."
We note initially that appellant cites no cases -- and we have found none -- that concern a situation calling for the automatic incorporation of judicial precedent into a contract. Rather, all the cases that appellant cites deal with statutes, regulations, and ordinances. See, e.g., Wright v. Commercial & Sav. Bank, 297 Md. 148, 464 A.2d 1080 (1983) (concerning application of the Commercial Law and Financial Institutions Article of the Maryland Code); State, Dep't of General Services v. Roger E. Holtman & Assoc., Ltd., 296 Md. 403, 463 A.2d 803 (1983) ( §§ 7-101 to 7-104 of Article 21 of the Maryland Code (1957, 1981 R
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