QUESTION: May a lawyer or To’ain represent a litigant in a Beis Din or court of law, when he knows that his client is lying?
ANSWER: Although this is a very complex topic, the short answer is that he should not advise him in this matter nor represent him if he knows that he is lying. He should urge him to present the truth before the Beis Din or court [See Sinai Vol. XXX pp. 46-61; XXXI pp 165-183]. The prohibition of representing someone who is certainly lying applies even when the lawyer’s client and the opposition are Gentiles (See Rav Yechiel Tauber’s Maishiv Bahalacha Siman 85).
The reasons for the prohibition are actually three-fold: (1) We are enjoined to stay far away from a false matter (Midvar Sheker Tirchak). (2) There is a Mitzvah of V’halachta Bidrachav - we must walk in Hashem’s ways, and one of Hashem’s ways is Emes. (3) There is a Torah prohibition of Lifnei Iver (do not put a stumbling block before the blind, i.e. cause another to sin) and there are similar Rabbinic restrictions of Mesayei L’Ovrei Aveirah – enabling evil doers. When a lawyer represents a client that he knows is lying, he is causing and enabling him to lie.
There may be times when a client will falsely say that he is guilty to protect another party. A Rav must be consulted regarding whether a lawyer may represent a client in such a case.
