A proposed revision (PDF) to one of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct would expressly bar lawyers from bias in practice-related matters. The types of discrimination barred by the proposed rule cover more classes of people than some state laws currently protect.

While some members of the profession welcome the draft revision, others are concerned that it may go too far in restricting attorneys on matters of personal preference, conscience and religious belief, reports the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.).

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“Lawyers are pathologically opposed to any interference with their own professional regulation,” Professor Deborah Rhode of Stanford Law School told the newspaper. “And the banner of personal liberty is unfurled every time someone proposes to subject lawyers to what’s forbidden in every other occupational context.”