After examining the status of the duty of loyalty (and of other similar rules of behaviour, such as good faith) in Italian law and in the system of lawyers’ ethics, the author questions the diffident attitude adopted by the Italian doctrine - especially among specialists in procedural law - vis-à-vis loyalty as a normative guide- line for legal practitioners. The author focuses in particular on three crucial and sometimes mutually conflicting characteristics of the loyalty expected of attorneys at law (characteristics that turn out to be strong points, rather than critical points): it is generic, it is based on relationships and it is multiple in nature, thus arising conflicts. In conclusion, the author observes that professional ethics cannot be reduced to a deontology comprising a listing of specific rules of behaviour, as it cannot avoid including references - albeit somewhat indeterminate - to values to be pursued and virtues to cultivate.
Keywords: Professional ethics, Forensic deontology, Loyalty, Ethics of virtue