THE DIGNITY OF ADVOCACY AND THE MEANING OF “SERIOUS HARM”: AN INTERPRETIVE ANALYSIS OF PREVENTIVE SUSPENSION IN THE BRAZILIAN BAR

Abstract

This paper provides a legal analysis of the expression “serious harm to the dignity of advocacy”, as established in Article 70, §3 of the Brazilian Bar Statute (Law No. 8.906/1994), which grounds the preventive suspension of lawyers. The research, based on bibliographic and documentary sources, examines the semantic and normative construction of the concept and its practical application in decisions of the Ethics and Disciplinary Tribunal of OAB/AL, according to rulings published in the OAB Electronic Gazette. The study concludes that preventive suspension is a cautionary and exceptional measure that must rely on objective criteria of seriousness, repercussion, and institutional harm, ensuring balance between the protection of the legal profession’s image and the fundamental rights of the lawyer involved.