I think it's probably obvious that a lawyer cannot tell his client where to stash the body his client just murdered.
I think it's also probably pretty obvious (but less so) that a lawyer cannot tell his client the best way to commit a murder, even though the lawyer may have nothing to do with carrying out the murder.
Tell me if I am wrong, though.
Then there's a question of, say, a lawyer telling his client where to stash his retirement account in order to avoid paying taxes on it. This one is less obvious.
Then there's a question of, say, a lawyer advising his client that the fine for breaking the law is "only" $X, so it would therefor be worth it to take the fine and commit the illegal act. To me, this one should be perfectly okay for the lawyer to do. But what if the lawyer advised his client "it's only 30 years if you want to kill your lover's mistress? It might be worth it?"
Finally, there's a special case for attorney generals, who are licensed I assume. What if an AG advises a president or a governor to do X illegal act because the only penalty is impeachment and the legislature is controlled by his own party so he can get away with it?
In sum, is there a rule of thumb or a case history which provides a guide as to the actions of attorneys? What is it?
Since the ABA governs most states, consider what they would say.