In today's litigious society, the conduct of counseling professionals is increasingly scrutinized by the media, the general public, and the profession itself. Subsequently, counselors need to understand the permissible bounds of conduct within which they can perform their jobs effectively and legally. This text examines these parameters by providing a broad overview of the law and the potential areas of liability that counselors encounter in their professional practices. General principles of law are set out together with the American Counseling Association's Code of Ethics, to give professional counselors an overview of the laws and ethical considerations that affect them. Although the book is not intended to be an in-depth treatment of legal or ethical standards, it should enable counselors to spot important issues as these concerns arise in practice. The chapters offer an overview of the law and ethics and cover such areas as fees, consent, consultation, privileged communication, counseling minors, how to avoid liability, civil actions, criminal actions, business procedures, insurance protection, hiring, record keeping, licensure, unprofessional conduct, and numerous other issues. Appendices reproduce the ACA Code of Ethics, information on the ACA Insurance Trust, and a checklist for obtaining informed written consent for treatment. Contains 97 references. (RJM)