An organization of divorce lawyers - trying to clean up its members' "L.A. Law" image as legal Lotharios - has adopted guidelines governing such things as sleeping with clients and using children as weapons.

"The public thinks most lawyers are Arnie Beckers. Most divorce lawyers are not Arnie Beckers," Sanford Dranoff, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, said Tuesday, referring to the series' sleazy divorce lawyer.The Chicago-based group has drafted non-binding guidelines that call for avoiding the use of youngsters as bargaining chips, steering clear of sexual entanglements with clients, avoiding harassment of opposing attorneys, recommending reconciliation when appropriate and considering the welfare of the children.

The group, which represents about 1,200 of the nation's 40,000 divorce lawyers, already has general ethical guidelines, but these are the first to deal specifically with sexual issues and certain other matters, Dranoff said.

"The goal is to make sure that the tactics employed by Arnie Becker and in `War of the Roses' are fiction rather than reality," he said.

Sex with clients is a particularly sensitive ethical issue for the legal profession.

The California bar recently passed a measure barring lawyers from demanding or coercing sex with a client. When sexual relations do occur, the lawyers must prove the relationship didn't interfere with their professional representation.

The amendment, subject to the California Supreme Court's approval, recently was sent back to the bar for additional public review.

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