There are numerous duties that a defense attorney has in the representation and defense of the defendant.

First, the attorney must zealously represent the defendant. Zealous representation is defined as the engaged representation of the defendant. The defense attorney must be engaged and involved in all processes associated with the defense. The defense attorney should respond to any and all inquiries made to him. The attorney should promptly appear on the defendant's behalf at all criminal proceedings.

Second, the attorney must be an advocate for his client. Being an advocate for the defendant means that the defense attorney is required to represent the defendant to the best of his ability and raise any possible defense on the defendant's behalf. The defense attorney is not required to raise unfounded defenses or frivolous claims.

Third, the attorney must adequately and effectively represent the defendant. Effective representation entails the following:

• Conscientiously following procedures.
  
• Meaningfully represents the defendant in all pre-trial and trial proceedings.
  
• Assures that the defendant has been properly advised of his rights and the charges against him.

If the defendant believes that the defense counsel was ineffective or inadequate during the pre-trial or trial proceedings, the defendant may appeal his conviction on the grounds that he was denied effective assistance of counsel as required under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. In order for the defendant to succeed on an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, the defendant must show that the defense attorney's conduct undermined the adversarial proceedings and that the result in the trial court cannot be relied upon. The Sixth Amendment does not ensure that no errors will be made by the defense attorney, it merely requires that the defense attorney's performance did not undermined the adversarial process.

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