Alabama State Bar Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Alabama State Bar, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Can an Alabama lawyer sell discounted legal services through Groupon or other daily-deal websites?
No. The opinion concludes that the website's percentage cut is impermissible fee sharing with a non-lawyer under Rule 5.4, and the model also implicates the trust-account, refund, conflict-check, comp…
Can a criminal defense lawyer advise a client to waive ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims in a plea deal, and can a prosecutor demand that waiver?
No to both. Advising a client to waive IAC claims against that same lawyer violates Rules 1.7(b) and 1.8(h), and a prosecutor who requires the waiver violates Rule 8.4(a).
Can a plaintiff's lawyer agree to personally indemnify the defendant for the client's unpaid liens as a condition of settlement?
Generally no. A lawyer may not personally indemnify the opposing side for unpaid liens unless the liens are known and certain in amount at settlement; a defense lawyer may not demand such open-ended i…
When an Alabama lawyer is hired to help administer or probate an estate, who is the lawyer's client, the personal representative or the estate's beneficiaries?
Ordinarily the personal representative is the lawyer's sole client, not the beneficiaries. The lawyer must clarify under Rule 4.3 that he does not represent the beneficiaries, and if the personal repr…
In Alabama, can a lawyer represent criminal clients when a partner serves as a part-time municipal court judge or part-time assistant district attorney?
A partner or associate of a regularly serving part-time municipal court judge may not represent clients in that court, because the conflict is imputed under Rule 1.10. A partner of a part-time assista…
Can a lawyer who represents a closely held corporation at the board's direction also represent individual directors in their unrelated private matters?
Yes. Corporate counsel may represent the corporation at the direction of a majority of the board and also represent individual directors in separate, unrelated private matters, so long as the matters …
In Alabama, can a law firm hire a temporary or contract lawyer through a staffing agency, and what conflict, confidentiality, consent, and fee rules apply?
Yes. A firm may use a temporary lawyer placed by a staffing agency if it runs conflict checks (the temp is treated as a firm member for Rule 1.10), safeguards confidentiality, informs the client and o…
Can a liability insurer's salaried staff lawyer represent the insurer's insureds in Alabama, and what must the lawyer disclose?
Yes. A full-time staff lawyer for a liability insurer may defend the insurer's insureds where the insured's and insurer's interests are fully aligned and the insurer has a direct financial interest, b…
Can a lawyer whose firm represents a city in civil matters also defend criminal clients in that city's municipal court, and can the resulting conflict be waived?
The conflict between representing the city and defending criminal clients prosecuted by the city is a direct, materially limiting conflict, and the opinion calls waiver highly questionable, but it dec…
Can a lawyer put a binding arbitration clause in the attorney-client fee contract, and under what condition?
Only if the client is independently represented. The opinion concludes a binding arbitration provision prospectively limits the lawyer's malpractice liability under Rule 1.8(h), so it is ethical only …
If a paralegal or other nonlawyer employee moves from one firm to an opposing firm during pending litigation, can a screen ('Chinese wall') keep the new firm from being disqualified?
No, not on the firm's own say-so. The opinion overrules its earlier screening opinions and holds a nonlawyer is judged by the same standard as a lawyer: a firm that hires a nonlawyer who acquired conf…
Can a lawyer join a barter and referral club where members trade services and refer clients to each other?
Yes, with a condition. The opinion concluded a lawyer may join a barter club like BNI or TBI without violating Rules 7.2(c) or 7.3, but the lawyer must make a good faith determination, for each client…
If a lawyer once served as city attorney and now defends city officials in suits the city or its insurer may have to pay, can the lawyer take a new client against the city in an unrelated matter?
It depends on capacity and who pays. The opinion concluded that if the officials are sued in their official capacity, or in their individual capacity but the city or its insurer would pay any judgment…
If a lawyer occasionally serves as a substitute municipal judge, are the lawyer's partners disqualified from representing clients in that same municipal court?
No. The opinion concluded the conflict is personal to the lawyer who sits as substitute judge and is not imputed to the firm under Rule 1.10, so the lawyer's partners may represent municipal-court cli…
Can a law firm sell its own pre-paid legal services plans and then provide the legal services those plans cover?
No. The opinion concluded a firm that acts as its own insurer for pre-paid legal services has an inherent conflict of interest with the client, because a single set fee for unlimited services gives th…
Can a lawyer paid by an insurer to defend an insured follow the insurer's litigation-management guidelines and send bills to a third-party auditor?
Not where they cross the line. The opinion concluded a lawyer must not let an insurer's litigation-management guidelines interfere with the lawyer's independent professional judgment, and must not dis…
When a government child-support attorney represents the agency, can the same attorney handle a later case adverse to a parent the agency once helped, and what must the attorney disclose to service recipients?
The opinion concluded that, because a state statute makes the agency the IV-D attorney's exclusive client with no attorney-client relationship to any service recipient, the attorney may handle later a…
Can the same lawyers represent two separate plaintiff classes in different suits against the same defendants without a conflict of interest?
Yes, on the facts presented. The opinion concluded there was no present conflict where two plaintiff classes were not competing for a limited pool of recovery and their interests were not adverse, tho…
If one law firm hires a second firm that is its frequent courtroom adversary, must both firms tell their existing clients and get consent?
Not necessarily. The opinion concluded the two firms need not notify their clients or obtain consent if, but only if, the lawyers involved make a good-faith determination that the firms' attorney-clie…
Can a prosecutor try cases against criminal defendants who are represented by the prosecutor's sibling?
Only with consent. The opinion concluded a prosecutor may try cases defended by the prosecutor's brother only if both the district attorney's office and the brother's clients give informed consent aft…
Can a criminal defense lawyer represent a defendant when the key eyewitness is a former client whose confidential information could be used to impeach him?
No. The opinion concluded the defense lawyer is disqualified because a presumption exists that the lawyer gained confidential information during the prior representation, and the real risk that it cou…
Is a former government official barred from representing private plaintiffs against the agency in a later case that shares only some legal issues with a matter the official handled in office?
No. The opinion concluded that under Rule 1.11(a), a former public officer is disqualified only from the same 'matter' he participated in personally and substantially, and a later case with different …
Is a firm disqualified from suing a person one of its lawyers briefly advised earlier, and how is 'substantially related' determined?
It depends on the trial court's findings. The opinion concluded that under Rule 1.9, the firm is disqualified if the present suit is substantially related to the prior representation or if the lawyer …
When a former defense lawyer joins a district attorney's office, must the whole DA's office be disqualified from cases the new hire defended?
The opinion concluded that a district attorney and the other assistants are not vicariously disqualified under Rule 1.11 when a newly hired assistant previously appeared as defense counsel, so long as…
Is an insurer that the firm represents through its insureds an 'existing client' for conflict purposes, so the firm cannot sue it for another client?
Yes. The opinion concluded that a lawyer retained by an insurer to defend insureds represents both the insured and the insurer as clients, so the insurer is an existing client, and under Rule 1.7(a) t…
Can a law firm fund and bankroll a nominally separate firm's office and advertising in exchange for that firm referring cases to it?
The opinion concluded a firm may not establish and bankroll a nominally separate firm (paying its rent, salaries, and advertising) in return for case referrals, because it misleads the public under Ru…
Can government attorneys use information from a grand jury investigation to bring a civil suit against the same target their office investigated?
The opinion concluded that using grand jury information to bring a civil suit against the target does not violate Rule 1.11, provided the same governmental agency that convened and conducted the grand…
Can a law firm that represents a state agency also serve as conservator for individual children who are wards of that same agency?
The opinion concluded there is no per se conflict in the firm serving as conservator for children who are wards of the Department of Human Resources while continuing to represent the Department, becau…
Can a lawyer who serves as a hearing officer for a state agency also represent clients before that same agency, and can the lawyer's partners?
The opinion concluded a lawyer who serves as a hearing officer for a state agency may not represent clients before that same agency, though the lawyer's partner may represent clients there in matters …
Can a part-time assistant district attorney represent a homicide victim's estate in a civil wrongful-death case while the criminal matter is still pending?
The opinion concluded a part-time assistant district attorney may represent the victim's estate in the civil wrongful-death action, having obtained the consent of both the estate's personal representa…
After leaving the bench, can a former judge who signed a divorce decree later represent one of those parties in a related matter?
The opinion concluded a former judge who signed the final divorce decree, whether the divorce was contested or uncontested, participated personally and substantially and may not later represent either…
When a lawyer moves firms, can he work against a client his old firm once considered, if he personally never learned anything about that client?
The opinion concluded a lawyer who moves firms is disqualified only as to matters about which he has actual knowledge of protected information; because this lawyer never represented or learned anythin…
Must assistant attorneys general assigned to a state department withdraw from defending the department's former head when the attorney general sues that former head?
The opinion concluded the assistant and deputy attorneys general assigned to the department face a non-consentable conflict and must withdraw from defending the former Commissioner, because the Attorn…
Can a firm take a new client's case against a current client, and avoid the conflict by quietly withdrawing from representing the current client first?
The opinion concluded a firm may not represent a client directly adverse to a present client without each client's consent after consultation, and it may not sidestep the duty of loyalty by withdrawin…
Can a lawyer's firm serve as a city's prosecuting attorney when a member of that firm sits on the same city's council?
The opinion concluded a lawyer or a member of his firm may act as prosecuting attorney for a city while the lawyer serves on that city's council, because the prosecutor role is not adverse to the City…
Can a lawyer represent a corporate subsidiary while suing its parent company in a separate, unrelated matter?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may represent a wholly owned subsidiary and at the same time sue the parent in separate litigation, provided the subsidiary and parent are separate corporate entities, t…
Can a former assistant district attorney defend a criminal defendant on the same charges he helped investigate and indict as a prosecutor?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may not represent a criminal defendant on charges arising from an investigation and grand jury indictment in which the lawyer participated as an assistant or acting dist…
When a client's collection matter has gone dormant for years, can the firm take a new case against that same client?
The opinion concluded that a collection client whose matter has lain dormant (here, 18 months with little chance of recovery) becomes a former rather than current client, so the firm may sue that clie…
Can one lawyer represent a minor facing criminal charges and the minor's parents in a related dependency case at the same time?
The opinion concluded there was no apparent conflict in representing both the minor in the criminal matter and the parents in the dependency trial where the lawyer reasonably believed the representati…
Can a lawyer sue a former workers'-compensation client years later in an unrelated car-accident case?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may represent the driver and owner of a vehicle against a former client, because a decade-old workers'-compensation representation is not substantially related to the …
Can a lawyer who currently represents a state agency also represent someone in an unrelated matter adverse to that agency?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may not represent a client contesting a founded child-abuse complaint by the Department of Human Resources while currently representing the Department in other matters…
Is it a conflict to handle criminal cases when an employee in your office is the sibling of the chief deputy district attorney?
The opinion concluded there is no conflict in handling criminal cases while employing the brother of the chief deputy district attorney, whether the employee is a lawyer or non-lawyer, because Rule 1.…
Can a firm drop one current client to convert it into a 'former client' and keep representing another client who is suing it?
The opinion concluded a firm representing client A in litigation directly adverse to current client C must withdraw from that adverse representation, and it may not instead discontinue representing C …
What must insurance defense counsel do after learning facts that would defeat the insured's coverage?
The opinion concluded that counsel is impliedly authorized to disclose to the insurer only that a coverage question exists, with a request to appoint independent counsel for the insured; absent that l…
Is an entire district attorney's office disqualified when it prosecutes a defendant who is also the victim and main witness in another case the office is handling?
The opinion concluded one prosecutor's conflict is not imputed to the whole office; the DA and assistants are not per se disqualified from prosecuting a defendant who is also a victim/witness in anoth…
If a part-time assistant DA once represented a parent, can the rest of the DA's office still prosecute that parent for child-support arrears?
The opinion concluded that a part-time assistant DA's disqualification from prosecuting a former client in a substantially related child-support matter is generally imputed to the district attorney an…
In a private adoption, can a lawyer represent the birth mother while the adoptive couple pays the lawyer's fee?
The opinion concluded a third party (such as the adoptive couple) may pay the lawyer's fee for representing the birth mother only with the client's consent after full disclosure and without the payer …
Can a lawyer represent a husband in a divorce after having represented the wife in an earlier estate matter?
The opinion concluded the lawyer should withdraw: a lawyer may take a matter adverse to a former client only if there is no substantial relationship to the prior representation and the lawyer could no…
Can a lawyer who is also a director, officer, and shareholder represent the corporation in an acquisition?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may represent the corporation and its board in the acquisition if he fully discloses his personal interests to the board and the board consents, because the board defi…
Can one lawyer represent both the buyer and the seller in a real estate closing?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may represent both the buyer and the seller in a real estate transaction, including doing the title work, if both parties consent after full disclosure of the potential …
Can a part-time municipal judge privately represent a city police officer indicted over an on-duty shooting, and also defend the city in the related civil suit?
The opinion concluded a lawyer serving as municipal judge may represent the police officer if indicted and may represent the city in any related civil suit, provided that in his judicial capacity he h…
Can one lawyer represent several accident victims from the same crash, including a wrongful-death claim, when the insurance covers everyone fully?
The opinion concluded that where there is no question about the carrier's coverage or ability to pay, so that sufficient assets exist to satisfy all potential claims, one lawyer may represent multiple…
Can a part-time city prosecutor also defend criminal cases and handle civil litigation in state court as a private lawyer?
The opinion concluded a city prosecutor may defend criminal cases and represent civil litigants in state court as a private lawyer, provided no municipal police officers are involved, the criminal cha…
Can an insurance company's salaried house counsel defend the company's insureds in court the way outside counsel would?
The opinion concluded there is no ethical impropriety in salaried house counsel for an insurer rendering in-court defense of the carrier's insureds to the same extent as independent counsel, provided …
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Legal ethics opinions from the Alabama State Bar interpret the rules of professional conduct for working lawyers, in response to inquiries from members and committees. They are not binding like court discipline decisions, but courts and discipline boards treat formal opinions as substantial guidance on how the rules apply. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the original source on the bar's site.