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 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).
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 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 suing a government agency contact the agency's officials directly about the case without the agency lawyer's consent?
Yes. The opinion concludes a lawyer for a party in a controversy with a government agency may communicate directly with the agency's officials about the matter, including settlement, under the 'author…
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…
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 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…
When a public-body client is subject to an open-meetings law, can the lawyer keep attorney-client discussions confidential, or must legal advice and strategy be aired in a public meeting?
The opinion concluded that, for purposes of the Rules of Professional Conduct, the lawyer's confidentiality duty under Rule 1.6 outweighs the open-meetings statute, and the protection covers attorney-…
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 …
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…
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 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…
Does a lawyer's duty of candor under Rule 3.3 require disclosing facts adverse to the client in a Social Security disability hearing before an administrative law judge?
The opinion concluded Rule 3.3(d) applies to lawyers in Social Security ALJ hearings, which are ex parte adjudicative proceedings, so the lawyer must inform the tribunal of all material facts (even ad…
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 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 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…
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…
Can a lawyer who is now an assistant district attorney represent himself pro se in a civil case filed against him personally?
Yes. The opinion concluded that a lawyer-litigant has the same right as any other individual to represent himself pro se, and noted that whether a statute barring district attorneys from outside pract…
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…
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 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…
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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.