Alaska Bar Association Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Alaska Bar Association, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Must a law firm be disqualified because it hired an associate who had worked substantially on the same case at the opposing party's firm?
On the facts, the opinion concluded the defendant's three-lawyer firm should be disqualified, because the lateral associate had participated substantially in pretrial motion and discovery for the plai…
Can a former government attorney join a firm that is litigating against the attorney's former agency?
The opinion concluded that a former public employee may not accept private employment in a matter in which he had substantial responsibility as a public employee (DR 9-101(B)), whether or not the publ…
Can an attorney hold a client's papers under the attorney's lien statute when the client needs them in pending litigation, and is the rule against secret recording still valid?
The opinion concluded that Ethics Opinion 78-1's rule against recording any conversation without the consent of all parties remains in full force, but that Ethics Opinion 77-2 (allowing an attorney to…
Can an assistant district attorney keep prosecuting when her spouse is a Superior Court judge in the same community?
The opinion concluded that the mere fact of marriage between a Superior Court judge and an assistant district attorney in the same community does not violate the Code, assuming the proposed safeguards…
Can a lawyer make an in-person offer to represent an indigent person for free, and is a lawyer required to take a pro bono case?
The opinion concluded that an attorney's in-person offer to represent an indigent person purely pro bono does not violate the solicitation rules, because the prohibited 'employment' means activity car…
Must a lawyer pay a client's medical creditors out of a recovery, and may a lawyer make a Rule 68 offer of judgment knowing there are no funds to pay it?
The opinion concluded that, absent any commitment or misrepresentation by the lawyer, an attorney who remits recovery funds to the client without paying possible medical liens violates no rule, becaus…
Can a legal-services organization's board review client eligibility, and can a board member's firm represent parties adverse to the organization's clients?
The opinion concluded the ALSC Board of Directors may review client eligibility determinations so long as no information protected by the attorney-client privilege is disclosed (eligibility data is ge…
Can a law firm employ an accountant to provide accounting services to the firm and to its clients?
The opinion concluded a law firm may employ an accountant on salary (not as a partner and without fee splitting) to advise and assist its attorneys and to provide accounting services arising from the …
Can a lawyer or the lawyer's investigator take documents from the trash discarded by opposing counsel's office?
The opinion concluded that it is improper for an attorney or the attorney's agent to remove discarded trash containing documents (such as pleadings and correspondence) from the receptacle used by oppo…
Can a lawyer charge interest on the unpaid portion of a client's legal bill?
The opinion concluded that no provision of the Code of Professional Responsibility prohibits an attorney from charging interest on unpaid billings, noting a liberalizing trend in ABA opinions; if the …
Can a legal-aid employee refer clients it cannot serve to individual local lawyers instead of to the bar's statewide referral service?
The opinion concluded that no Disciplinary Rule is necessarily violated when employees of Alaska Legal Services refer ineligible clients and fee-generating cases to individual local lawyers rather tha…
Must a law firm withdraw when it hires the attorney who filed the case for the opposing party?
The opinion concluded the defendant's firm must withdraw. The attorney who had initiated the plaintiff's divorce and custody action at a legal-aid office then joined the defendant's two-partner firm, …
Can a client hire an investigator on a contingent fee, paid from the recovery, at the lawyer's suggestion?
The opinion concluded it is ethically improper for an attorney to instigate or participate in an arrangement under which the client hires an investigator on a contingent fee tied to the recovery, beca…
May a former law clerk, now in private practice, represent a client whose case was pending before the judge the lawyer clerked for?
The opinion concluded the former clerk may represent such a client (in court, consultation, research, or investigation) if his contact with the case as clerk was only that it was pending or purely adm…
Must a lawyer explain all the available fee arrangements to a client even if the lawyer would only take the case on one type?
The opinion concluded that an attorney has an ethical obligation to advise a client fully and fairly about all the various fee arrangements available for a particular matter, even though the lawyer wo…
Can a lawyer who serves on a borough assembly, or the lawyer's firm, represent clients before that assembly?
The opinion concluded that an attorney who is a member of a legislative and quasi-judicial body, such as a borough assembly, may not practice or represent clients before that body, or before agencies …
Can one lawyer represent two co-defendants on a criminal appeal when their interests conflict, if both waive the conflict?
The opinion concluded a single attorney may not continue to represent two co-defendants in a criminal appeal where vigorous representation of one would impugn the other's testimony and shift criminal …
Can a lawyer insist on a contingent fee in a personal-injury case when the client could afford to pay an hourly rate?
The opinion concluded that, while a lawyer generally should decline a contingent fee from a client able to pay a reasonable fixed fee, it is not necessarily improper to propose one; the lawyer must ex…
Can an out-of-state lawyer who refers a case collect a referral fee based on a percentage of the receiving lawyer's fee when the receiving lawyer does all the work?
The opinion concluded that, under DR 2-107(A)(2), a lawyer may divide a fee with a lawyer in another firm only in proportion to the services performed and responsibility assumed by each. A fee for mer…
Is a settlement agreement between a plaintiff and one of two co-defendants that realigns the parties' interests ethical, and must it be disclosed?
The opinion concluded that such an agreement is not maintenance or champerty and is not unethical, so long as it is disclosed to the court and all parties when the agreement is made. Because the agree…
Can a supervised legal assistant investigate and negotiate insurance claim settlements without engaging in the unauthorized practice of law?
The opinion concluded that a legal assistant who investigates claims and negotiates settlements with insurers is not engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, provided the assistant's nonlawyer sta…
Can a lawyer contact an opposing party's client directly to determine whether opposing counsel is even authorized to bring the suit?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not, without opposing counsel's knowledge, communicate with the opposing party's client to determine whether counsel is properly representing the client. The no…
May an Alaska law firm's name include a partner who is not admitted to practice in Alaska?
The opinion concluded that, under DR 2-102(D) as adopted in Alaska, lawyers licensed in different jurisdictions may use the same firm name in each jurisdiction if the listings make clear each member's…
Can a lawyer suing a government entity interview that entity's employees about the case without the government lawyer's consent?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may ethically communicate with employees of a government entity about a matter in controversy, so long as the lawyer does not contact employees who may reasonably b…
Can lawyers own or rent offices in a building named something like 'Legal Center' or 'Lawyers' Building'?
The opinion concluded that it was improper for attorneys to own or occupy office space in a building named 'Anchorage Legal Center.' The Committee found the geographical reference plus 'center' mislea…
Can a lawyer share office space, a waiting room, and overhead with a non-lawyer such as a CPA?
The opinion concluded that sharing office space with a public accountant is not unethical where it is merely for the physical convenience of both parties and the proper safeguards are maintained. An a…
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Legal ethics opinions from the Alaska Bar Association 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.