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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What must an Alaska lawyer do to protect a client trust account from fake-check and wire-fraud scams before disbursing funds?
The opinion concludes that the duties of competence, diligence, and safekeeping require a lawyer to recognize the red flags of trust-account scams and to take all reasonable steps to confirm that fund…
Can an Alaska lawyer accept a client's pre-authorization to charge a credit card for fees as part of the engagement agreement?
The opinion withdraws the part of Ethics Opinion 85-5 that prohibited pre-authorizing credit card payments, so a lawyer may obtain a client's advance authorization to charge a credit card; the rest of…
How long must an Alaska criminal-defense lawyer retain a former client's file, and may the lawyer use electronic storage?
The rules set no fixed retention period. The opinion concludes criminal files must be kept for a period tied to their likely future use, sometimes indefinitely, and permits secure, complete, retrievab…
Does a lawyer have to hold onto documents or property a client leaves with them unsolicited?
Generally no. The opinion concludes a lawyer has no duty under Rule 1.15 to hold property a client delivers unsolicited and unconnected to the representation unless the lawyer consents to hold it, tho…
Can a lawyer record a statutory attorney's lien against a client's real property to secure unpaid fees?
No. The opinion concludes that recording an attorney's lien for fees under AS 34.35.430 violates Alaska Rules 1.5, 1.8, and 1.16; the proper route is to reduce the fee claim to judgment, which gives t…
Does a lawyer have to give a former client the original file, or can the lawyer keep the original and give a copy?
The original. The opinion concludes the file belongs to the client, so the lawyer must provide the original file (not a copy) to the client or new counsel on request; the lawyer may keep a copy at the…
Does a subrogated insurer become a client of the lawyer who represents the insured plaintiff?
No. The opinion concludes that pursuing an insurer's subrogated claim on the insured's behalf does not, standing alone, make the insurer a client of the insured's lawyer; the insurer's financial inter…
Can an Alaska lawyer withhold an expert or investigator's report from the client because the client has not paid for it?
Not if withholding would prejudice the client. The opinion treats an expert or investigator's report as part of the client's file, so the lawyer's interest in getting paid is subordinate to the client…
When a client discharges a lawyer and asks for the file, must the lawyer hand over everything in it, including the lawyer's notes and internal memos?
The opinion concludes the lawyer must presumptively give the former client access to the entire file unless substantial grounds exist to refuse, with narrow exceptions for third-party nondisclosure du…
Can a lawyer report a client or former client to a credit bureau to collect an unpaid legal fee?
The opinion concluded that an Alaska attorney may not refer information about a present or former client to a credit bureau without the client's knowing consent, reaffirming Ethics Opinion 86-3.
If a creditor serves a writ of execution on a lawyer for client funds held in the lawyer's trust account, may the lawyer turn the funds over?
The opinion concluded that nothing in the Alaska Rules prevents a lawyer from honoring a valid writ of execution against client trust-account funds; the lawyer must pay the funds to the process server…
Can an Alaska lawyer refuse to return a client's file until the client pays the copying charges?
Not where it would prejudice the client. The opinion concluded the original file is the client's property, copying charges can be billed only if the fee agreement says so, and the client's interests a…
When a third party claims money a lawyer is holding for a client, when must the lawyer honor that claim instead of paying the client?
The opinion concluded a lawyer must honor a third-party claim only if it is a facially valid assignment or a statutory lien brought to the lawyer's attention; if the client tells the lawyer to disrega…
What should a lawyer do with money held in trust for a former client the lawyer can no longer locate?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may, after exhausting reasonable efforts to find the client, hold the funds in trust for the required period and then dispose of them as abandoned property under Alask…
What must a lawyer do when a third party claims part of the client's settlement funds and the client says pay only me?
The opinion concluded that when a dispute arises over a third party's rights to client funds, the lawyer must segregate the disputed amount until it is resolved, and if it cannot be resolved amicably …
Can a lawyer give the opposing party copies of draft documents from a former client's file, and how long must a lawyer keep closed client files?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not give an opposing party draft documents prepared in the course of representing a client or former client without that person's express consent after full dis…
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…
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…
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…
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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.