State Bar of California Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the State Bar of California, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Are California lawyers required to have a succession plan, and what duties does an assisting attorney take on?
California has no rule that expressly mandates a succession plan, but the combined duties of competence, diligence, communication, withdrawal, safekeeping client property, and supervision require ever…
What are a California lawyer's ethical duties when working remotely or in a hybrid law-firm setting?
Remote practice does not change a California lawyer's ethical duties. Managerial lawyers must implement reasonable measures, policies, and practices to ensure compliance with the rules in a remote env…
How should a California lawyer represent a client whose decision-making capacity may be impaired, and when may the lawyer take protective action?
The opinion concludes that the lawyer should preserve a normal lawyer-client relationship insofar as possible; that informed, disinterested judgments about capacity will not be treated as unethical in…
When a California lawyer or law-firm colleague has a mental impairment affecting their practice, what do that lawyer, their subordinates, and their supervisors have to do?
An impairment does not excuse the impaired lawyer from any duty. It triggers parallel duties for that lawyer's subordinates, supervisors, and other colleagues who know of the conduct, including commun…
What ethical duties does a California lawyer owe when a third-party litigation funder is involved in the case?
Per California Formal Opinion 2020-204, lawyers must preserve independent professional judgment, comply with the duty of confidentiality, obtain the client's informed written consent before sharing co…
What are a California lawyer's ethical duties to prevent and respond to a data breach involving confidential client information?
Per California Formal Opinion 2020-203, lawyers must assess the risks of keeping confidential client information on electronic devices and take reasonable steps to secure those systems. After a breach…
May a California lawyer advise and assist a client in operating a cannabis business that is lawful under California law but unlawful under federal law?
Per California Formal Opinion 2020-202, yes. A California lawyer may advise and assist a client in conduct permitted by California cannabis laws even though that conduct may violate federal law, provi…
What level of technology competence does a California lawyer handling litigation need to ethically manage electronically stored information (ESI) and e-discovery?
Per California Formal Opinion 2015-193, an attorney's duty of competence under former Rule 3-110 includes a basic understanding of e-discovery; if the matter requires more, the lawyer must acquire the…
May a California lawyer run a virtual law office where all client communication and storage are handled through a third-party cloud vendor's portal, and what does she have to do to comply with her ethical obligations?
Per California Formal Opinion 2012-184, the Rules of Professional Conduct do not impose greater duties on a VLO than on a traditional office, but the cloud-only structure triggers specific due-diligen…
When may a California attorney use email, public wireless internet, a home wireless network, and a firm-monitored laptop to handle a client's matter without violating the duties of confidentiality and competence?
Per California Formal Opinion 2010-179, it depends on the technology and circumstances. Before using a technology with confidential client information, the attorney must evaluate (1) the security of t…
May a California attorney deposit a client's will with a private will depository or register a client's will with a private will registry without the client's express consent, where the attorney cannot locate the client?
Per California Formal Opinion 2007-173, no for a will depository, because Probate Code sections 700 et seq. provide the exclusive means for terminating a deposit; depositing the will with a private de…
What ethical duties does a California lawyer owe when hiring an outside contract attorney to make court appearances, and what duties does the contract attorney owe to the hiring lawyer's client?
Per California Formal Opinion 2004-165, the hiring lawyer must disclose the contract attorney's involvement when it is a significant development under former Rule 3-500 and Business and Professions Co…
Does answering legal questions live on a radio call-in show create an attorney-client relationship with the caller?
Per California Formal Opinion 2003-164, the call-in radio show context, with screening, on-air confidentiality disclaimers, generalized answers, and referrals to local counsel, does not provide a basi…
Can a California lawyer publicly advocate civil disobedience (here, refusal to pay taxes) and simultaneously maintain a tax law practice?
Per California Formal Opinion 2003-162, an attorney has First Amendment rights to publicly advocate civil disobedience, but in advising clients she may not counsel them to violate the law unless she r…
When California lawyers share office space, staff, or facilities without forming a law firm, what must they do to comply with their ethics duties regarding the public and client confidentiality?
Per California Formal Opinion 1997-150, office-sharing or staff-sharing attorneys must take reasonable steps under the circumstances to ensure clients and potential clients are not deceived, misled, o…
If a California lawyer prepares living-trust documents that a non-lawyer marketer sells to the public through seminars, with the marketer steering every prospect toward a living trust and controlling the engagement, what California ethics rules does the lawyer violate?
Per California Formal Opinion 1997-148, when a lawyer permits a non-lawyer who markets living-trust packages to hold out to the public that the lawyer will prepare the documents, while letting the mar…
When a California lawyer representing a partnership receives conflicting instructions from two partners, whose direction must the lawyer follow, and what must the lawyer do if the dispute is unresolved?
Per California Formal Opinion 1994-137, the partnership is the client under former Rule 3-600(A) and the lawyer takes direction from the partner or other constituent authorized to oversee the represen…
After a California client discharges counsel in a pending litigation matter but no substitution of counsel has been filed, what are the lawyer's ongoing duties to the client, and may the lawyer hold the client's file until the substitution is filed?
Per California Formal Opinion 1994-134, the lawyer remains the attorney of record (and is bound by competence and protect-from-prejudice duties) until the substitution form is filed or the tribunal ot…
May California lawyers organize or participate in a temporary employment agency that places contract attorneys with law firms, and how should fees and screening be structured?
Per California Formal Opinion 1992-126, yes, lawyers may organize or participate in such an agency provided they monitor for and address breach of confidentiality, conflicts of interest, independence …
Under former California rules, may a lawyer condition representation on the client's advance blanket waiver of the right to disqualify the lawyer in any later matter, regardless of whether confidential information learned would be relevant?
Per California Formal Opinion 1989-115, the agreement is not per se improper. If the client is 'informed' within former Rule 3-310(F), the waiver is valid for confidentiality and for potential conflic…
Is it unethical for a California attorney to represent two unrelated clients while arguing opposite sides of the same legal question before the same federal judge?
Per California Formal Opinion 1989-108, no. The committee opined that even where there is a substantial likelihood that one or both clients will be prejudiced, taking opposite legal positions for diff…
Under former California rules, may a law firm delegate Workers' Compensation Appeals Board appearances, petitions, and motions to a paralegal employee with the client's informed consent and proper disclosure?
Per California Formal Opinion 1988-103, yes, provided the paralegal is adequately supervised, the client has been informed of the consequences of representation by a non-lawyer and has consented, and …
Is it an ethics violation in California for a lawyer to have a sexual relationship with a client?
The committee concluded that no California rule expressly prohibits a lawyer-client sexual relationship and that it is not a per se violation, but that such a relationship can violate the competence r…
Can a lawyer competently represent a client they cannot speak with directly in a shared language?
The committee concluded that a lawyer need not personally speak the client's language, but competence requires adequate communication, so the lawyer must use an interpreter, translator, or bilingual c…
What are a legal services lawyer's ethical duties to existing clients if the program's funding is cut or terminated?
The committee concluded that legal services lawyers and their programs may not abandon existing clients merely because funding is reduced or cut off; they may withdraw only as former Rule 2-111 allows…
Can a government-employed attorney refuse to work or slow-walk litigation as leverage in a salary or benefits dispute?
The committee concluded that an attorney employed by a public agency may not refuse to represent the agency in existing litigation, or intentionally delay that litigation, in order to gain advantage i…
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Legal ethics opinions from the State Bar of California 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.