Colorado Bar Association Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Colorado Bar Association, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Can a Colorado lawyer agree to a non-compete, anti-poaching, or broad confidentiality clause in a partnership or employment agreement?
Mostly no. The opinion concludes that any covenant in a partnership, shareholder, operating, or employment agreement violates Colo. RPC 5.6(a) if it restrains a lawyer's independent judgment for other…
Can a Colorado lawyer ethically take on too many cases, and are supervising lawyers responsible for a subordinate's excessive workload?
No to an excessive workload, and yes to supervisor responsibility. The opinion concludes the duties of competence, diligence, and communication affirmatively require every lawyer to control workload v…
Can a Colorado lawyer act as escrow agent for all parties to a deal while also representing one party in it?
Yes, with informed consent. The opinion concludes a lawyer may serve as escrow agent for all parties and as counsel to one of them in the same transaction if all parties consent after full disclosure …
Do Colorado's fee-division rules apply when a firm shares fees with an 'of counsel' lawyer, and can a lawyer be 'of counsel' to two firms?
No special fee-split rules, but watch conflicts. The opinion concludes that a lawyer who is genuinely 'of counsel' (a close, regular, personal association) is treated as in the same firm, so Rule 1.5(…
Can a Colorado lawyer consult a lawyer at another firm about a client's matter, and what must the lawyer do about confidentiality?
Yes, with limits. The opinion concludes a lawyer may consult a lawyer at another firm about a client's matter. General or hypothetical inquiries that do not reveal information relating to the represen…
What are the ethics rules for Colorado lawyers who share office space or use a virtual office, especially around conflicts, client confidences, and firm names?
The opinion concludes that office-sharing and virtual-office lawyers may share space but must avoid being treated as one 'firm' for imputed-conflict purposes (or get informed written consent), must ta…
Can a Colorado lawyer let a third party, such as a parent, employer, or family member, pay the client's legal fees?
Yes, under Rule 1.8(f). The opinion concludes a lawyer may accept payment from someone other than the client if the client gives informed consent, the payer does not interfere with the lawyer's indepe…
What can a lawyer do when the client is missing or won't respond, and a court deadline is approaching?
The opinion concludes a lawyer who cannot contact a client must make a diligent, documented effort to locate the client and seek continuances of deadlines. If a lawyer-client relationship exists, the …
What are a Colorado lawyer's duties when an adult client seems unable to make adequately considered decisions?
The opinion concludes the lawyer must, as far as reasonably possible, maintain a normal client-lawyer relationship (Rule 1.14(a)). If the lawyer reasonably believes the client has diminished capacity,…
In Colorado, can a lawyer act as trial advocate when the lawyer or a lawyer in the same firm is likely to be a witness, and can a party subpoena opposing counsel as a witness?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer who is likely to be a necessary witness generally may not also act as advocate at trial unless a Rule 3.7(a) exception applies (uncontested issue, value of legal se…
In Colorado, when may one lawyer represent both sides of a deal, such as buyer and seller or a husband and wife?
The opinion concludes there is no per se bar to representing multiple parties in a transaction, but the lawyer must first reasonably believe the lawyer can adequately represent each client and then ob…
When a lawyer represents an organization in a dispute, does the lawyer also represent the organization's officers and employees, and what must the lawyer tell them?
No. The opinion concludes that representing an organization does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship with its constituents, and a lawyer may not assert otherwise without a reasonable …
Can a Colorado lawyer sign a collaborative-law agreement promising to withdraw if the case does not settle, and how does cooperative law differ?
The opinion concludes that practicing collaborative law violates Rule 1.7(b) where the lawyer signs a four-way agreement with the opposing party requiring withdrawal if the process fails, and that the…
Can a Colorado lawyer give a second opinion to someone already represented by another lawyer, without first getting that lawyer's consent?
Yes. The opinion concludes that Rule 4.2 does not require the second lawyer to obtain the first lawyer's consent when the client initiates contact for a second opinion, because Rule 4.2 protects the o…
When can a Colorado lawyer assert a charging lien for unpaid fees, and what must the lawyer do to take a security interest in a client's property?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer may assert a statutory charging lien (Rule 1.8(j); C.R.S. section 12-5-119) for fees against property the lawyer helped obtain, but only with strict compliance with…
Can a Colorado lawyer take an equity or ownership stake in a client company, either in place of cash fees or as an investment?
The opinion concluded that the Colorado Rules do not prohibit a lawyer from acquiring an ownership interest in a client, in lieu of a cash fee or as an investment, so long as the lawyer satisfies Rule…
Can a Colorado water lawyer represent more than one client with water rights on the same river system?
The opinion concluded that representing multiple clients with water rights in the same river system is not by itself a conflict; a conflict arises under Rule 1.7 only when one client's water right or …
Can a Colorado lawyer agree, as part of settling a case, not to represent other clients against the same defendant or to limit how the lawyer handles future cases?
The opinion concluded that under Rule 5.6(b) a lawyer may not offer or make a settlement that restricts the lawyer's right to practice, including a promise not to represent other claimants against the…
Can a Colorado lawyer settle a malpractice claim with their own client, and what protections does the client get?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may settle a client's malpractice claim against the lawyer only after disclosing the facts and the nature and extent of the claim, advising the client (preferably i…
Can a Colorado lawyer use a medical-legal consulting firm on a contingent or modified contingent fee basis in a malpractice or personal injury case?
The opinion concluded that using a medical-legal consulting firm on a contingent or modified contingent fee basis raises serious risks under the Code of Professional Responsibility, including whether …
What matters can a lawyer who serves part-time as a county or municipal judge represent clients in, and does the conflict extend to the lawyer's firm?
The opinion concluded that a part-time judge may not represent a client in any matter likely to come, or that has come, before the judge or derived from such a matter; a part-time county judge may not…
Can a lawyer who serves as counsel to a public body, like a county or special district, represent private clients in matters before that body?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who represents a governmental body has the responsibilities of a public official and may not represent a client in a matter before that body that creates a conflict…
Can one lawyer represent both spouses in a Colorado dissolution-of-marriage case?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not represent both parties to a dissolution where conflicting interests exist, and because property, support, custody, or maintenance issues nearly always creat…
Can a lawyer who serves as a municipal attorney also defend criminal defendants in that municipality's court or in cases involving the municipality?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer employed as a municipal attorney may not represent a defendant prosecuted in that municipal court; the lawyer may, with proper consent, defend in a non-municipal co…
When an insurer hires a lawyer to defend its insured, whose interests come first if the insurer and the insured disagree on strategy?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer hired by a liability insurer to defend its insured must represent the insured with undivided fidelity and may not take any position potentially disadvantageous to t…
Can a lawyer accept a referral fee from the title-examining lawyer he selects for a client, without telling the client?
The opinion concluded that it is improper for a lawyer to accept, or for another lawyer to pay, a referral fee unless it is based on a division of service or responsibility, and unless the lawyer make…
Can a personal-injury lawyer advance living expenses to an injured client, to be repaid out of any recovery?
The opinion concluded that it is improper for a lawyer in a personal-injury case to advance living expenses to or for an injured client, because doing so amounts to acquiring an interest in the litiga…
Can a lawyer who represents a lending institution take referrals of its loan customers and also represent the seller, buyer, or borrower in the same deal?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer for a financial institution may not let the institution systematically refer its loan customers to him for their own legal services, and may not represent the selle…
Can a law firm keep its offices inside the premises of a financial-institution client when a firm member is also an executive of the institution?
The opinion concluded that a firm may locate its offices in a financial-institution client's premises even when a firm member is an executive there, but the firm must take great care that the close co…
Can an insurance company select and pay the lawyer who represents a minor's guardian in getting court approval of an injury settlement?
The opinion concluded that it is unethical for a lawyer to represent a minor's guardian in obtaining court approval of an injury settlement when the lawyer was selected or employed by the insurance co…
Can a lawyer prepare deeds and closing documents for a non-broker firm that sells home-selling services to property owners?
The opinion concluded that it is improper for a lawyer to prepare legal documents for the sale of real property at the request of a firm that sells home-selling services but does not act as a true bro…
Can an attorney who sits on a city council represent defendants charged with city-ordinance violations in that city's municipal court?
The opinion concluded that it is improper for an attorney who is also a city councilman to appear for defendants prosecuted for city-ordinance violations in the municipal court, because the council co…
Can a municipal judge and the city attorney who appears before that judge share the same suite of law offices for their private practices?
The opinion concluded that it is improper for a municipal judge and a city attorney to engage in private law practice in the same suite of offices, because the arrangement implies the city attorney ca…
Can a lawyer retained by a lending institution to give it a title opinion allow that opinion to be sold to the institution's borrower?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer retained by a lending institution to render a title opinion may not sell, or acquiesce in the sale of, a copy of that opinion to the institution's customer, because…
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Legal ethics opinions from the Colorado 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.