District of Columbia Bar Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the District of Columbia Bar, with full citations and source links on every page.
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If a lawyer in a civil case learns the client gave false testimony, does the duty of candor to the tribunal require disclosing it?
The opinion concludes that Rule 3.3(d) does not override Rule 1.6(d). Disclosure to the tribunal is required only when the lawyer has actual knowledge of the fraud, the client used the lawyer's servic…
When a lawyer's own prior work for a client becomes an issue in later litigation, can the lawyer keep representing that client or must the lawyer step aside?
The opinion concludes that a personal-interest conflict under Rule 1.7(b)(4) can arise when the lawyer's prior work is at issue; the lawyer may continue only on a reasonable belief that she can provid…
Can a D.C. lawyer use generative AI like ChatGPT in client matters, and what ethics duties apply?
The opinion concludes that lawyers may use generative AI but must satisfy their existing duties: competence requires a current understanding of the tool and verification of its outputs (especially cit…
If a client's outside counsel guidelines ask a D.C. lawyer to disclose information about the lawyer's other clients, or to agree to withdraw if a midstream conflict arises, is that allowed?
The opinion concludes that, absent informed consent, a D.C. lawyer may not disclose a client's or prospective client's protected information (including the client's identity and the nature of the matt…
Can a D.C. lawyer serve on the board of directors of a company that the lawyer also represents as legal counsel?
The opinion concludes there is no per se bar to a D.C. lawyer simultaneously serving as counsel and as a director of an entity-client, but the lawyer must first determine whether the directorship crea…
If a D.C. lawyer is asked to help one client respond to a third-party subpoena that seeks information about another of the lawyer's clients, is that a conflict of interest?
The opinion concludes that representing a client in responding to a third-party subpoena for information about another current client is not a conflict unless the lawyer knows, after reasonable dilige…
Is it a conflict of interest for a D.C. lawyer to subpoena or cross-examine a person who is also the lawyer's current or former client?
The opinion concludes that subpoenaing or cross-examining a current or former client is not a per se conflict; a conflict arises only if the client objects (or would foreseeably object) to testifying,…
After a D.C. lawyer is fired in a contingent-fee case, can the lawyer tell successor counsel about a charging lien without breaching client confidentiality?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer whose fee is secured by a charging lien on the client's future recovery may notify successor counsel or another likely holder of the funds that the lien exists, and…
Can a D.C. lawyer accept money raised through crowdfunding to pay for a client's legal fees, and what changes if the lawyer runs the campaign?
The opinion concludes that lawyers may generally represent clients whose fees are crowdfunded. When the client runs the crowdfunding and the lawyer is merely aware of it, the lawyer takes on no specia…
After a consultation that does not lead to representation, does a D.C. lawyer have to keep or hand over the notes, research, and information from the prospective client meeting?
The opinion concludes that a D.C. lawyer must protect a prospective client's confidences and secrets under Rules 1.18 and 1.6, and must safeguard and return any property the prospective client entrust…
How may a D.C. lawyer use social media in representing clients, including reviewing an opponent's posts, advising on a client's own accounts, and preserving evidence?
The opinion concludes that competent and diligent representation under Rules 1.1 and 1.3 may require a lawyer to understand, use, and review social media, and to advise clients about the confidentiali…
If a D.C. lawyer is job-hunting with the opposing party or opposing counsel in a matter, does that create a conflict of interest with the lawyer's client?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer who seeks employment with a client's adversary, or the adversary's lawyer, may have a personal-interest conflict under Rule 1.7(b)(4) if the lawyer's professional j…
What conflict, fee, confidentiality, and unrepresented-party rules apply to a D.C. lawyer handling a private adoption for a birth parent or adoptive parents?
The opinion concludes that private (independent) adoptions raise recurring duties a lawyer must address up front, mostly under the conflict rules. A lawyer for a birth parent may accept fees from the …
When a former client files an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim, how much confidential information may the defense lawyer disclose to defend the representation?
The opinion concludes that D.C. Rule 1.6(e)(3) lets a lawyer whose former client raises an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim disclose protected information without first getting judicial approva…
Can an in-house lawyer use the company's confidential information to support her own discrimination or retaliatory-discharge claim against the employer?
The opinion concludes that an in-house lawyer may not disclose or use the employer/client's confidences or secrets offensively to support her own claim for employment discrimination or retaliatory dis…
Is there a conflict of interest if a lawyer only suspects, but cannot identify, that some other client might oppose a new client's matter?
The opinion concludes that Rule 1.7(b)(1) requires disclosure and informed consent of all affected clients when, at the start of a specific matter, the lawyer knows an identifiable second client will …
When does a temporary contract lawyer's conflict get imputed to the firm that hires the lawyer for a project?
The opinion concludes that whether a temporary contract lawyer's individual conflicts are imputed to a hiring firm under Rule 1.10 depends on the nature and extent of the lawyer's relationship with th…
Must a lawyer turn over a brief and affidavit to a former client when the documents were built on the client's fraudulent misrepresentations?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer who drafted a brief and affidavit in reliance on a former client's fraudulent factual misrepresentations has no duty under Rule 1.16(d) to surrender those documents…
Does a lawyer's past participation in a joint defense group disqualify the lawyer (or the firm) from later taking a matter adverse to a group member?
The opinion concludes that a joint defense agreement does not make other group members the lawyer's clients, so it creates no former-client conflict under Rule 1.9. But the lawyer may take on contract…
Can a D.C. lawyer accept credit cards to pay legal fees, including advance or unearned fees, and what does the trust-account rule require?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer may accept credit cards for payment of legal fees, including unearned (advance) fees, so long as the lawyer complies with the D.C. Rules and does not enter a mercha…
Does a D.C. lawyer owe a duty of confidentiality to a prospective client whose information reached the lawyer only through another lawyer acting on that person's behalf?
The opinion concludes yes. When a prospective client consents to having one lawyer call a second lawyer about taking the case, the second lawyer must treat the information conveyed as confidential und…
May a D.C. lawyer review the metadata embedded in an electronic document received from opposing counsel?
The opinion concludes that a receiving lawyer is prohibited from reviewing an adversary's metadata only where the lawyer has actual knowledge that the metadata was inadvertently sent. In that situatio…
In a joint representation where one client agreed up front that the lawyer may share information, must the D.C. lawyer disclose that client's relevant confidences to the other jointly represented clients?
The opinion concludes that where one jointly represented client has consented to disclosure of confidential information (for example, through a retainer agreement stating information 'may be shared' w…
When a deceased client's spouse, who is executor of the estate, asks for the late client's files, may the former lawyer hand them over under the confidentiality rules?
The opinion concludes that a deceased client's former lawyer may give the files to the spouse/executor if the information is not a confidence or secret, or, if it is, if the lawyer has reasonable grou…
If a lawyer receives an opposing party's privileged document that a third party may have stolen or taken without authorization, may the lawyer review and use it?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer who receives a document whose privileged status is apparent on its face, who knows it came from someone not authorized to disclose it, and who has no reasonable bas…
When a lawyer moves to a new firm, what client information can the lawyer reveal so the new firm can run a conflicts check without the former client's consent?
The opinion concludes that, without client consent, a moving lawyer may reveal only information that is neither a 'confidence' (privileged) nor a 'secret' under Rule 1.6, but that in most cases the ge…
When a lawyer leaves private practice to join the government, what duties does the lawyer still owe to former private clients?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who leaves private practice for government service continues to owe former clients confidentiality under Rule 1.6 (not to reveal or use their confidences and secret…
Can unaffiliated lawyers share office space and staff without forming a firm, and what ethics rules must they follow?
The opinion concluded that unaffiliated lawyers may share office space, staff, and equipment without forming a firm, but they must protect each client's confidences, preserve each lawyer's independenc…
Does a lawyer who represents a trade association also represent its individual members, and when can the lawyer take a matter adverse to a member?
The opinion concluded that representing a trade association does not, by itself, create an attorney-client relationship with each member, so the lawyer is usually free to act adverse to a member; but …
Does a lawyer's duty of confidentiality survive when the former corporate client has shut down, and can a former officer get the files?
The opinion concluded that the Rule 1.6 duty of confidentiality, which encompasses the attorney-client privilege, continues after the representation ends, so the lawyer had to preserve the defunct cor…
Can a lawyer sell or assign unpaid client fee accounts to a collection agency, and what client information can the agency be given?
The opinion concluded that an outright sale of client receivables to a collection agency is not permitted because it strips the lawyer of the control needed to meet ethical duties (fee arbitration, co…
Can a former government lawyer represent a private client in a rulemaking he worked on while at the agency?
The opinion concluded that Rule 1.11's bar on later work in the same 'matter' did not apply, because a rulemaking of general applicability is not particular to specific parties and so is not a 'matter…
In a joint representation, can a lawyer tell one client a damaging confidence the other client revealed, like a fabricated visa application?
The opinion concluded that joint representation alone does not imply authorization to share one client's confidences with the other; when a client's confidence (here, an admission of a fabricated visa…
Can a solo lawyer who is retiring sell the law practice to another lawyer, and what does D.C. require?
The opinion concluded that selling a law practice on retirement is not unethical even though D.C. had not adopted Model Rule 1.17, so long as the retiring lawyer can terminate representations consiste…
Can defense counsel paid by an insurer send detailed billing and case information to the insurer or its outside bill-auditing company?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may release an insured's confidences or secrets, including detailed work descriptions, to the insurer or an insurer-hired auditor only after disclosing the conseque…
When a congressional subcommittee subpoenas a lawyer's files of client confidences, must the lawyer refuse and risk contempt, or can the lawyer comply?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer must raise all available, legitimate objections to a congressional subpoena to protect client confidences and secrets, but once the subcommittee overrules the objec…
Can a nonprofit running cause litigation control its staff lawyers' cases and require clients to refuse confidential or fee-waiver settlements?
The opinion concluded that lawyers in a lay organization's general counsel office may not manage or direct litigation for third parties they do not represent, because that lets the organization regula…
Must a law firm screen a nonlawyer it hires who used to work for the government on a related matter, and what can the firm ask them?
The opinion concluded that a firm must screen a nonlawyer former government employee from matters the same as, or substantially related to, matters on which that person assisted government lawyers rep…
If a lawyer hires a social worker who is legally required to report suspected child abuse, what must the lawyer tell the client and the social worker about confidentiality?
The opinion concluded that Rule 1.6(e) does not authorize a social worker employed by a lawyer to disclose client confidences where the lawyer could not, because the employee's exception is purely der…
Can a D.C. lawyer send confidential client information by unencrypted email over the Internet without violating the confidentiality rule?
The opinion concluded that, in most circumstances, transmitting confidential information by unencrypted email does not by itself violate Rule 1.6, because the rule requires reasonable, not absolute, e…
If a firm gets confidential information from a would-be client but no engagement forms, can it later represent a different client in the same matter?
The opinion concluded that a firm that received confidential or secret information from a prospective class-action plaintiff (even where much of the material was publicly available, and even though no…
When a corporation's lawyer interviews employees in an internal investigation, does the lawyer represent the employees, and what must the lawyer tell them?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer retained to conduct a corporate internal investigation represents the corporation only, not its constituents, so interviewed officers and employees have no confiden…
Must a lawyer get a court's permission to withdraw when the court's rules require it, and can the lawyer be forced to disclose the client's address to do so?
The opinion concluded that where a tribunal's rules require leave to withdraw, Rule 1.16(c) requires the lawyer to obtain that leave; merely telling the former client about an upcoming hearing and adv…
What must a lawyer do with privileged documents an opponent produced by mistake, and is the disclosing lawyer in trouble?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who receives privileged documents bearing no sign of confidentiality and reads them in good faith before learning of the mistake commits no ethics violation in keep…
If a lawyer is suing another lawyer for malpractice, must she also report that lawyer to bar disciplinary authorities?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer must report another lawyer's misconduct under Rule 8.3 only if she has actual knowledge of the facts, the knowledge is not a client confidence or secret protected b…
What does a lawyer do with documents a client hands over that may actually belong to the client's former employer?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer should return documents to the client, on request, where the client has a plausible claim to own them. For documents the client has no claim to, the lawyer should r…
Can a lawyer reveal a client's confidences in the client's bankruptcy case in order to collect unpaid fees?
The opinion concluded that under Rule 1.6(d)(5) a lawyer may reveal client confidences or secrets to collect a fee, but only where the disclosure is made in the course of a legal proceeding, is as nar…
Can a defender's office represent a defendant when a colleague once represented someone who is now a witness against that defendant?
The opinion concluded that an attorney may represent a defendant even though another attorney in the same office formerly represented a person who is now a witness, provided the prior representation w…
Can a D.C. lawyer assert a retaining lien on a former client's files for unpaid fees, and may the lawyer disclose a former trustee's confidences?
The opinion concluded that, since January 1, 1991, Rule 1.8(i) bars a lawyer from asserting a retaining lien on a client's property other than unpaid-for work product, so the lawyer had to return the …
Can a legal services lawyer let a funding agency inspect case logs that contain client confidences?
The opinion concluded that attorneys at a legal services support center had to refuse to let a funding agency's representatives inspect logs and notes containing clients' confidences and secrets, and …
Can a lawyer reveal a client's fraud on a federal agency when the agency's regulations require disclosure?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer is not precluded from revealing a client's fraud committed during the representation on a federal tribunal or another person where regulations of the tribunal havin…
Must a law firm withhold a client's name from the IRS on a Form 8300 cash-payment report when the client asks it to?
The opinion concluded that a firm that filed a redacted IRS Form 8300 at its client's request must resist an IRS summons for the client's name, because the client's identity was a protected secret whe…
Must a lawyer tell the court when a newly found witness contradicts an affidavit the lawyer already submitted?
The opinion concluded that, in a post-trial ineffective-assistance proceeding, counsel who had submitted one witness's affidavit and later found a second witness who denied the statement was not oblig…
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Legal ethics opinions from the District of Columbia 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.