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 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,…
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…
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…
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 take on a matter adverse to a former client by limiting the scope of the new representation so that it is not substantially related to the prior matter?
The opinion concludes that, under certain conditions, a lawyer may limit the scope of a new representation, to a discrete legal issue or a discrete stage of litigation, so that the new matter is not '…
Does a lawyer who serves as an expert witness for a party form an attorney-client relationship that creates a former-client conflict?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer who serves solely as an expert witness for a party does not thereby form an attorney-client relationship with that party. As a result, Rule 1.9's bar on adversity t…
When a D.C. lawyer represents an organization's officer or director personally (not the entity), how should the lawyer handle the role and later conflicts adverse to the organization?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer who personally represents a constituent of an organization (a board member, officer, or special-committee member) should make clear at the outset that the lawyer do…
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…
Can a client who waived a conflict of interest later take the waiver back, and what happens to the lawyer's representations if it does?
The opinion concludes that nothing prevents a client from changing its mind about a conflict waiver, but the revocation will not always restore everyone to where they started. The consequences turn ma…
When does a former government lawyer's prior work count as 'personal and substantial' participation that bars later private representation in the same matter under Rule 1.11?
The opinion concludes that a former EPA lawyer who only drafted status reports and discussed the timing of an ongoing rulemaking did not participate 'personally and substantially' in the related litig…
Can a former government lawyer, such as a military JAG defense counsel, keep representing the same client in the same matter after leaving government service, or does Rule 1.11 bar it?
The opinion concludes that when a government lawyer lawfully formed an attorney-client relationship with an individual client (as a JAG defense counsel or public defender does), continuing to represen…
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…
Can a client agree in advance to waive future conflicts of interest, and when is such an advance waiver valid under the D.C. rules?
The opinion concluded that advance waivers of conflicts are not prohibited but must satisfy informed consent: the less specific the waiver and the less sophisticated the client, the less likely it is …
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…
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 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…
When can a law firm use an ethical screen to avoid being disqualified because one of its lawyers has a conflict from a prior matter?
The opinion concluded that screening a disqualified lawyer can cure a firm's imputed disqualification only in three situations: where the lawyer was not a lawyer when involved in the prior matter for …
When a lawyer moves from one firm to another, what must the lawyer and both firms do about client notice, files, and conflicts?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer changing firms must tell affected clients of the move far enough ahead to let them choose counsel (Rule 1.4); client files must go to whoever continues the represen…
Can a firm withdraw from representing one client so it can take a position adverse to that client on behalf of another client who refuses to waive the conflict?
The opinion concluded that a firm may continue representing a long-standing client (A) in a proceeding that a second client (B) initiated against A, even though B will not waive, provided the firm may…
When a lawyer is hired to handle an estate, is the client the estate or the personal representative or conservator?
The opinion concluded that under District of Columbia law a lawyer retained by a personal representative or conservator for a decedent's or ward's estate represents the fiduciary, not the estate, so t…
Does an 'of counsel' lawyer inherit the conflict of the lawyer they are of counsel to, and can a real estate settlement lawyer later sue the seller for the buyer?
The opinion concluded that a residential settlement lawyer who never told the seller he represented only the purchaser may not later represent the purchaser against the seller in a substantially relat…
If a lawyer helped her firm pursue a fee claim against a client, can she later help the client fight that claim, and must she report her old firm's suspected misconduct?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who prepared memoranda supporting her firm's fee claim stood in an attorney-client relationship with the firm, so Rule 1.9 bars her from later representing the clie…
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…
When a paralegal switches firms, can the new firm screen her from a conflicted matter, and does a job-switching lawyer need the former client's consent?
The opinion concluded that when a paralegal moves to a new firm and is personally disqualified from a matter there because of substantially related work at the old firm, the new firm may ordinarily av…
Can a firm take a matter against a former client once all the lawyers who handled that client have left the firm?
The opinion concluded that a firm may represent a client against a former client in a substantially related matter once all the firm lawyers who represented the former client have left and no remainin…
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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.