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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Can a non-profit recoup the cost of a lawyer's retainer from the contingent fees the lawyer earns on referred cases?
The opinion concludes that a non-profit's arrangement to pay an attorney a $10,000 annual retainer for handling small day-laborer compensation claims on a contingent-fee basis, and then receive back t…
In a non-judicial matter outside D.C. such as a mediation or arbitration, whose rules of professional conduct govern a D.C. lawyer, and what happens when co-counsel is bound by different rules?
The opinion concludes that under Rule 8.5(b)(2) a lawyer licensed only in D.C. is governed by D.C.'s rules for non-judicial conduct anywhere; a lawyer licensed in D.C. and elsewhere is governed by the…
Can a lawyer pay a government referral or schedule program a percentage of legal fees without it being improper fee-sharing with a non-lawyer?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may participate in a federal GSA schedule program that requires remitting one percent of the legal fees earned through the program to fund it, and that this does no…
Can a lawyer who is also a licensed insurance broker sell insurance products to the public and to her own legal clients?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who is also a licensed insurance broker may sell insurance to the general public and to her own clients, but when selling to a client she enters a business transact…
Can lawyers use websites to recruit class-action plaintiffs or bid on legal projects posted by clients, and what does D.C. require?
The opinion concluded that lawyers may use websites to seek class-action plaintiffs and to obtain work through legal-bidding sites, because D.C. has no special solicitation rules and treats all such c…
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…
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 a lawyer pay a nonlawyer a referral fee that is a percentage of the fees earned from the referred case?
The opinion concluded that a referral payment contingent on, and tied to the amount of, the lawyer's fees from the referred matter is the sharing of a legal fee, not a Rule 7.1(b)(5) referral fee; so …
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 …
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 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 law firm make a fixed advance fee for legal services nonrefundable, and may it keep the advance in its own account?
The opinion concluded that a retainer tied to the provision of legal services, rather than paid solely to secure the lawyer's availability, is a special retainer earned as services are performed; the …
Can a law firm pay an insurance company a per-case referral fee and represent the clients the insurer sends?
The opinion concluded that a firm paying an insurer a referral fee (plus subleasing space and taking a line of credit from the insurer's principals) can satisfy Rule 7.1's intermediary-disclosure rule…
Can one lawyer jointly represent a husband and wife who want help negotiating the terms of their divorce?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not jointly represent a divorcing husband and wife who seek the lawyer's help in reaching agreement on the terms of their divorce, because Rule 1.7(a) bars repr…
What must a written fee agreement say, and can a flat fee carve out routine services and bill them separately by the hour?
The opinion concluded that, where a written fee agreement is required, it must adequately inform the client of the basis or rate of the fee, and that a fixed-fee agreement must include, as part of the…
Can a firm represent a witness who wants to plead the Fifth in a criminal case when a partner represents a suspect in the same killing?
The opinion concluded that, with full disclosure and consent, a firm may represent a witness who wants to assert his Fifth Amendment right not to testify even though another lawyer in the firm represe…
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…
Can one firm jointly represent several claimants to a limited fund and help them divide the award?
The opinion concluded that, after full disclosure and consent, a firm may jointly represent several members of a claimant group competing for a limited fund, but it may not act as advocate for any of …
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.