The Florida Bar Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the The Florida Bar, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Can a Florida lawyer split fees with an out-of-state lawyer whose firm has nonlawyer owners?
Yes, if the out-of-state lawyer is authorized to provide the services, nonlawyer ownership is permitted and complied with in that firm's home jurisdiction, and the fee split follows Florida's fee-divi…
Can a Florida lawyer let a paralegal use the lawyer's e-filing portal log-in to file court documents?
Yes. A lawyer may give E-Portal credentials to a trusted, supervised nonlawyer to file documents the lawyer has reviewed and approved; the lawyer stays responsible for the filing, should monitor porta…
Can a Florida law firm outsource legal support work to overseas attorneys or paralegals?
Yes. A lawyer may engage an overseas provider for paralegal-type assistance if the lawyer adequately addresses assisting the unlicensed practice of law, supervision of nonlawyers, conflicts, confident…
Can a Florida lawyer offer legal services to clients over the internet?
The opinion concluded a lawyer could provide legal services over the internet, through the lawyer's own law firm, for matters not requiring in-person consultation or court appearances, subject to all …
Can a lawyer take a retainer and a share of a nonlawyer company's contingent fee to handle the company's securities-arbitration clients?
The opinion concluded that the proposed affiliation was improper, raising problems of conflicts of interest, prohibited solicitation, fee-splitting with a nonlawyer, and assisting the unauthorized pra…
Can a lawyer work for a nonlawyer-owned company representing Social Security disability claimants and share the fees?
The opinion concluded that a bar member who maintains a law practice or holds out as a lawyer could not enter a business arrangement with a nonlawyer to represent Social Security disability claimants,…
May a lawyer enter a referral and fee arrangement with a public adjusting firm that solicits accident victims and shares in the lawyer's fee?
The opinion concluded that it is unethical for a lawyer to participate in such an arrangement, which would involve improper fee-splitting with a nonlawyer, improper solicitation, and assisting the unl…
When may a Florida lawyer divide a fee with an out-of-state attorney who is not a member of The Florida Bar?
The opinion concluded that a Florida lawyer may divide a fee with a practicing out-of-state attorney who provides services or assumes joint responsibility under Rule 4-1.5, but not with a non-Florida …
May a law firm let a paralegal conduct a real estate closing when no lawyer from the firm is present?
The opinion concluded that a law firm may permit a trained nonlawyer employee to conduct or attend a real estate closing with no firm lawyer present if conditions are met, including lawyer supervision…
Can a law firm set up a separately named storefront company to take in the public's legal inquiries and funnel them to the firm?
The opinion concluded that the proposal had ethical defects: the company would operate as a lawyer referral service subject to the referral-service rule, its name would be misleading, and Florida lawy…
Can a lawyer take assignments from a temporary-lawyer staffing agency that rents lawyers to firms?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may accept assignments from a temporary-lawyer agency only if confidentiality, conflicts, professional independence, unauthorized-practice, and fee-division concern…
Can a nonlawyer employee or paralegal conduct the initial interview with a new client?
The opinion concluded that having a nonlawyer conduct the initial client interview is not impermissible per se, though it is discouraged; the lawyer must supervise closely, the nonlawyer must disclose…
Can a Florida lawyer let a nonlawyer employee sign the lawyer's name to notices of hearing and other pleadings?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not under any circumstances permit a nonlawyer employee to sign the lawyer's name, even with the employee's initials, to notices of hearing or other pleadings, …
Does a certified legal intern need the client's written consent before representing the client on appeal?
The opinion concluded that a certified intern must obtain the client's written consent before representing the client on appeal, though initial trial-level consent may be drafted to extend to the appe…
May an out-of-state law firm run a Florida office through a resident Florida lawyer who is not a partner in the firm?
No. The committee majority concluded it is improper for interstate firms to maintain, under varying formats, a Florida office operated by a resident Florida attorney who is not a partner; a Florida la…
Can a lawyer sign and mail collection demand letters that bank employees fill in without his supervision?
The opinion concluded that an attorney who regularly represents a bank may not sign and mail form collection letters completed in material part by bank employees who are not acting under the attorney'…
May a lawyer delegate to nonlawyer staff the handling of negotiations with insurance adjusters on the lawyer's clients' claims?
The opinion concluded that lawyers may not delegate to lay persons the handling of negotiations with insurance company adjusters, because such negotiation requires the lawyer's professional judgment a…
Can a law firm's paralegal prepare real estate documents, attend closings alone, and use a 'Legal Assistant' title on cards and stationery?
The opinion concluded that a paralegal may prepare real estate documents under an attorney's supervision and full responsibility, but may not attend closings without an attorney present, and at the ti…
Can a law firm have employees who are admitted in another state but not Florida take depositions for the firm?
The opinion concluded that law-firm employees not admitted in Florida may not take depositions for the firm or do any work that constitutes the practice of law, even if they are law-school graduates a…
Can a law firm provide 'general legal services' to a mutual fund, including drafting prototype trust instruments for the fund's agents to use with customers?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer should not undertake the proposed representation, because placing a lay agency like a mutual fund between the lawyer and the customer carries inherent conflicts o…
Can a law firm let its developer client fill in and mail the closing-date notice on the firm's letterhead?
The opinion found no unauthorized practice of law in the client completing and mailing the firm's notice form, but a majority concluded that, to avoid an unseemly appearance, the notice to the other p…
What tasks can a lawyer delegate to nonlawyer staff in a law office?
The opinion concluded that lay personnel may be used only for mechanical, clerical, or administrative duties, and that a lawyer may not delegate any activity requiring the lawyer's own judgment and pa…
May an out-of-state corporate lawyer's business card show a corporate title alongside a Florida company address?
The opinion concluded that a business card showing the corporation's name and Florida address may identify the corporate attorney's position, but if the attorney is not licensed in Florida the card sh…
Can a lawyer let a client send collection form letters under the lawyer's name but with the client's return address?
The opinion concluded that it is unethical for a lawyer to allow a client to send out form letters under the lawyer's name, with the client's return address, for collection purposes.
Can a lawyer supply title insurance policies to a lay-owned company to sell to the public?
The opinion concluded that an attorney may not provide a lay agency with Lawyers' Title Guaranty Fund insurance policies for sale to the public, finding the arrangement violated the rules against prac…
Can a Florida lawyer represent a layman who wants to run a business that sends lien notices, files lien claims, and brings lien foreclosures for other laymen?
No. The committee concluded that helping a layman set up such a lien-handling service would assist the unauthorized practice of law and improperly involve fee division with, and an intermediary betwee…
Can a Florida lawyer employ an attorney who is not admitted in Florida as a research assistant?
The opinion concluded that a Florida lawyer may employ an attorney who is not a member of The Florida Bar as a research assistant, provided the assistant does no work constituting the practice of law,…
Can a Florida lawyer employ a retired out-of-state lawyer as an office manager who talks with clients and attends hearings?
The opinion concluded that a Florida lawyer may not employ a retired member of another state's bar as an office coordinator and manager whose duties include talking with clients and attending conferen…
May a Florida lawyer divide fees with an inactive New York lawyer living in Florida who refers Florida clients to him?
Generally no. The committee concluded it may constitute aiding the unauthorized practice of law to accept cases referred by a New York lawyer residing in Florida and divide the fee, and that it would …
Can a lawyer let the client read pre-written questions and conduct the examination at proceedings supplementary to enforce a judgment?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer enforcing a money judgment may not let the client conduct the interrogation at supplementary proceedings, even using questions the lawyer prepared in advance, becau…
Can a lawyer prepare a trust on a referral from a trust company without ever contacting the client directly?
The opinion concluded that, for the same reasons given in Opinion 67-14, a lawyer may not prepare a trust pursuant to a referral from a trust company without direct contact with the client.
Can a lawyer take work from a real estate broker to prepare a deed without ever meeting the parties to the transaction?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not accept employment from a real estate broker to prepare a deed used by the broker to close a transaction when the lawyer has no contact with either party, be…
Can a lawyer serve as general counsel to an 'estate protection service' and prepare trust documents for its customers?
The opinion concluded that it is improper for a lawyer to act as general counsel to an 'estate protection service' by preparing trust indentures or other documents for the service's customers, even as…
Can a lawyer represent a credit bureau and also handle the collection matters it forwards, with the bureau gathering the litigation information and the lawyer's secretary working on the bureau's premises?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may represent a credit bureau in its own affairs, but may not let the bureau procure the information needed for litigation, may not locate his part-time secretary o…
Can a lawyer form a partnership with a nonlawyer to represent clients before regulatory agencies the nonlawyer is authorized to practice before?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not form a partnership with a nonlawyer to practice before state and federal agencies, even where the nonlawyer is authorized to appear there, unless the lawyer…
Can a Florida lawyer write a general-interest legal column for a local newspaper?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may write a newspaper column that discusses general matters of law, so long as it does not advise on any specific or individual problem and the lawyer is not identi…
Can a lawyer prepare estate analyses that an insurance firm presents to its prospects as the work of the firm's attorney?
The committee unanimously found it improper for a practicing attorney to prepare an estate analysis presented to an insurer's prospect as the agency's attorney's work, and a majority also disapproved …
Can a lawyer accept employment from a real estate broker's tax-advisory company that solicits taxpayers and hires the lawyer to pursue their tax-reduction claims?
No. The committee found it highly improper for a lawyer to take employment from a broker-run tax-advisory company that solicits the business and selects and pays the lawyer, holding it amounts to prac…
Can a lawyer participate in a for-profit corporation that offers legal services alongside architectural, engineering, and accounting services to the building trade?
No. The committee found it highly improper for a lawyer to participate in a profit-making corporation rendering combined legal, architectural, engineering, accounting, and surveying services that adve…
Can a lawyer be a director, stockholder, and legal advisor of a corporation that provides condominium-development consulting using lawyers and real estate brokers?
The committee concluded that violation of one or more Canons is probable and, as to unauthorized practice, inevitable, because the lawyer's firm would draw client work through the service, the service…
Can a lawyer suspended from practice keep his name listed as an attorney in directories, and will the bar interpret the terms of his suspension?
The committee declined to interpret the terms of a Supreme Court suspension order, holding it has no jurisdiction to do so, and advised that a suspended member should not consent to his name appearing…
Can a lawyer suspended from practice take a job doing legal research for a law firm while his reinstatement is pending?
The committee could not agree and declined to resolve the question, concluding it was not a clear question of ethics and that the request to interpret the suspension order should go to the Committee o…
May a lawyer write a regular newspaper legal column and answer readers' general questions?
Yes, within limits. The committee found it not improper for a lawyer to write articles for a weekly newspaper and answer general questions from subscribers, so long as the column deals only with gener…
May a lawyer write a series of general legal-information articles for a local free newspaper?
Yes. The committee concluded a lawyer may write articles giving general information on the law, so long as he does not answer questions of a specific nature or attempt to advise individuals about thei…
May a Florida firm list on its letterhead out-of-state lawyers not yet admitted in Florida, noting they are not Florida members?
No (majority view). The committee concluded that under the Integration Rule prohibiting practice in Florida by out-of-state lawyers, listing an out-of-state lawyer not admitted in Florida on the firm …
May a lawyer prepare all the closing documents for a real estate transaction at a broker's request, charging the broker, with no contact with the buyer or seller?
No (majority view). The committee concluded that preparing the deed, note, mortgage, and other closing instruments at a real estate broker's request, charging the broker, and having no contact with th…
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Legal ethics opinions from the The Florida 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.