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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What must a Florida criminal defense lawyer do when a client is proceeding under a false name?
If the lawyer learns before agreeing to represent the defendant that the client is using a false name and cannot persuade the client to correct it, the lawyer must decline. If the lawyer learns it aft…
What must a lawyer do when a client provides documents the client wrongfully obtained from the opposing party?
The lawyer must advise the client that the documents cannot be retained, reviewed, or used without telling the opposing party that the lawyer and client have them; if the client refuses to consent to …
What must a criminal defense lawyer do when the client insists on committing perjury?
The lawyer must first try to persuade the client to testify truthfully; if the client still insists, the lawyer must disclose the client's intent to commit perjury to the court and move to withdraw, b…
Can one lawyer represent both the driver and the passenger from the same car accident?
It depends on the facts. Where the passenger has no actual or potential claim against the driver and coverage is sufficient, one lawyer may represent both; but where objective evidence supports a clai…
In a joint representation of spouses, can a lawyer reveal one spouse's secret to the other, and must the lawyer withdraw?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer's duty of confidentiality to the communicating spouse prevailed: the lawyer could not reveal the husband's separate confidence to the wife and was required to wit…
What must a lawyer do when two clients' interests become adverse and the court denies the motion to withdraw?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer representing two clients whose interests become adverse must move to withdraw; if the court denies the motion, Rule 4-1.16(c) requires the lawyer to continue the re…
Can a discharged lawyer keep the client's case file until advanced costs are paid?
The opinion concluded that a law firm discharged before the litigation concludes may assert a retaining lien on the case file until advanced costs are reimbursed or guaranteed, subject to the ethical …
When a client stops paying, can the lawyer sue for fees or take other action against the client during the representation?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer whose client has reneged on a fee agreement should not take action adverse to the client until the representation has ended; if the nonpayment compromises the lawye…
Can one lawyer represent several codefendants in the same lawsuit when they could point fingers at each other?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may represent multiple codefendants with a potential conflict only if the lawyer reasonably believes no client's representation will be adversely affected and each …
If a client becomes mentally ill during her divorce case, must the lawyer withdraw, and can the lawyer seek a guardian over the client's objection?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer is not required to withdraw and instead has a duty to safeguard the client's interests, and may seek appointment of a guardian, even over the client's objection i…
After a firm withdraws because a new partner had represented the opposing party, may the firm meet with the client's substitute counsel to hand off the case?
The opinion concluded that the withdrawing firm may hold transitional conferences with the client's new counsel about the status and issues of the case, provided it does not breach the confidences or …
Must a divorce lawyer keep representing the client to enforce the judgment, and may the lawyer contact the opposing party directly after the case ends?
The opinion concluded that, absent a prior agreement to pursue post-judgment remedies, a lawyer who handled a dissolution has no continuing obligation to enforce the judgment, and that the lawyer may …
If a lawyer cannot locate the client and the statute of limitations is about to run, what must the lawyer do to avoid neglecting the matter?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who cannot locate the client must continue to take reasonably available steps to protect the client's interests, and that failure to do so may appear to constitute …
Must an assistant city attorney withdraw from suing the city's insurers when an insurer impleads the city?
The opinion concluded yes; an assistant city attorney representing a private claimant against the city's insurers must withdraw once an insurer files a third-party complaint against the city.
Must a Florida lawyer disclose to the court that his client lied at a deposition?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who learns his client deliberately lied at a deposition must call on the client to rectify it, must withdraw, and, if the client refuses to rectify, must reveal the…
Does a lawyer have to withdraw when opposing counsel names the lawyer as a witness years into the case?
The opinion concluded the lawyer is not required to withdraw where he and his firm ought not be called as witnesses but are named by opposing counsel, especially after years of complex litigation and …
What should a lawyer do when there is good reason to doubt a litigation client's mental competency?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer with good reason to doubt a client's competency must tell the client and ask permission to seek a judicial competency determination; if the client refuses, the lawy…
Does a lawyer have to withdraw from a case just because the opposing party says it will call him as a witness?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer need not withdraw merely because he expects to be called to testify by his adversary; he may continue the representation until it is apparent that his testimony is …
When most of the lawyers leave a law firm, how should the firm and the departing lawyers decide who keeps which client files?
The opinion concluded that, in disposing of client files when a firm's membership changes, the instructions and wishes of the clients should be the dominant consideration, and that the clients should …
Can a lawyer withdraw from representing one client and then represent another client against him in an unrelated dispute?
The opinion concluded that where a dispute between two of the lawyer's clients has no relationship to his representation of either and he received no information about the dispute from the client he w…
Can a partner who leaves a firm take the client files he worked on with him?
The opinion concluded that, absent a controlling partnership agreement, the continuing firm's consent, or client instructions, a withdrawing partner has no right to remove from the firm's premises fil…
Can a workers' compensation lawyer withdraw before an appeal because the appellate fee is too low?
The opinion concluded that withdrawing from a compensation case when appeal is appropriate, solely because the appellate fee is inadequate, would be unethical unless the lawyer had a clear limited-sco…
If a lawyer is served with a writ of garnishment over a client's judgment debt, can the lawyer assert the attorney-client privilege, and must the lawyer withdraw if the client won't waive it?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer served with a garnishment writ may properly assert the attorney-client privilege in response and is not required to withdraw from representing the client if the cli…
If a workers' compensation claimant fires his lawyer before the case ends, can the lawyer petition the Industrial Commission for the fee he believes he earned?
The opinion concluded that a discharged claimant's attorney in a workmen's compensation proceeding may present an appropriate petition to the Florida Industrial Commission for any fee he in good faith…
Can a lawyer take on clients who want new counsel for a dispute arising out of an earlier settlement handled by their prior lawyer, over that prior lawyer's objection?
The opinion concluded that an attorney could properly honor a client's request to represent him in a controversy stemming from a previous compromise in which the client was represented by other counse…
If a client confides that the deceased testator left a surviving legal spouse with possible claims, can the lawyer keep that secret and still represent the client?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer may not reveal the client's confidence about the surviving legal wife without consent, but also may not continue to act for the client in any matter where that in…
Must a workers' compensation claimant's lawyer always pursue the statutory penalty for a late-paid award, and can the lawyer choose not to?
The opinion concluded that it is proper for the claimant's attorney to invoke the statutory penalty for late payment, and that it is not necessarily improper to withhold the penalty where the delay wa…
If a lawyer learns mid-case that the client's personal-injury accident was faked, may the lawyer withdraw, and may the lawyer report what the client said?
The lawyer may withdraw, returning the file or moving to withdraw even without the client's agreement, and need give no specific reason unless the client insists. Whether the lawyer may disclose infor…
Must a lawyer keep a client's confidence when the client threatens a crime, and may he pay a forwarding fee to the lawyer who referred the case?
The duty to preserve a client's confidences outlasts the engagement, but the committee said the Canons both permit and require a lawyer to disclose a client's announced intention to commit a crime; wh…
Can a lawyer hired by an insurer represent the insured in a contribution counterclaim when the insured might do better by being held liable and recovering under an employer's policy?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may not continue the multiple representation, because the insured's best interest in being held liable to recover under an employer's policy conflicts with the insurer…
Can a supervising attorney at a legal services clinic direct another clinic lawyer's decision about whether to withdraw from a case?
The opinion concluded it is not improper for a supervising attorney in a legal services clinic to influence another clinic attorney's professional judgment on withdrawal, because the no-outside-contro…
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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.