Illinois State Bar Association Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Illinois State Bar Association, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Can a law firm share office space and a reception area with a financial-planning business that is also its client?
The opinion concluded the arrangement is not improper, so long as the firm keeps its offices separately identified, preserves client confidences, and avoids improper solicitation or fee-sharing with t…
Can a lawyer who jointly represented a couple on their business and estate matters later represent one spouse in their divorce?
The opinion concluded no: dividing marital assets is materially adverse to the former joint client, the lawyer would misuse shared confidences, and the disqualification is imputed to his partners and …
When an insurance company's salaried staff lawyer defends an insured, who is the client, and can a non-lawyer claims supervisor direct the lawyer's work?
The opinion concluded the insured, not the insurer, is the staff lawyer's client; the lawyer must keep his independent professional judgment free of direction by the company or its non-lawyer claims p…
Must a public defender report to the disciplinary board every ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim a post-conviction client makes about prior counsel?
The opinion concluded not every allegation must be reported: if the information is unprivileged, the public defender may exercise discretion over whether the alleged conduct rises to moral turpitude o…
Must a lawyer report a disbarred former attorney's misconduct to the disciplinary commission?
The opinion concluded there is no duty to report, because a disbarred person is no longer a 'lawyer' subject to the Code; the reporting rule reaches only licensed lawyers, and the information here may…
If a friend of a criminal client hands the lawyer physical evidence of the crime, must the lawyer report it, take it, or turn it over?
The opinion concluded the lawyer must not disclose the friend's information (a protected 'secret'), has no duty to take the evidence, and, if he does take it, may have to turn contraband or 'fruits of…
Can a former village attorney sue the village over a matter he worked on, if he says the information he learned is now public?
The opinion concluded it is improper: a lawyer may not take a matter where a former client's confidences could be used against it without consent, and information stays confidential until the client c…
Can a lawyer who serves on a school board take private work opposing a development the board supports?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may not accept private employment opposing the school district's annexation position: it is a direct personal-interest conflict, a public official may not oppose propo…
Can a lawyer who sits on one lending institution's board also represent a competing lending institution in the same community?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may represent two competing institutions in substantially unrelated matters, and may represent a competitor of an institution on whose board he serves only with the info…
Can a lawyer who is also a licensed insurance agent sell insurance to legal clients and collect a referral commission for sending a client to another agent?
The opinion concluded a lawyer who is also an insurance agent may provide both legal and insurance services to the same client, and may refer a client to another agent and receive a commission, provid…
How should a defense lawyer ask for a continuance at a criminal status call when the client has disappeared, without lying or revealing a confidence?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may not give a false reason for the continuance. If the client's lack of contact is a confidence or secret, the lawyer may not disclose it unless required by law, in w…
Must a divorce lawyer report to tax authorities that the opposing spouse understated income on the couple's joint returns?
The opinion concluded there is no duty to report: the fraud was the husband's, not the lawyer's client's, the reporting and client-fraud rules did not reach it, and the IRS is not a 'tribunal' under t…
If a non-client buys a former client's interest in the matter a lawyer once handled, can that buyer invoke the lawyer's duties to disqualify the lawyer or claim the former client's confidences?
The opinion concluded no; a lawyer's duties of confidentiality and loyalty run to the client, not to a stranger who later succeeds to the client's substantive rights, so the successor cannot disqualif…
Can a lawyer take an unrelated case against the spouse of a former client, when the spouse was not the lawyer's client?
The opinion concluded yes; nothing bars representing a client against a former client's spouse in an unrelated matter, so long as the lawyer need not use the former client's confidences and the former…
Can a lawyer represent a company as a client while personally owning and running a competing company?
The opinion concluded only with the client's consent after full disclosure; a lawyer who is a principal shareholder and officer of one corporation may not represent a competing corporation absent full…
Can a criminal defense lawyer tell the court that privileged information shows the defendant is innocent, when that information is not admissible evidence?
The opinion concluded no; a lawyer may not try to influence a court by disclosing inadmissible privileged client information, and doing so breaches both the duty of confidentiality and the duty not to…
Can a lawyer who represents a corporation in bankruptcy also file a workers' compensation claim for a former employee injured working for that corporation?
The opinion concluded no; a lawyer representing a corporation in bankruptcy may not simultaneously pursue a workers' compensation claim for a former employee arising from the corporation's employment,…
Can a lawyer who represents the executor or administrator of an estate also sign as surety on the personal representative's bond?
The opinion concluded it is improper; a lawyer representing the personal representative of an estate may not act as surety on that representative's bond, because the surety role guarantees the client …
Can a lawyer take a case against a former one-time client in a totally unrelated matter that does not involve the former client's confidences?
The opinion concluded it is not per se a conflict to represent a client adverse to a former ad hoc client in a wholly unrelated matter that does not involve the former client's confidences or secrets,…
After defending a client on a traffic ticket from an accident, can another lawyer in the same firm later defend the personal-injury claim that the former client brought over the same accident?
The opinion concluded it was professionally improper, and that the firm had to withdraw, because representing a client on the traffic charge and then opposing his injury claim from the same accident w…
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Legal ethics opinions from the Illinois State Bar Association 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.