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.
No Illinois State Bar Association opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Can a lawyer who serves on the county board defend criminal cases prosecuted by that county's state's attorney?
The opinion concluded it is improper. Under In re Vrdolyak and Rule 1.7(b), a county board member's duty of loyalty to the county conflicts with defending criminal cases the county state's attorney pr…
Can a lawyer join a collection agency's law list and represent the creditor when the agency, not the creditor, retains and communicates with the lawyer?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may represent a creditor retained through a collection agency acting as the creditor's authorized agent, but must verify that authority, keep independent judgment, may n…
Can a part-time public defender also take contract work writing appellate briefs for the state's prosecutor's office in other districts?
The opinion concluded that a part-time public defender and criminal defense lawyer may accept individual, case-by-case contracts from the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor's Office to write brief…
Can a lawyer send targeted mail soliciting people known to need legal help, such as accident victims named in news reports?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may initiate contact by mail with prospective clients known to be likely to need legal services, provided the envelope and letter are plainly labeled as advertising mate…
If a lawyer threatens criminal charges over a bad check to gain leverage, must opposing counsel report it to the disciplinary agency or to prosecutors?
The opinion concluded that even if a lawyer's letter threatening criminal charges to gain an advantage in a civil matter violates Rule 1.2(e), it is not subject to mandatory reporting under Rule 8.3(a…
Can a lawyer prepare wills for a nonprofit's members when the nonprofit gathers the information and relays all communications between lawyer and member?
The opinion concluded the lawyer aids the unauthorized practice of law under Rule 5.5(b) by working through a nonprofit that collects member information and relays all communications, and the arrangem…
Can a city prosecutor and a part-time public defender form a law partnership, and what cases must they avoid?
The opinion concluded the partnership is permissible, but neither partner may defend clients charged with that city's ordinance violations or with state charges initiated or supported by that city's p…
Can a lawyer who also sells insurance and investments sell those products to legal clients, advertise the side business, and have clients waive that any product advice is legal advice?
The opinion concluded a dual-profession lawyer may sell products to legal clients with disclosure and consent, may advertise and accept legal work from product customers, and may be named as a lawyer …
Can one lawyer represent both the buyer/borrower and the lender in a real estate loan, especially if the lawyer is the lender's general or in-house counsel?
The opinion concluded there is no absolute bar to representing both buyer and lender, but consent and continuing disclosure are required and representation must end if a conflict makes it materially l…
Must a lawyer withdraw when opposing counsel threatens to sue the lawyer personally over conduct in the case?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer is not required to withdraw when opposing counsel threatens a claim against the lawyer (here, an alleged Fair Debt Collection Practices Act violation) arising from …
Can a part-time assistant state's attorney represent a prisoner suing law enforcement officers in a neighboring county?
The opinion concluded that a part-time assistant state's attorney who prosecutes felonies should not represent a prisoner in a civil rights action against law enforcement officials of an adjacent coun…
Does a lawyer have to report another lawyer's misconduct based on hearsay, and must the lawyer investigate first?
The opinion concluded that Rule 8.3 requires a report only when a lawyer has actual knowledge of a Rule 8.4(a)(3) or (a)(4) violation, so a lawyer with only hearsay knowledge has no duty to report and…
Must a public defender's office warn one client that another of its clients is cooperating in an investigation targeting the first client?
The opinion concluded that where one assistant public defender learns, through representing Client B, that Client A (represented by a different assistant in the same office on an unrelated matter) is …
If a lawyer must withdraw from a case because of a conflict of interest, can the lawyer still share in the fee earned after the conflict arose?
The opinion concluded a lawyer who must withdraw for a conflict is not entitled to share in the fees from that matter, and on a non-contingent matter is not entitled to any fee earned after the date t…
Can a lawyer act as surety on the bond of an estate administrator the lawyer's firm represents, and may a judge appoint a lawyer who contributed to the judge's campaign?
The opinion concluded a firm's lawyers may not act as surety on the bond of an estate administrator the firm represents. It also concluded that campaign contributions do not by themselves bar a judge …
Does a lawyer's marriage to another lawyer disqualify the lawyer from a case where the spouse's firm represents the police agencies whose officers will testify?
The opinion concluded marriage does not per se disqualify spouses from representing differing interests. An assistant public defender may take felony cases involving officers of cities the spouse's fi…
Can a lawyer hired by a company that markets living trusts to consumers prepare or review those trusts and split the fee with the company?
The opinion concluded it is professionally improper. Preparing or reviewing trusts an institution sells to consumers creates a conflict between the lawyer's institution-client and the consumers, assis…
Can a lawyer work with a financial planner who fills out revocable trusts, or pay the planner to send clients to the lawyer?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may not assist a financial planner who is engaged in the unauthorized practice of law (Rule 5.5(b)), and may not give the planner anything of value to initiate contact w…
When two lawyers properly share a referral fee, do the rules limit how they split the fee, such as 50/50 for a referral?
The opinion concluded that once a referring lawyer and a receiving lawyer comply with the Rule 1.5 requirements for dividing a fee (written client consent disclosing the division and the referring law…
Can a lawyer who serves on a city council, or the lawyer's firm, represent clients before that council?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who serves on a city council generally may not, and the lawyer's firm generally may not, represent clients before the council because the city's and client's intere…
Can a lawyer run a separate non-legal business out of the same office as the law practice?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may operate a separate non-legal business (here, computer analysis of structured-settlement values) from the existing law office, because Illinois repealed the rule barr…
Can a bank prepare a land trust agreement and a deed into trust for a customer without using a lawyer?
The opinion concluded that a bank that prepares an Illinois land trust agreement and a deed into trust for a customer through a nonlawyer trust officer engages in the unauthorized practice of law, bec…
Can a lawyer accept a referral fee in a case where a conflict of interest bars the lawyer from representing that client?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may share fees with a lawyer in another firm only if the Rule 1.5 disclosure and proportionality (or referral) requirements are met, and may not accept a referral fee in…
Does a lawyer hired to represent another lawyer have to report that lawyer's possible misconduct to the disciplinary commission?
The opinion concluded a lawyer retained to represent another lawyer has no duty, and may be prohibited, to report misconduct learned in confidence from that client-lawyer, and the reporting duty does …
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 …
Can a former judge represent a litigant in a matter the judge once ruled on, years after leaving the bench?
The opinion concluded the 1990 Rules let a former judge represent a party even on a matter he ruled on, but only if all parties consent after disclosure; representation in an unrelated matter is fine,…
Can one lawyer represent buyers and sellers on both ends of a linked chain of real estate deals?
The opinion concluded that multiple representation in a linked 'domino' real estate chain is permitted only with full disclosure to and consent from all parties, and the disclosure must continue throu…
Can a lawyer who is a director of and attorney for a bank insist that an estate-planning client name that bank as fiduciary?
The opinion concluded it was professionally improper to insist: choosing the fiduciary is the client's decision, so after disclosing his relationship the lawyer may recommend the bank but, lacking the…
Does a lawyer's part-time employment by a university bar his firm from defending a former university employee in an unrelated criminal case?
The opinion concluded the representation was proper after disclosure and consent: there was no attorney-client relationship with the university, so the criminal case created no conflict, and a persona…
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…
Can a lawyer keep representing a client who has filed a disciplinary complaint against the lawyer over that same matter?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may continue if the client consents after full disclosure of the potential conflicting loyalties and the lawyer's judgment is not adversely affected; the lawyer may in…
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…
Can a renamed law firm list a former firm name on its letterhead, and claim a prior affiliation with the firm its founders left years earlier?
The opinion concluded the firm may state its own former name, but may not claim a prior affiliation with the separate firm some of its lawyers left in 1976; there was no continuing line of succession,…
Can a law firm pay a nonlawyer employee a share of profits without violating the ban on fee-sharing with nonlawyers?
The opinion concluded a profit-sharing plan for a nonlawyer employee is proper if the share is based on overall firm profit rather than tied to fees in a particular case, with no incentive to overreac…
Can a prosecutor keep talking to a represented defendant who started the plea talks, once the conversation turns to the merits?
The opinion concluded no: even though the defendant initiated plea talks his lawyer knew of, once the new State's Attorney expanded the discussion to the merits and re-gave Miranda warnings, the no-co…
Can a part-time State's Attorney refer a wrongful-death case and take a referral fee when an ordinance he could prosecute is at issue?
The opinion concluded no: where the State's Attorney has discretion to prosecute the ordinance violation tied to the death case, taking a referral fee is ethically no different from taking the case ou…
Can a lawyer hired by a business broker draft the closing documents for both the buyer and seller of a business?
The opinion concluded the arrangement is improper: hired by the broker yet serving both buyer and seller, the lawyer has an unwaivable conflict of undivided loyalty, and preparing documents around a b…
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 State's Attorney call a represented juvenile defendant directly to get her testimony against the others arrested with her?
The opinion concluded it is improper: the juvenile's matter remains pending while she is under court supervision, so the no-contact rule bars the State's Attorney from communicating with her about the…
Can a law firm let a collection agency's staff, or place its own paralegal at the agency's office, to field collection calls in the firm's name?
The opinion concluded both arrangements are improper: a client's own employee fielding calls in the firm's name aids the unauthorized practice of law, and the firm's own paralegal taking calls at the …
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…
If a client disappears after a case is settled, can the lawyer sign the settlement draft, take his fee, and hold the rest in escrow?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may not settle, sign settlement papers, or deduct a fee without the client's authority; if settlement was authorized before the client vanished, separate authority is ne…
Can a prosecutor offer a DUI defendant court supervision only if the defendant drops the civil challenge to the statutory summary license suspension?
The opinion concluded it is not professionally improper. Because the summary-suspension proceeding is not a private civil claim but concerns the public interest in safe highways, conditioning the DUI …
Can a city attorney draft and advocate for an ordinance that would financially benefit him without disclosing his interest, and must another lawyer report that conduct?
The opinion concluded a city attorney should not participate in a pending ordinance that could benefit him financially unless he discloses the interest and the city consents or he recuses; on the repo…
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…
Can a lawyer for the petitioning spouse in a divorce send the unrepresented spouse a letter advising on the meaning of court documents and the choice to waive counsel?
The opinion concluded no; the letter improperly gave misleading legal advice to an unrepresented adverse party, downplayed getting counsel, and fostered the impression the lawyer would protect that pa…
When a former public defender becomes a prosecutor in the same county, can the rest of the office handle his old cases if he is screened?
The opinion concluded that proper screening avoids imputing the former public defender's conflict to the whole State's Attorney's office, so other prosecutors may handle his former cases without appoi…
Can a student-legal-services lawyer represent one fee-paying student against another fee-paying student?
The opinion concluded paying the student activity fee that funds the office does not by itself make every student a client, so the director may represent one eligible student against another he has ne…
Can a lawyer take his fee out of client money he is holding in trust when the client owes him but hasn't paid?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may transfer trust funds to pay his fee only after giving the client written notice of his intention and obtaining the client's affirmative consent, which case law sug…
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…
Can a lawyer charge a client interest on overdue bills or on litigation expenses the lawyer advanced?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may charge interest on both past-due fees and advanced expenses, provided the client is told in advance, ideally in a written fee agreement, and given a reasonable time …
Can a lawyer reimburse a witness for expenses, and pay a fact witness for time spent being interviewed?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may reimburse a witness's reasonable expenses and pay reasonable compensation for lost time, including time spent in an interview, but never as a way to influence testim…
Can a part-time county public defender represent a private client in a civil suit against the same county?
The opinion concluded a part-time public defender may sue the county for a private client only with the client's consent after full disclosure of the public-defender relationship, because the lawyer h…
If a contingent-fee lawyer is disbarred mid-case, can he recover for work already done, and must the successor lawyer share the fee with him?
The opinion concluded the disbarred lawyer may recover in quantum meruit for the reasonable value of work done before disbarment, but the successor lawyer has no obligation to divide the contingent fe…
Can a lawyer prepare a deed and transfer documents at a real estate broker's request, for the seller, when the lawyer never deals with the seller directly?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may do so only after satisfying himself that the broker has authority to retain him on the seller's behalf, and he must still exercise his own independent professional…
Browse Illinois State Bar Association opinions by topic
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.