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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When an Illinois personal-injury lawyer is appointed under 11 U.S.C. § 327(e) as special counsel to a Chapter 13 trustee to prosecute the lawyer's former client's uninsured-motorist claim, and the former client then fires the lawyer, must the lawyer withdraw?
The opinion concludes no. Because the claim became property of the bankruptcy estate under 11 U.S.C. § 541(a), the former client's interests are not adverse to the estate under Rule 1.9(a), and the la…
May an Illinois lawyer affiliate with a for-profit client referral service that charges clients a fixed fee, splits the fee with the lawyer, offers a money-back guarantee, uses non-attorney actors in ads, and requires lawyer-client communications on its monitored online platform?
The opinion concludes no. The money-back guarantee is a prohibited paid recommendation (Rule 7.2(a)) and misleads about the lawyer's services (Rule 7.1); the lawyer-service fee split violates Rule 5.4…
When an Illinois lawyer moves from partner to a continuing relationship with the firm, may the firm use 'senior counsel,' 'special counsel,' or 'counsel' instead of 'of counsel' to describe the lawyer?
The opinion concludes yes. Illinois Rule 7.5(a) (read with Rule 7.1) permits any of those terms to describe a lawyer who has a close, regular, and continuing relationship with the firm. The opinion wa…
Can a lawyer take a referral fee from an investment advisor for sending the lawyer's clients to that advisor?
Not per se prohibited, but it creates a Rule 1.7 personal-interest conflict and is a business transaction with a client under Rule 1.8(a). The lawyer may proceed only after a case-by-case conflict ana…
Can a lawyer who used to defend a medical group sue one of its physicians for malpractice in a factually unrelated case?
Yes, but only if the new matter is not substantially related to the former representation of the group; if it is substantially related and materially adverse, Rule 1.9(a) requires the former client's …
Can a firm that is suing a company in one matter also take that company's referrals to represent its employees in unrelated immigration cases?
Only if the firm can satisfy Rule 1.7 and obtains informed consent from all affected clients. The unrelated-but-adverse posture creates a Rule 1.7(a)(2) conflict that is waivable only if the firm reas…
Can a lawyer represent a surviving spouse both as estate administrator and individually in renouncing the will and claiming a spousal award?
Only with informed consent. A concurrent conflict exists under Rule 1.7(a)(2) because the spouse's individual claims are adverse to the beneficiaries the spouse owes fiduciary duties to; it is waivabl…
Can a lawyer help a client obtain third-party litigation financing during a case without violating the ethics rules?
Yes, with limits. The opinion concludes representing or assisting a client who obtains third-party litigation financing is not unethical per se, but the lawyer must preserve independent judgment, prot…
Can class counsel agree to pay the class representative extra out of court-awarded fees if the representative's recovery is less than full damages?
It is risky. The opinion concludes such an agreement creates a substantial risk of an unwaivable Rule 1.7 conflict between the representative and absent class members, and in some circumstances could …
Can a lawyer accept a substantial gift in a client's will if the lawyer does not prepare the will, and refer the client to another lawyer to draft it?
Yes. The opinion concludes Rule 1.8(c) lets a lawyer accept a substantial testamentary gift from an unrelated client so long as the lawyer neither solicits the gift nor prepares the document, and the …
Can a firm use screening to avoid imputing one existing partner's conflict to another partner in the same firm?
No. The opinion concludes the Illinois screening rule applies only when a lawyer becomes newly associated with a firm; it cannot insulate existing firm members from each other's conflicts, so the conf…
Can an in-house lawyer for one corporate subsidiary also provide legal services to another subsidiary of the same parent?
Yes. The opinion concludes an in-house lawyer may represent multiple subsidiaries of the same parent, including on the unrelated matter presented, while remaining attentive to Rule 1.7 conflicts and R…
Can one lawyer represent both the buyer and the seller in a real estate transaction, even if they are related and consent?
Almost never. The opinion concludes that representing a buyer is directly adverse to representing the seller under Rule 1.7, and the rare cases where dual representation could be proper depend entirel…
Can a lawyer who is helping a husband prepare for divorce also represent both spouses in a short sale of their home?
Only rarely and only with informed consent. The opinion concludes the short-sale representation is directly adverse to the wife under Rule 1.7(a)(1), and it will be a rare case where the lawyer can re…
Does a firm have a conflict representing a city when one of its paralegals is also a member of that city's council?
No. The opinion concludes the firm may keep representing the city; there is no direct adversity and no significant material-limitation risk under Rule 1.7, and the paralegal's council service is not f…
Is an of-counsel lawyer treated as part of the same firm for fee-splitting and conflict-of-interest purposes?
Yes. The opinion concludes an of-counsel lawyer in a close, regular, continuing relationship is in the same firm, so Rule 1.5(e)'s fee-division limits do not apply, but conflicts are imputed under Rul…
Can a lawyer seek child support from a father when the lawyer already won child support from the same father for a different client?
Only with informed consent. The opinion concludes the new representation is substantially related to the former one and may be materially adverse, so Rule 1.9 requires the first wife's consent and Rul…
Can a State's Attorney negotiate a labor contract with county police while also calling those officers as witnesses in criminal cases?
Yes, after a case-by-case Rule 1.7 conflict analysis. The two roles are generally not directly adverse, but the State's Attorney must check whether the criminal-witness relationships would materially …
Can a lawyer employed by a non-lawyer company represent the company's customers in their legal matters?
No. A staff attorney for a financial services company may not handle the customers' Social Security appeals: it creates a materially limiting conflict, risks assisting the company's unauthorized pract…
Can a lawyer be both the prosecutor and an administrative hearing officer for the same Illinois municipality?
No. Serving as the municipality's prosecutor while also acting as its administrative hearing officer is a Rule 1.7(a)(2) conflict: the lawyer's duty of impartiality as a quasi-judicial hearing officer…
Can a lawyer who owns a stake in and chairs a bank serve as city attorney for a municipality that banks there?
No. The lawyer's ownership and board role trigger the Rule 1.8(a) business-transaction safeguards, and the representation is a Rule 1.7(a)(2) material-limitation conflict. The opinion concludes the co…
When a lawyer has represented a partnership and all its partners together and one partner sues another, may the lawyer take a side?
The lawyer has a conflict and ordinarily must withdraw from the failed common representation absent informed consent. Whether the lawyer may then represent the defending partner in the arbitration dep…
May a new Illinois lawyer discuss a client matter with a mentor from a formal mentoring program who is not in the same firm?
Yes, within limits. A new lawyer may discuss general or abstract questions with a mentor outside the firm as long as the client cannot be identified and no information relating to the representation i…
May an Illinois lawyer post a client's question on a bar association listserv or online discussion group to get advice from other lawyers?
Yes, with limits. A lawyer may consult other lawyers on a listserv if the inquiry is general or abstract and carries no real risk that the client can be identified or that information relating to the …
Can an Illinois city attorney keep advising the plan commission and city council after a partner in the same firm appears before those bodies to oppose a zoning change?
Not without informed consent. The partner's appearance against the city creates a Rule 1.7 conflict imputed firm-wide under Rule 1.10, and the city attorney's recusal from the partner's matter does no…
Can an Illinois lawyer keep representing a school district when a partner in the same firm has brought a proceeding against the district?
Only with informed consent. The partner's proceeding is directly adverse to a current firm client, creating a Rule 1.7 conflict imputed to the whole firm under Rule 1.10; recusing from the matter does…
Can an Illinois lawyer who consulted with one spouse about a divorce later represent the other spouse in the same divorce?
Generally no. Under Rule 1.18, the first spouse is a prospective client; if the lawyer received information that could be significantly harmful in the same matter, the lawyer (and the firm) is conflic…
Can a lawyer who is likely to be a necessary trial witness keep representing the client before trial, and can the lawyer represent two clients in the same matter?
Yes to both, with conditions. Rule 3.7 only bars a likely necessary witness from acting as an advocate at trial, so the lawyer may handle pre-trial work and must inform the client of the limit under R…
Can a criminal defense lawyer represent a defendant when the lawyer's spouse is a police-officer witness for the prosecution?
No. The lawyer has a non-waivable personal-interest conflict under Rule 1.7(a)(2) and cannot reasonably provide competent, diligent representation, so the conflict cannot be cured by consent. The disq…
Can a lawyer sign a confidentiality agreement promising never to use a consultant's legal ideas for other clients?
No, where the ideas are legal interpretations the lawyer would use for other clients. Signing such an agreement creates a concurrent conflict under Rule 1.7 with the lawyer's other and future clients,…
Can a lawyer agree to use a referral source's affiliated title insurer in exchange for continued client referrals?
No. An exclusive, mandatory referral arrangement that requires the lawyer to steer clients to the referral source's affiliated title company violates the lawyer's duty of independent judgment (Rules 2…
Can a lawyer defend a physician when his firm already represents the co-defendant hospital in other cases, and he represents another physician who will testify against this one?
No. Where the physician's position is directly adverse to the firm's hospital client and to another physician-client who will testify against him, the opinion finds non-consentable conflicts under Rul…
Can a lawyer who sues some state agencies also represent a different state agency, or is the whole state government one client for conflict purposes?
The state government is not a single client made up of every agency under the Governor; a lawyer may represent one state agency while representing a private party adverse to a different state agency, …
Can a plaintiff's lawyer personally guarantee to the defendant that medical liens and subrogation claims will be paid out of a client's settlement?
No. A plaintiff's lawyer who guarantees and indemnifies the defendant that liens and subrogation claims will be paid from settlement proceeds is providing prohibited financial assistance to the client…
Can a lawyer represent a client against a witness who is the lawyer's former client from an unrelated matter, and cross-examine that former client?
Yes to the representation, with limits on cross-examination. The opinion concludes the lawyer may represent the new client in an unrelated matter, but may cross-examine the former client only without …
Can a lawyer who mediated a divorce draft the dissolution documents for both unrepresented spouses to file pro se?
No. The opinion concludes a lawyer-mediator who drafts the judgment of dissolution and related agreements for two unrepresented spouses ends up representing both adverse parties in violation of Rule 1…
Can one firm represent a creditor pursuing a debtor's property and also a buyer trying to purchase that same property?
No. The opinion concludes a firm cannot represent both a judgment-creditor client trying to reach a debtor's property and a buyer trying to acquire that property; their interests are directly antagoni…
Can a lawyer sit on a reinsurer's board while representing the primary insurers whose policies it reinsures?
Only with consent. The opinion concludes that serving on the reinsurer's board while representing a primary insurer on a reinsured claim creates a Rule 1.7(b) conflict, usually waivable by the client'…
Can two lawyers in the same firm separately represent a city and a park district located within it?
Yes, on these facts. The opinion concludes the two units are separate clients with no current direct adversity, so there is no Rule 1.7 conflict, though the lawyers may have to disclose the limits tha…
Can a lawyer draft a client's trust that directs the trustee to retain that same lawyer as counsel for the trust?
Yes, with disclosure. The opinion concluded the lawyer may include such a provision at the client's request only if the lawyer reasonably believes the representation will not be adversely affected and…
Can a lawyer give an adult client's psychiatric report to the parent who hired and paid the lawyer?
No, on these facts. The opinion concluded the adult daughter, not the paying father, is the client, so the lawyer may not divulge her psychiatric report to him unless the lawyer believes she is disabl…
If a borrower pays the lender's lawyer's fee, does that lawyer have to correct the borrower's belief that the lawyer represents the borrower too?
Yes. The opinion concluded that under Rule 4.3 the lender's lawyer must correct the borrower's misunderstanding if the lawyer knows or reasonably should know the unrepresented borrower thinks the lawy…
Can an estate-planning lawyer act as a paid trust administrator for a trust company to which the lawyer refers clients?
Yes, if the lawyer treats it as a conflict under Rule 1.7(b) and a business transaction under Rule 1.8(a): the lawyer must disclose the relationship, the fee and its source, and obtain the client's co…
Can a lender's lawyer contact a borrower who already has counsel and pitch to represent the borrower too in the same loan?
No. The opinion concluded the lender's lawyer who contacts a borrower known to be represented, and solicits the borrower as a client, violates Rule 4.2 and Rule 7.3.
Can a lawyer represent one spouse in a divorce against the other spouse while also representing that other spouse in a separate custody case?
No. The opinion concluded that representing a husband in a divorce against his wife while simultaneously representing the wife in a related custody matter is a non-waivable direct conflict under Rule …
What duties does an insurance-appointed defense lawyer owe the insured, and when must the lawyer withdraw?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer the insurer appoints owes the insured the same professional obligations as if personally retained; the insured is the primary client, and conflicts over disclosure …
Can a lawyer represent a husband in a divorce against an unrepresented wife and also represent both spouses together in a joint bankruptcy?
The lawyer may represent the husband in the divorce against an unrepresented wife, but cannot at the same time represent both spouses jointly in bankruptcy; that joint representation is a non-waivable…
If a lawyer receives an opposing party's confidential documents that opposing counsel sent by mistake, can the lawyer use them?
It depends on timing. The opinion concluded that a lawyer who receives and reviews inadvertently sent materials without prior notice of the error may use the information, but a lawyer who learns of th…
Can a patent firm charge a royalty-based finder's fee for matching its inventor clients with its product-promoter clients?
Only under strict conditions. The opinion concluded the firm may not take a royalty-type matchmaking fee unless it rebuts the common-law presumption of undue influence and obtains informed written con…
Can I sue my former client's trustee on behalf of a trust beneficiary I jointly represented years ago in an unrelated condemnation case?
Yes. The earlier joint representation in a condemnation case was not substantially related to the beneficiary's later breach-of-fiduciary-duty claim against the trustee, so Rule 1.9 did not bar the ne…
Can lawyers form a company that prepares and places legal public-notice ads and sell those services to their own clients?
Yes, if the lawyers comply with Rules 1.7(b) and 1.8(a) for business transactions with clients, disclose their financial interest and get consent, rebut the presumption of undue influence, and keep pu…
Can a lawyer take an ongoing cut of an investment advisor's fee for referring a client to that advisor?
Not as a legal fee, and only as a business transaction if the lawyer rebuts the presumption of undue influence by showing a fair deal, full disclosure, and the client's chance to get independent advic…
Can a lawyer who once worked for a state child-welfare agency as a non-lawyer supervisor now represent clients in juvenile court against that agency?
Yes, if the lawyer did not personally and substantially participate in the same matter while at the agency and holds no confidential government information that could be used against the agency or an …
If parents who hired me for their injured child's injury claim tell me to limit the recovery, can I keep representing both?
The opinion concluded the lawyer cannot continue to represent both the parents and the minor child once the parents restrict the child's recovery, because the lawyer must exercise independent professi…
Can one lawyer represent both a renouncing spouse and a separate claimant against the same estate, and can a lawyer represent an executor who also owes the estate money?
The opinion concluded it may be improper to represent both a renouncing spouse and a claimant against the same estate, depending on the size of the claim, and that consent cannot cure the conflict if …
Can I sue a subsidiary of a corporation I already represent, in an unrelated matter, without my client's consent?
Often yes: a corporate affiliate is not automatically the lawyer's client, and indirect economic impact on the parent is not 'directly adverse' under Rule 1.7(a), though consent is needed where the af…
If my firm defends a city, can I represent clients before that city's human rights commission?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer whose firm defends a city may represent clients in unrelated matters before the city's human rights commission only with the consent of both clients after full disc…
If a colleague once confided a legal problem to me as a lawyer, can I later become in-house counsel for the organization on the other side?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who had a brief but confidential discussion with a faculty member about his dispute with a university may still serve as the university's counsel, provided the lawy…
Can a lawyer who served as a minor's guardian ad litem then represent that minor in the related personal injury lawsuit?
The opinion concluded that a court-appointed guardian ad litem who recommended rejecting a settlement may later represent the same minor in the related personal injury suit, with no specific prohibiti…
Can a lawyer represent a corporation when the lawyer is the brother of its president and main shareholder?
The opinion concluded that being related to a corporation's president and principal shareholder does not by itself create a conflict, because the corporate lawyer's duty runs to the corporation, but t…
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.