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 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 prosecutor offer a plea deal directly to a defendant who has no lawyer?
Yes. A prosecutor may convey a plea offer to a pro se defendant before a court date, regardless of who initiated contact, but may only present the offer, not recommend it, and must disclose the prosec…
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 who defends criminal and traffic clients also serve as a part-time special prosecutor for juvenile cases in the same county?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may accept case-by-case appointment as a special prosecutor in juvenile matters, but only with full disclosure to and consent of any affected clients, and never in a c…
Can a prosecutor contact a judge ex parte to get an emergency stay of a bail-reduction order?
The opinion concluded that a state's attorney's ex parte communication with a judge to obtain an emergency stay of a bail reduction went to the merits and violated Rule 3.5(i) unless the bail statute'…
Can a State's Attorney keep a shared building investment with former partners who will appear against the office in criminal cases?
The opinion concluded a State's Attorney may keep a beneficial interest in a land trust that leases office space to former partners who become courtroom adversaries, provided each lawyer discloses the…
Can a part-time prosecutor take private civil clients in matters that grow out of criminal cases he prosecuted?
The opinion concluded that it is improper for a part-time assistant state's attorney to simultaneously or later represent civil litigants in matters arising out of the same facts as criminal cases he …
If a firm represents prosecutors in a private civil case, can the firm's lawyers still defend criminal cases against those same prosecutors?
The opinion concluded that a firm representing prosecutors in an unrelated civil matter is not per se disqualified from opposing them in criminal cases; because criminal defense is not directly advers…
Can a government lawyer lead a nonprofit that lobbies the legislature for a law change the lawyer's official client opposes?
The opinion concluded that an assistant state's attorney who is president of a genealogical society may urge the legislature to amend a statute even though the county clerk his office represents oppos…
Can a part-time Assistant State's Attorney defend criminal cases in a neighboring county?
The opinion concluded that a part-time Assistant State's Attorney who prosecutes in one county may not represent criminal defendants in a contiguous county where a conflict exists, absent appropriate …
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 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 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 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…
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 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 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 lawyers in a firm defend criminal cases in a county where their partners serve part-time as prosecutors on unrelated juvenile matters, and can the public entity consent?
The opinion concluded yes with informed consent of each client, and held that a public entity is not categorically barred from consenting where partners of a part-time public lawyer take unrelated mat…
Can a part-time assistant state's attorney who handles only civil matters, and the lawyer's firm, defend criminal cases in other counties?
The opinion concluded yes; where the lawyer's public work is confined to civil matters and the firm does no criminal work in that county, the lawyer and partners may defend criminal cases arising in o…
Can a law firm represent a personal injury plaintiff when one of its lawyers was an assistant state's attorney while related criminal charges against the defendant were pending, but had no role in the prosecution?
The opinion concluded yes; because the former prosecutor had no personal and substantial role in the criminal case, he was not disqualified under the former-government-lawyer rule, and his firm was no…
Can an assistant state's attorney who handles all of a county's family court matters also represent private divorce clients in that same county?
The opinion concluded no; an Assistant State's Attorney responsible for all of a county's family court matters may not privately represent clients in marriage dissolution cases in that same county, wh…
Can a part-time municipal prosecutor who handles traffic cases in the city also defend traffic and criminal cases arising outside city limits?
The opinion concluded yes; because the municipal attorney's prosecutorial authority is limited to violations occurring within the municipality, he may privately defend traffic and criminal cases for o…
Can a part-time assistant state's attorney assigned to civil cases represent private clients on zoning matters before the county board?
The opinion concluded no; a part-time assistant state's attorney who handles civil matters for the county may not represent private clients on zoning matters before the county board, because his duty …
Can a part-time city attorney who prosecutes ordinance violations, or his firm, defend people charged with crimes committed within the city?
The opinion concluded a part-time salaried city attorney who prosecutes ordinance violations and advises the police may not defend persons charged by the State's Attorney for offenses within the city,…
Can a lawyer defend criminal cases in a county where a partner serves as a part-time Special Assistant State's Attorney handling only civil matters?
The opinion concluded a firm partner may defend a criminal case in the county even though another partner is a Special Assistant State's Attorney for civil matters only, provided that partner has no c…
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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.