Massachusetts Bar Association Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Massachusetts Bar Association, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Can a Massachusetts lawyer list citations to published cases the lawyer handled on the firm website without client consent?
Not always. A published opinion can still contain confidential information under Rule 1.6, so if the case details are embarrassing or detrimental and not generally known, the lawyer must get the clien…
After a client dies, can the lawyer release the client's will-execution file during a will contest when no estate representative has been appointed?
No. The duty of confidentiality survives the client's death, and until a personal representative or other fiduciary is appointed who can consent, the lawyer may not release the file absent a court ord…
When can a lawyer disclose a decedent's estate information to the named beneficiaries without the current client's consent?
Information that is 'generally known' (the death, the lack of a probate filing) may be disclosed, but details learned only through the representation stay confidential. As the decedent's former lawyer…
Can a lawyer representing a seller accept the buyer's offer to hire her for a later resale of the same property?
Only if the lawyer reasonably perceives no conflict in the current representation and both parties consent after full disclosure; otherwise she should decline. The opinion treats even a pending offer …
Can a lawyer represent a client's son in a guardianship petition against that same long-time client?
No, on these facts. The lawyer would be adverse to a current or former client and could not satisfy the consent requirements of Rules 1.7 and 1.9, and she is also likely to be a necessary witness, whi…
Can a lawyer take a case against a former client when the two matters share the same property but different work?
It depends on whether the matters are 'substantially related' under Rule 1.9(a), which Massachusetts has not settled between an 'essentially the same issues' test and a 'same factual context' test. It…
When a municipal lawyer advised a department head in his official capacity, can the lawyer later oppose that former official in his own suit against the city and use his deposition to impeach him?
Yes. The committee concludes the lawyer's client was always the municipality, not the official personally, so Rule 1.9's former-client duties do not apply and the official-capacity testimony may be us…
Can a lawyer subpoenaed by one former joint client to testify against the other accept witness payments for his time and trial preparation?
No. The committee concluded that although Rule 3.4(g) generally allows witness payments, a lawyer who jointly represented both former clients may not accept them from one against the other, because eq…
Can a lawyer serve as a testifying expert against a former client in a matter substantially related to the lawyer's prior representation?
The committee concluded a lawyer ought not act as a testifying expert against a former client in a substantially related matter, even if the lawyer claimed to hold no relevant confidential information…
After the only lawyer who handled a client's matter leaves the firm, can the firm take on a substantially related matter against that former client?
The committee concluded that once the lawyer who represented the former client left the firm, the firm could represent an adverse interest in a substantially related matter so long as no remaining law…
If a lawyer drew up loan documents for sellers as a courtesy while representing the bank, can the lawyer later sue those sellers for the bank on their guarantee?
The committee concluded that, having prepared the deed, note, and second mortgage for the owners as part of one financing transaction, the lawyer ought not represent the bank in a deficiency suit agai…
Can a lawyer who helped draft a wife's will later defend her husband's estate in a suit by the children over how the husband used a power of appointment from that will?
The committee concluded the lawyer should not defend the husband's estate, because his earlier work helping draft the first wife's will was substantially related to a suit claiming the husband wrongly…
Can a lawyer facing possible indictment as a co-defendant with a former client reveal the client's confidences to convince the prosecutor not to indict him?
The committee concluded the self-defense exception let the lawyer reveal the minimum confidential information necessary to convince the prosecutor he committed no crime, even to head off a threatened …
Must a lawyer disclose a former client's alleged fraud when the evidence is uncertain and tied up with the client's confidences?
The committee concluded that the mandatory fraud-disclosure duty did not apply because the information neither clearly established fraud nor escaped the privileged-communication exception, and that th…
Can a lawyer reveal a former client's criminal record to warn an employer when the former client takes a job that puts vulnerable people at risk?
The committee concluded that if the lawyer believes the former client is 'reasonably likely' to intend a crime against the children in his care, the lawyer may, after trying to persuade the client to …
If a newly hired government lawyer once represented a private party, can the rest of the government law office act against that party?
The committee concluded the new attorney is personally disqualified only if the prior representation is substantially related or he holds relevant confidences; even then the city solicitor may advise …
Can a lawyer who left a firm sue the firm's former client when she never worked on that client's matter and holds no confidences?
The committee concluded that a lawyer who leaves a firm is not automatically barred from suing that firm's former client; she may take the matter if she holds no relevant confidences or secrets and th…
When can a lawyer who used to represent a government agency later appear against it, and is the lawyer's new firm disqualified too?
The committee concluded that a former government lawyer may appear against his old agency in any matter in which he had no substantial responsibility while in government and where he misuses no agency…
Can a lawyer bring a personal injury suit on behalf of a minor child against the child's own parents when the lawyer represents or represented the parents?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may not name a parent as the child's next friend and sue that parent where it conflicts with the lawyer's representation of the parent (as in two of the three cas…
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Legal ethics opinions from the Massachusetts 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.