Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Can a Maine criminal defense lawyer keep representing clients while applying for a job at a prosecutor's office?
Yes. A defense lawyer may continue representing clients while seeking a prosecutorial position, but must get the client's informed written consent once the lawyer has a material, active role in the ca…
Can a Maine prosecutor contact a crime victim who has their own lawyer without that lawyer's consent?
Generally no. Under Maine Rule 4.2, a prosecutor who knows an alleged crime victim is represented by counsel on the criminal matter or a closely related civil matter may not communicate with the victi…
If a lawyer sits on a municipal planning board, can the lawyer vote on applications brought by the firm's clients or by clients of the lawyer's partners?
No. The opinion concludes a lawyer holding public office may not participate in or vote on a planning board matter involving a current client of the lawyer or a firm colleague, on any side; the lawyer…
Can a lawyer acting as a union grievance agent contact municipal officials directly when the municipality has its own lawyer?
No. The opinion concludes Rule 3.6(f)'s no-contact rule bars a lawyer-agent from contacting high-level municipal officials about a grievance without opposing counsel's consent, because the lawyer is s…
Can an indigent-defense contract require defense counsel to report a client's financial eligibility information to the court without violating confidentiality?
The opinion concluded the contract term is permissible if 'probative of guilt or innocence' is read to cover any charge, so privileged communications stay protected while non-privileged secrets and fr…
May a lawyer represent clients before the probate court when the lawyer's partner has been elected Register of Probate?
The opinion concluded yes; because the Register of Probate performs only clerical and ministerial functions and cannot act on the merits, the partner's election does not disqualify the lawyer from app…
If a firm's associates serve case-by-case as special assistant district attorneys, is the whole firm disqualified from representing municipal clients before the county commissioners?
The opinion concluded no; the imputation rule (Rule 3.4(k)) does not apply to common employment in a government agency, so the associates' prosecutorial work does not impute the District Attorney's ot…
May a lawyer file a class action against a government agency when a different agency of the same government paid the lawyer's fees for the class representatives' related matters?
The opinion concluded yes; the class representatives, not the paying agency, are the clients, so there is no conflict as long as the payor does not direct the lawyer's judgment and the payment is disc…
Do the no-contact and conflict-of-interest rules apply to lawyer and nonlawyer advocates in a state Office of Advocacy when they investigate complaints by agency clients?
The opinion concluded no; because the advocates do not have an attorney-client relationship with the Department's clients, the no-contact rule and the conflict rules do not apply to their statutory ad…
When may a lawyer who served on a state administrative agency board later represent clients before that board?
The opinion concluded the lawyer, and the lawyer's firm, are disqualified only from specific matters the board adjudicated on the merits during the lawyer's tenure, not from every party or matter that…
Can the law partners of a lawyer who serves as mayor represent clients before, or in litigation against, the city?
The opinion concluded the firm may appear freely before city bodies the mayor does not sit on, may appear before bodies he sits on only with on-record disclosure under the vicarious-disqualification r…
May a lawyer who serves on the bar's Board of Overseers, or that lawyer's firm, sue a lawyer who is under disciplinary investigation?
The opinion concluded yes, but only if the Board member holds no confidential information about the lawyer under discipline and removes himself entirely from the disciplinary proceeding; otherwise the…
Can a lawyer who serves on a city council, or the lawyer's partners, litigate against the city or defend criminal cases in which city police officers testify?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer serving as a city councilor (and the lawyer's partners and associates) may not litigate against the city, but may defend criminal cases in which city police officer…
Is there a conflict when one firm has partners volunteering on a city's planning and appeals boards while another partner serves as the city solicitor?
The opinion concluded no conflict inherently arises. Because the firm represents no private clients before either board, the city solicitor's independent judgment is not adversely affected by his part…
May a part-time assistant district attorney (or his private firm) represent a town or taxpayer in a tax abatement appeal heard by the county commissioners?
The opinion concluded no. Because an assistant district attorney's sole function is to assist the district attorney, he always represents the county, so neither he nor his firm may represent a party o…
What city-related matters may the law firm of a lawyer who sits on the city council take on, and which are barred by the lawyer's public office?
The opinion concluded the answer turns on the type of matter. The firm may not defend criminal cases prosecuted by city police, sue the city, or represent municipal employees in grievances or collecti…
Can an assistant district attorney prosecute cases defended by her husband's law firm, and can the government consent to that conflict?
Revising Opinion #36, the opinion concluded that responsible government officials can consent to such a representation. An assistant district attorney may prosecute cases defended by her husband's fir…
If one lawyer in a firm becomes a part-time assistant district attorney, can the firm's other lawyers keep representing criminal defendants in the state's courts?
The opinion concluded no, at least as to pending criminal cases. Maine Rule of Criminal Procedure 53A bars any attorney for the State, and anyone holding himself out as that attorney's partner or asso…
Does a lawyer who also serves as a county commissioner have a conflict of interest when he sues towns located within his county on behalf of private clients?
The opinion concluded that no conflict of interest existed. Under Maine Bar Rule 3.4(b) a conflict arises when a lawyer's independent judgment for a client is likely to be adversely affected or when h…
Can an assistant district attorney prosecute a criminal case when the defendant is represented by a lawyer whose law partner is the prosecutor's spouse?
The opinion concluded no. The Maine Bar Rules forbid an assistant district attorney from prosecuting a criminal case against a person represented by a lawyer whose partner is the prosecutor's spouse, …
Does a lawyer who previously represented intervenors before the Public Utilities Commission have to be disqualified from serving as counsel to (or as) the Public Advocate in cases where those former clients are also intervenors?
The opinion concluded that Maine Bar Rule 3.7(i)(3) and (4), which bar a government lawyer from conducting a case 'against' a person he represents or has represented, did not disqualify Attorney A, be…
Can a lawyer who chairs the county commissioners keep defending criminal cases that the sheriff's office investigated, when the commissioners oversee the sheriff, and must the district attorney withdraw from cases against that lawyer's clients?
The opinion concluded that the district attorney need not withdraw from any case, because the DA represents the county as a governmental body, not any individual commissioner, and prosecuting the chai…
What conflict and disclosure duties does a lawyer who serves in the legislature, and the lawyer's firm, owe to clients affected by legislation, and can a partner serve as a paid lobbyist?
The opinion concluded that the rule on lawyers in public office (Rule 3.2(d)) is not a blanket bar on representing clients affected by legislation; it reaches only the use of public position for a spe…
If a prosecutor convicts a drunk driver, can the prosecutor's law partner sue that driver in a personal injury case for the passenger who was a witness in the criminal case?
The opinion concluded no; the lawyer had to withdraw from the civil case. Maine Bar Rule 3.4(h) bars private employment in a matter where the lawyer (here the prosecutor partner) held substantial and …
When a law firm has lobbied for one client, can it switch sides and lobby for an opposing interest group, and how broadly does the former-client conflict reach?
The opinion concluded that lobbying by a lawyer is the practice of law and is governed by the former-client conflict rule (Bar Rule 3.4(e)), but that the bar reaches only particular legislative matter…
When a former government lawyer enters private practice, which prior matters is the lawyer barred from, and is the new firm automatically disqualified too?
The opinion concluded that the former government lawyer is personally barred only from matters in which he held 'substantial and relevant responsibility,' adopting ABA Formal Opinion 342's narrow defi…
When a partner leaves a law firm to become a public official, can the firm keep using his name in the firm name if his name is dropped from the letterhead?
The opinion concluded no. Continuing to use the firm name A, B & C while Lawyer A serves as a public official and is no longer a member would be misleading under Rule 3.9, because it implies A is stil…
Can a District Attorney defend county officers in a prisoner's civil rights suit while also prosecuting that same prisoner in a criminal case?
The opinion concluded no. A District Attorney may not represent the County Sheriff and a County Commissioner as defendants in a prisoner's civil rights action while simultaneously prosecuting that pri…
If a prosecutor or an assistant DA is likely to be a witness in a case, must the whole District Attorney's office step aside from prosecuting it?
The opinion concluded yes. Under Maine Court Rule 3.5(b)(1), the entire District Attorney's office should be recused for trial when either the District Attorney or any of his assistants is likely to b…
Can a lawyer keep handling a case against a town after his law partner becomes the town's counsel, and is he required to stay in the case if he can?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer was in 'multiple employment' under Rule 3.4(c) because his partner now represented the town on an ongoing basis. He could continue the appeal only if, under Rule …
Can a city's police legal advisor move into the city corporation counsel's office without creating a conflict of interest with the police officers he previously advised?
The opinion concluded yes. The Commission found the police legal advisor's client had always been the city itself, not the individual officers, so the transfer into the corporation counsel's office cr…
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Legal ethics opinions from the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar 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.