The Mississippi Bar Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the The Mississippi Bar, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Can a lawyer respond to a former client's negative online review using information about the representation, if that information is in public court filings or the client revealed it in the review?
No. The opinion concludes that information relating to a representation stays confidential under MRPC 1.6 even when it appears in public court filings or the client disclosed it in the review, and the…
Can a Mississippi lawyer use generative AI in practice, and what duties of confidentiality, competence, billing, and client disclosure apply?
Yes. The opinion concludes a lawyer may ethically use generative AI if the lawyer safeguards confidential information, is competent in the tool, verifies the accuracy of its output, bills reasonably, …
Can a Mississippi lawyer store client confidential information with cloud-based services like Dropbox or Google Cloud without violating the duty of confidentiality?
Yes. The opinion concludes that lawyers may use cloud-based storage for client confidential information, but MRPC 1.6 imposes an affirmative duty to take reasonable precautions in selecting and using …
Can a lawyer destroy the old client files of a deceased attorney, and what notice and confidentiality steps are required first?
The opinion concludes the files may be destroyed, but only after notifying each affected client and protecting their confidences; the lawyer must limit any review to what is needed to give notice and …
If a court orders a lawyer to reveal client confidences the lawyer thinks are irrelevant to the case, can the lawyer comply without violating the ethics rules?
Yes. The opinion concludes a lawyer may reveal client confidences or secrets when required by law or court order and is not subject to discipline for doing so, but must first raise and assert the conf…
What must a Mississippi lawyer do after obtaining an opposing party's privileged attorney-client communication that may not have been intentionally waived?
The opinion concludes the receiving lawyer must advise opposing counsel of the disclosure regardless of how it happened; the parties, or if necessary a court, then resolve whether the privilege was wa…
Can a lawyer who represents a guardian be ordered by the court to file a complaint against that guardian on behalf of the minor wards?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer who represents a guardian represents the guardian, not the wards, and Rules 1.6(a) and 1.7(a) prohibit the lawyer from filing a complaint against the guardian; the …
Can a lawyer who is also a party and a likely necessary witness keep representing himself and co-owners if disqualification would cause his clients substantial hardship?
The opinion concluded yes; under Rule 3.7(a)(3) the lawyer may act as advocate despite being a likely necessary witness where disqualification would work substantial hardship on the client, provided h…
Can a lawyer disclose communications with a former client, by court-ordered affidavit, when that client claims the lawyer failed to file a requested appeal?
Yes. The opinion concludes a lawyer may reveal client communications when required by court order, and when the client has accused the lawyer of wrongful conduct, under the self-defense and court-orde…
Does a lawyer's duty of confidentiality survive the client's death, and may the lawyer cooperate with police or testify about what the deceased client told them?
Yes, the duty survives death. The opinion concludes a lawyer owes a deceased client the same confidentiality as a living one and may not voluntarily aid a police investigation; the lawyer may reveal c…
Can a legal services lawyer open client files for inspection by auditors or evaluators from the funding legal services corporation?
No, not without the client's informed consent. The opinion concludes a legal services lawyer owes the same duty of confidentiality as any lawyer and may not reveal client confidences or secrets to the…
Does a lawyer have a duty to scrub confidential metadata from electronic documents, and is it unethical to mine metadata from a document received from another lawyer?
The opinion concludes a lawyer has an affirmative duty under MRPC 1.6 to take reasonable precautions so confidential metadata is not inadvertently disclosed, and that actively mining for confidential …
What are an attorney's duties when asked to handle and close the client files of a deceased attorney whose family will not open an estate?
The opinion concludes the assisting attorney has no legal duty to the deceased lawyer's clients, but if the attorney undertakes to close the practice, the attorney must inventory the files, screen for…
How long must a Mississippi attorney keep client files, and when can the lawyer return them to the client or destroy them?
The opinion concludes there is no bright-line retention period; once the matter is concluded the lawyer should return the parts of the file that belong to the client, and if the client cannot be locat…
Must a Mississippi lawyer report another lawyer's misconduct under Rule 8.3 even if the client objects, the other lawyer denies it, and it was already reported in another state?
The opinion concluded that if the information meets Rule 8.3's knowledge and substantial-question standard, the Mississippi lawyer must report Mississippi misconduct to The Mississippi Bar; the client…
Can an insurance-defense lawyer agree to insurer litigation guidelines and send the insured's detailed bills to a third-party auditing service?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not enter any agreement letting a third-party insurer interfere with independent judgment for the insured, and may give the insured's detailed bills to a third-…
After sitting in joint defense meetings for one co-defendant, can a lawyer later sue the other co-defendants on the same claims, even if the lawyer's former client is not a party?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who attended joint defense meetings and helped develop a combined defense strategy may not later represent plaintiffs against the former co-defendants on the same o…
If a lawyer learns during a deposition or sworn statement that a non-client probably committed tax crimes, must the lawyer report it, and can the lawyer report it without the client's consent?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer has no ethical duty to report a non-client's probable past criminal violation learned in a deposition or sworn statement; absent a legal duty, the lawyer may report…
If a client admits during a deposition to committing perjury in another proceeding, must the client's lawyer and opposing counsel report it, and can they agree to stay silent in exchange for dismissal?
The opinion concluded that the client's own lawyer must urge the client to disclose the perjury to the tribunal and, if the client refuses, withdraw and disclose it, and that opposing counsel must als…
Can a Mississippi lawyer provide legal research and writing services to other lawyers outside the firm, and must the arrangement be disclosed to the client?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may provide research and writing services to outside lawyers, but the engaging lawyer must disclose the arrangement and obtain the client's consent unless the client's i…
Can a Mississippi lawyer share an office suite with non-lawyer professional counselors and also run a business doing legal research for other lawyers?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may do both: share office space with non-lawyers as long as the arrangement is not a law-practice partnership and client files are kept inaccessible to them, and provide…
May a Mississippi lawyer let clients pay legal fees and expenses by credit card?
Yes. The opinion concludes that a lawyer may offer a credit card plan for paying fees and expenses, subject to conditions: not encouraging participation, not raising the fee, charging only for service…
When a sole practitioner dies, who must notify clients and courts, can the files be examined, and how long must they be kept?
The opinion concluded that the attorney handling the deceased lawyer's estate (or an attorney-executor) must promptly notify active clients and courts by individual letter and may examine client files…
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Legal ethics opinions from the The Mississippi 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.