North Carolina State Bar Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the North Carolina State Bar, with full citations and source links on every page.
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How can a North Carolina lawyer respond to a negative online review without violating the duty of confidentiality, and can the lawyer ever reveal client information?
A lawyer may post a professional, restrained response that denies the review's accuracy but may not reveal confidential information; a negative online review alone is not a self-defense 'controversy' …
After jointly representing a married couple for years, can a North Carolina lawyer (or the lawyer's firm) represent one spouse against the other in the divorce, or prepare a new will for one spouse?
Generally no for the divorce. Prior joint representation on financial and family matters is substantially related to the domestic action under Rule 1.9(a), so the lawyer (and, by imputation, the firm …
Can a North Carolina lawyer let a law student or another lawyer they are mentoring observe confidential client consultations?
Yes, but only with the client's informed consent. The opinion treats an outside mentee (a law student or a lawyer outside the firm) as someone not covered by the lawyer's duty of confidentiality, so t…
Does a North Carolina lawyer who withdrew from a criminal appeal need the former client's consent before discussing the case with, or handing the file to, successor appellate counsel?
No. Unless the former client specifically instructed otherwise, discussing the case with successor appellate counsel and turning over the appellate file are impliedly authorized under Rule 1.6(a), bec…
Can a North Carolina lawyer who defended a company in workers' compensation cases move to a plaintiffs' firm that sues that company, and how must she be screened?
Yes. The opinion concludes she may join the plaintiffs' firm if she is timely screened from any matter she handled for the former client, any substantially related matter, and any matter on which she …
Can a North Carolina criminal defense lawyer accused of ineffective assistance disclose confidential information to respond before a court orders it?
Yes. The opinion concludes a North Carolina lawyer accused of ineffective assistance of counsel may disclose confidential information that the lawyer reasonably believes is necessary to respond, inclu…
If a former client waits to object to her old lawyer's adverse representation, must the lawyer withdraw under Rule 1.9?
Not necessarily. The opinion concludes that although mere delay is usually not a waiver of a former client's right to object under Rule 1.9(a), a former client's failure to object in time can amount t…
Can a North Carolina lawyer represent a criminal defendant when the lawyer must cross-examine a current (or former) client who is a prosecuting witness?
Generally no. The opinion concludes that if a lawyer must cross-examine a current client who is a prosecuting witness, the lawyer has a concurrent conflict under Rule 1.7 that is usually nonconsentabl…
When a lawyer or law clerk moves firms, can they share which clients and matters they worked on so the new firm can check conflicts?
Yes. The opinion concludes a hiring firm may ask an incoming lawyer or former law clerk to identify prior client matters to detect conflicts, with disclosure limited to what is reasonably necessary; c…
Can a lawyer who represented a party in a partition case then serve as the court-appointed commissioner who sells or divides the property?
The opinion concludes a lawyer may serve as commissioner for a partition sale only after terminating the representation, with the client's written informed consent and a finding the lawyer can act imp…
Can a paralegal who changes firms write to the old firm's clients to announce the move and solicit their business?
The opinion concludes a lawyer has a professional obligation not to encourage or allow a nonlawyer employee to disclose a former employer's client confidences, including client identities, for solicit…
How many years of conflict-checking data must a law firm migrate when it changes conflicts software?
The opinion concludes a firm must convert at least the last six years of conflict-checking data to its new system as a minimum standard of reasonable care, while the duties of confidentiality and conf…
If a person pays a charged consultation fee, are they a prospective client or a former client of the lawyer?
A former client, not merely a prospective client. The opinion concludes that when a lawyer charges a fee for a service, however limited, and the client pays it, a client-lawyer relationship is unequiv…
Can a prosecutor handle a habitual-felon case against a former client whose prior conviction the prosecutor once defended, or a defense lawyer handle a case built on a conviction he once prosecuted?
The opinion concludes a prosecutor may not try a habitual-felon case against a former client if effective cross-examination would require confidential information from the prior representation, and a …
In a North Carolina settlement, can a lawyer agree not to represent other employees with similar claims, and can the lawyer later take those claims after a confidential settlement?
The opinion concludes that Rule 5.6(b) bars a lawyer from agreeing to a settlement term that restricts representing other claimants, but a confidentiality-only term is permitted. The lawyer may later …
Can the lawyer for a deceased client testify about the client's confidences in a will contest or other litigation over the estate?
The opinion concludes the lawyer may testify. If the personal representative calls the lawyer, that consent allows the disclosure; the lawyer may also testify when required by law or court order. If s…
After a lawyer jointly represented spouses in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and one disappears, can the lawyer keep representing the remaining spouse?
Often yes, but not always. The opinion concluded continued representation is not an actual conflict by itself, but becomes one if the spouses' debts conflict or the absent spouse's confidences would b…
Can a North Carolina lawyer disclose that a former client concealed assets in a bankruptcy filing the lawyer did not handle?
Only within the Rule 1.6 exceptions. The opinion concluded the lawyer may not reveal a former client's confidences unless an exception applies; mere suspicion is not enough, but if the lawyer knows th…
Can a law firm employ a disbarred lawyer as a paralegal, and can it keep representing clients connected to that lawyer's former firm?
Sometimes. The opinion concluded a firm could employ a disbarred lawyer as a paralegal only if it took no new clients of the disbarred lawyer's former firm after the hiring, and a firm where the disba…
When a North Carolina law firm closes a real estate file, what must it give the former client, and are the lawyer's title notes part of it?
A former client gets originals or copies of the documents generated solely for the client's closing, but not the lawyer's title notes or abstracts. If the lawyer who made the notes leaves the firm and…
After a joint personal injury representation ends and the file goes to one client's new lawyer, can the other former co-client get access to copy it?
Yes. Each jointly represented client is entitled to access the legal file after the representation ends and must be given a reasonable chance to copy it at her own expense, but the lawyer must not dis…
After a client dies, can the lawyer give the client's siblings copies of the client's earlier wills, or only to the estate's personal representative?
Only to the personal representative. The opinion concluded the duty of confidentiality survives death, so the lawyer may disclose a deceased client's confidential information to the estate's personal …
When a former client asks for the file, does the lawyer have to hand over the lawyer's own title notes, and can the lawyer charge for copies of documents the client already received?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer's personal title notes are work product the lawyer need not release, and that the lawyer may charge a former client for additional copies of documents already deliv…
Can one lawyer represent an estate's executor and both the family trust and the charitable trust it must pay, and what happens if the family trust later defaults?
The opinion concluded that, with no default, there is no disqualifying conflict, so the lawyer may represent the executor, the family trust, and the charitable trust under Rule 5.1(b). If the family t…
After representing an estate's executor, can the same lawyer defend that former executor in a suit brought against him by the successor administrator on the estate's behalf?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer may not continue defending the former executor, because representing a personal representative in his official capacity means representing the estate as an entity…
When does a lawyer have a 'prior professional relationship' that allows in-person solicitation, and when must a firm's mailing be labeled an advertisement?
The opinion concluded a 'prior professional relationship' means an actual personal attorney-client relationship, so a lawyer could solicit clients he personally served but not clients served only by h…
After foreclosing as trustee under a deed of trust, can the attorney represent the foreclosure-sale purchaser against the former debtor?
The opinion concluded that an attorney serving as trustee under a deed of trust does not represent the debtor as a lawyer, so after foreclosing the attorney may represent a party adverse to the debtor…
When a client sues over the quality of a lawyer's representation, what client confidences may the lawyer reveal to defend itself, and does it matter that the lawyer still represents the client on another matter?
The opinion concluded that the self-defense exception lets the firm reveal confidences to the extent necessary to answer the inadequate-representation charge, even though it is not a party to the suit…
If a lawyer joins a police organization's panel and handles cases for its members, when is the lawyer disqualified from representing criminal defendants or other adverse clients?
The opinion concluded that joining the panel does not automatically bar a lawyer from criminal defense work, but once the lawyer handles a member's case a current-client conflict bars adverse represen…
Can a lawyer who jointly represented both spouses for years later represent one of them in their divorce, and can a former associate of that firm represent the other spouse?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who had represented both spouses in numerous financial matters may not, over the other spouse's objection, continue representing the husband in the divorce, because…
Can a lawyer keep representing the husband in a divorce when a partner once did legal work for the wife, both before and after joining the firm?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer may continue representing the husband over the wife's objection, provided the partner gained no confidential information material to the domestic case while repre…
After representing a husband in a custody case against his first wife, can the lawyer later represent his second wife in divorcing him?
The opinion concluded that because the prior custody case is not substantially related to the new divorce, the lawyer may represent the second wife, but may not reveal the husband's confidences or sec…
Can a lawyer take a medical malpractice case against a hospital when two hospital agents in the case are the lawyer's former and current clients from unrelated divorce matters?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer may proceed as to the former client, whose unrelated child-custody matter ended years earlier and was not substantially related, but should not undertake the malp…
Can a lawyer who once clerked at a firm now represent that firm's former client against the firm in a fee-collection suit?
The opinion concluded yes, because the client the lawyer now represents and the client the firm previously represented are the same person, so there is no confidentiality breach or conflict of interes…
Can a firm that regularly does insurance defense work take plaintiff's cases against defendants insured by those same insurance companies?
The opinion concluded that the firm represents both the insured and the insurer, and may take a plaintiff's case against an insurer's insured without the insurer's consent if the plaintiff gives infor…
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Legal ethics opinions from the North Carolina State 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.