New Jersey Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the New Jersey Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, with full citations and source links on every page.
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If a lawyer who represented the plaintiff joins the firm defending the public board, can that firm keep defending the board in the pending case?
No. The Committee concluded the firm should withdraw from representing the Township Board of Adjustment, because a public body cannot consent to the conflict and a side-switching partner taints the fi…
Can a firm that represents a regional municipal utilities authority appear for a private client before a zoning board of a member town?
No. The Committee deemed a regional utilities authority an agency of each member municipality, so its counsel may not appear for a private client before that municipality's zoning board of adjustment.
Can the law partner of a part-time municipal judge handle civil forfeiture actions for the county prosecutor arising from arrests in the judge's town?
No. The Committee held that statutory forfeiture actions are penal in nature, so the bar of R. 1:15-1(b) extends to the judge's law partner, but only as to the county where the judge's court sits.
Does a conflict arise just because a lawyer represents two clients, a county college and its depository bank, that have a continuing relationship with each other?
No. The Committee found no conflict in representing two clients who have a continuing relationship where the lawyer takes no part for either client in that relationship.
Can the father or brother of an assistant prosecutor practice criminal law in the county where she serves as a prosecutor?
Yes. The Committee held that the family relationship alone does not bar criminal practice where the relatives never practiced together with the assistant prosecutor, who is one of more than twenty in …
Can a lawyer appear before a municipal judge who was his former law partner, where the firm still owes the judge a buyout and leases offices from him?
No. The Committee concluded that, absent permission from the Chief Justice, none of the lawyers in the firm may appear before the municipal court judge, given the family relationship and continuing fi…
Can a lawyer serve at the same time as a township solicitor and as part-time attorney for the county welfare board?
Yes, on these facts. Reconsidering Opinion 568 with fuller information, the Committee concluded its earlier finding was wrong: the municipal and county public-assistance functions are separate, so the…
Can a lawyer who is also a shareholder or house counsel of a company collect a real estate broker's commission on the sale of the company's property?
Sometimes. An attorney-shareholder may act as attorney and broker on the corporation's sale only after full disclosure and the informed consent of the corporation and all stockholders. But where couns…
Can a municipal court judge co-own an office building with the municipal prosecutor and municipal attorney of the same town, if they keep separate offices?
No. The Committee concluded the co-ownership would be the equivalent of sharing office space and present an absolute appearance of impropriety, given that a municipal judge would be a business partner…
Can the law partner of a municipal court judge serve as a public defender in a different municipality in the same county where the judge sits?
No. The court rules that bar a municipal judge from practicing in criminal, quasi-criminal, or penal matters extend to the judge's partners within the county where the judge's court is located, so the…
Can a criminal defense attorney who negotiates the contract for a county probation officers' association keep practicing criminal law in that county's courts?
No. While he represents the probation officers' association, the attorney may not appear in the criminal courts of that county, because the dual role would erode public confidence that justice is admi…
Can an attorney who is an independent-contractor county counsel on specific civil matters also serve as a municipal public defender and appear in other municipal courts in the same county?
Yes. Because he is an independent contractor on specific civil cases, not part of the county's official family, and the county is not a party to his criminal or public-defender work, the Committee fou…
Can an attorney who sits as an unpaid member of a regional planning board represent residents in court challenging an ordinance of a municipality that belongs to that board?
Yes. An unpaid board member may bring a court challenge to a constituent municipality's ordinance, especially where the challenge aligns with the board's own position; he simply may not appear before …
Can a law firm that serves as bond counsel to a municipality also represent private clients before that municipality's governing body or boards?
No. A firm acting as bond counsel for a municipality may not represent private interests before that municipality's governing body or agencies; the disqualification is firm-wide under RPC 1.10(a) and,…
Can a former deputy attorney general represent a private client before a licensing board he once advised, in a disciplinary matter that began during his government service but that he never worked on?
Yes. Because the former deputy attorney general had no actual or supervisory involvement in, and no knowledge of, the investigation, only the appearance of impropriety is at issue, and that is cured b…
Can one attorney be both county counsel and a township prosecutor in that county, and can another be both a township solicitor and counsel to the county welfare board?
The Committee found no conflict in serving as both county counsel (civil) and township prosecutor (criminal), but held that the township solicitor could not also be county welfare board counsel and ha…
Can a city attorney who serves on the board of a legal services corporation defend the city against suits brought by that corporation's clients?
No. A city attorney who sits on the board of a regional legal services corporation may not defend the city in suits its clients bring against the city; the Committee concluded he should leave the boar…
Can a municipal prosecutor's law firm privately represent the same municipality's judge, or take fee-sharing referrals of the judge's negligence cases?
No. Both the municipal prosecutor's firm representing that municipality's judge in private matters and accepting fee-sharing referrals of the judge's negligence cases are improper, because the financi…
Can the attorney for a township zoning board defend both the board and the municipality when a resident sues to challenge a variance?
Yes. Where the township and its zoning board share mutual interests in defending the suit and have no grievances against each other, one attorney may defend both; RPC 1.7 does not change that result, …
Can county counsel also represent a municipal housing authority located within that same county?
No. Because a municipal housing authority is a creature of the municipality, and an attorney may not be counsel to both a municipality and the county in which it sits, the Committee held it ethically …
Can a municipal court judge share in the criminal-case fees earned by a law partner or associate who practices in counties other than where the judge sits?
No. Although a partner or associate of a municipal court judge may practice criminal law outside the county where the judge sits, the judge may not share in the fees generated from that criminal pract…
Can a lawyer represent both the maker of a promissory note and the guarantors in a suit, relying on the maker's authorization without ever consulting the guarantors?
No. The conflicting interests of the note's maker and its guarantors should have been apparent from the start, and a lawyer may not represent a client based on another person's purported authorization…
May an attorney serve as counsel to a municipal sewerage authority while his law partner represents a non-profit housing corporation that is suing that authority, and may the attorney stay in the civic club that sponsors the housing corporation?
No to both. The opinion concluded the appearance of impropriety bars the arrangement even after the partner withdrew from the pending suit, so the two lawyers had to choose which client to keep; and t…
May a law firm hire a paralegal who previously worked for a firm it is currently opposing in litigation?
No. The opinion concluded that hiring a paralegal formerly employed by a firm with which the prospective employer is presently involved in adversarial matters is improper; the disqualification rule fo…
May one attorney represent both a local K-8 school district and the overlapping regional high school district?
As issued, the opinion concluded no: it would breach professional ethics for one attorney (or his partner or associate) to represent both a municipal school board and the regional school board, becaus…
If a lawyer becomes 'of counsel' to a firm in the same county where his son is the full-time county prosecutor, is the firm barred from criminal practice in that county?
Yes. The opinion concluded that because the father is precluded from criminal practice in the county where his son is the prosecutor, the firm to which he becomes 'of counsel' is likewise barred, sinc…
May municipal counsel defend individual municipal officials sued for willful civil-rights violations under 42 U.S.C. 1983, and may one lawyer defend several of them?
No. The opinion concluded municipal counsel should not defend individual officials in a willful Section 1983 action, because the municipality's potential indemnification claim makes their interests ad…
May a law firm represent a wife in a divorce when a lawyer who left the firm once handled an unrelated pre-marital corporate realty matter for the husband?
Yes. The opinion concluded the firm could represent the wife, because no remaining member of the firm had any knowledge of the husband's realty matter, the realty was acquired before the marriage and …
May a lawyer serve at the same time as assistant county counsel and as mayor of a municipality within that county?
No. The opinion concluded that because In re Opinion 415 bars a lawyer from being counsel to both a county and a municipality within it, an assistant county counsel cannot simultaneously serve as mayo…
May a municipal attorney defend both the municipality and its officials when they are sued for fraud, and when must special counsel be brought in?
The opinion concluded a municipal attorney may not defend both the municipality and its officials where the charges are fraud or willful misrepresentation, and that even when defending only the munici…
May a municipal prosecutor also prosecute complaints in the same municipal court on behalf of a paying private client (the complaining witness)?
Yes. The opinion concluded there was no impropriety in a municipal prosecutor prosecuting a matter in his own municipal court on behalf of a private client, because in both roles he appears on behalf …
If a lawyer acts in a private matrimonial mediation service for a couple, may the lawyer later represent one spouse in their divorce?
No. The opinion concluded that a lawyer who participates in a private matrimonial mediation service, by advising both spouses on equitable distribution or drafting their settlement, is thereafter elim…
Can a New Jersey lawyer represent a buyer or seller in a real estate deal when the lawyer's spouse is the listing or selling broker, if the client consents after full disclosure?
No. The opinion concluded that when the lawyer's spouse is the listing or selling broker, the lawyer may not represent either party even with full disclosure and consent, because the spouse's commissi…
If a New Jersey lawyer is barred from a county legal post because of an actual conflict, can the lawyer's partner take that post instead, and what if the conflict arises from the lawyer's seat on a county board?
No. The opinion concluded that where an actual conflict bars a lawyer (a municipal court judge, or a member of a county community college commission) from serving as assistant county counsel, the disq…
Can two New Jersey lawyers who share office space also share a computer and word-processing system, and still represent opposing clients?
Yes. The opinion concluded that two lawyers in adjacent offices who jointly use word-processing and computer facilities are not thereby 'office associates,' so they are not disqualified from represent…
Can a lawyer who works for a law school form a partnership with a lawyer who regularly sues that law school on behalf of a union?
The opinion concluded the arrangement carries a definite appearance of a conflict of interest, so an adversarial relationship between the proposed partnership and the law school that employs one partn…
Can a lawyer both defend a client on a municipal-court charge and prosecute the cross-complaint that client filed against the same complaining witness?
Yes. The opinion concluded there is no conflict because the lawyer represents only his own client, both as defendant on the charge against him and as prosecutor of the client's own complaint, and a on…
Can a lawyer join a firm that represents casino clients before the Casino Control Commission when the lawyer's spouse is an assistant counsel at that Commission?
Yes. The opinion concluded the employment is ethical and the firm may keep representing casino clients, as long as the spouse who is assistant counsel to the Commission stays out of any matter involvi…
Can a lawyer file a new, unrelated lawsuit against someone the lawyer is still representing in a pending collection matter?
No. The opinion concluded that where the lawyer's representation in an earlier matter is still ongoing, the lawyer may not bring a new unrelated action against that client, and even a terminated relat…
Can a law firm that used to defend a municipality's workers' compensation claims now represent claimants bringing comp claims against that municipality?
It depends on each claim. The opinion concluded the firm may not take a comp claim against the former-client municipality where the subject matter is substantially related to claims it defended and it…
When coverage is disputed, can the lawyer the insurer hired to defend the insured also bring the insurer's declaratory-judgment action against that same insured?
No. The opinion concluded the lawyer the carrier hires to file a protective defense pleading for the insured may not appear for the carrier against the insured in the coverage declaratory-judgment act…
Can one law firm represent a county utilities authority while a partner represents a municipality that belongs to that authority, and does hiring separate special counsel cure the conflict?
No. The opinion concluded a firm may not represent a county utilities authority while a partner represents a member municipality, and neither appointing separate special counsel nor forming a separate…
Can a lawyer share office space with a non-lawyer business, like a mortgage company or an insurance underwriter?
Yes. The opinion concluded a lawyer may share office space with a non-lawyer business so long as the separate practices and identities are maintained and client confidences are preserved, and it overr…
Can a criminal defense lawyer privately represent an assistant prosecutor, county investigator, or county detective in personal matters while practicing criminal defense in the same county?
No. The opinion concluded that members of the local criminal defense bar should not undertake private representation of a prosecutor's staff (assistant prosecutors, county investigators, county detect…
Does a board of education's attorney have a conflict of interest when his wife is a teacher paid out of the same school budget he defends?
Not on these facts. The opinion concluded there was little likelihood of any direct conflict where the school board's attorney supported a budget that funded his wife's teaching salary, finding the si…
Can an assistant county counsel have a partner who serves as a municipality's counsel in the same county, and can the assistant county counsel also be a municipal prosecutor there?
No to the first, yes to the second. The opinion concluded an assistant county counsel's partner may not be counsel to a municipality in the same county, but the assistant county counsel may also serve…
Can an assistant county counsel also defend a municipality in the same county in a civil-rights suit that does not involve the county?
Yes. The opinion concluded there was no inherent or potential conflict in an assistant county counsel defending a municipality, its mayor, and council in a civil-rights action that did not include the…
May the lawyer who drafts a will name himself as the estate's attorney, executor, or a beneficiary, and does it matter whether the client asked for it?
A scrivener who inserts a clause retaining himself for the estate without the client's request acts unethically; where the testator directs such a designation or a legacy, the opinion treated independ…
Can one lawyer defend both a minor driver and the parent sued for failing to supervise the minor in the same auto-negligence case?
No. The opinion concluded that the potential for conflict between the minor and the parent, including possible cross-claims for contribution and the parent's defense undercutting the minor, foreclosed…
Can a lawyer who is a county college trustee appear before the boards and agencies of the same county for private clients?
Yes. The opinion concluded that because a county college is an autonomous, separate political subdivision not under county fiscal control, an attorney who is a trustee may appear before county agencie…
Can a union's lawyer also serve as counsel to a joint labor-management committee that investigates whether union members' workers' comp claims are made in good faith?
No. The opinion concluded that union counsel may not serve a committee investigating the good faith of members' compensation claims, because the committee's interests are potentially adverse to member…
After defending school officials in suits a teachers' association brought, can the same lawyer then sue that association for malicious prosecution and defamation on the officials' behalf?
Yes. The opinion concluded that the lawyer's prior defense of the board members and superintendent did not conflict with bringing affirmative claims against the association, so DR 5-105(A) did not bar…
Can the associate of an assistant county counsel handle a criminal defendant's appeal from a conviction that arose in the same county?
No. The opinion concluded that an assistant county counsel may not defend against prosecution of offenses in his county, that disqualification extends to his associates and to every judicial level, so…
Can a lawyer be attorney for both an elected township board of education and the township itself at the same time?
The opinion concluded the lawyer could serve in both capacities because an elected board of education is independent of the town government, but with the caveat that he must drop both if a conflict or…
Can a lawyer work for two different law firms at once, and also hold a part-time job with a state government agency?
Yes, with conditions. The opinion concluded a lawyer may work for two firms, each paying for services rendered, if their matters are not adverse and no client information is exposed, and may also hold…
Can a municipality include its township attorney's fees in the condemnation costs it requires a developer to reimburse, without creating a conflict of interest?
Yes, on these facts. The opinion concluded that where the township attorney represents only the municipality and his services are not subject to the developer's approval, including his fees in the rei…
Can two lawyers who are both part-time assistant municipal attorneys for the same town represent opposing spouses in a divorce?
Yes. The opinion concluded that two attorneys both serving part-time for the same municipality may represent opposing parties in a divorce, because their shared public employment does not create a suf…
Can a New Jersey lawyer be a municipal prosecutor while a law partner serves as planning board attorney in the same town?
No. A municipal prosecutor is a municipal attorney, and because a conflict bars dual representation of two public bodies in one municipality, what one partner may not do the other partner and the firm…
Can a New Jersey planning board attorney resign, represent a private client before that board, and then return to the board attorney post?
A planning board attorney may not represent a group with business before the board while in office; the Committee declined to rule on whether the later reappointment was legal but strongly disapproved…
Can a New Jersey lawyer sue a former client on behalf of that client's agent when the new matter is unrelated to the prior representation?
Yes, where the prior representation produced no confidential information prejudicial to the former client and the current dispute does not concern the matters earlier litigated; absent such confidence…
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Legal ethics opinions from the New Jersey Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics 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.