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.
No New Jersey Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Does the rule barring a municipal judge from political activity also bar his law partners and associates, and is the judge's dual role as school board attorney an ethics question for the committee?
The opinion concluded the dual-office question was for the judiciary, not the ethics committee, and held that the rule barring a municipal judge from political activity does not automatically extend t…
Can a lawyer who is sued by a former client over his own apartment rent represent himself and his wife pro se, or must he hire independent counsel?
Yes, he may appear pro se. The opinion concluded that an attorney sued by a former client may represent himself and his wife in the action, because he has the same fundamental right to self-representa…
Can a lawyer who worked on a malpractice suit against a physician at his old firm later represent that physician in an unrelated divorce after moving to a new firm?
No. The opinion concluded it would be improper for the former associate and his present firm to represent the physician in the matrimonial action, because the physician's interests are hostile to the …
Can a lawyer's partners or associates represent a party to a real estate deal that earns the agency a commission when the lawyer's commission-paid wife works there but did not handle that deal?
Yes. The opinion concluded there was no conflict of interest where the attorney's wife, paid by commission, had no connection with the transaction and would receive no financial benefit from it, becau…
Can a law firm keep handling a case against the State after hiring the former deputy attorney general who had substantial responsibility for that same matter, if he works in a separate office?
No. The opinion concluded the firm could not continue to oppose the State, because the former deputy attorney general had substantial responsibility for the matter, his disqualification is imputed to …
Can a township's municipal attorney review and approve deeds and easements that a developer must deliver to the township as a condition of planning board subdivision approval?
Yes. The opinion concluded that a municipal attorney's review, revision, or preparation of a deed of easement to the municipality required by the planning board incident to subdivision approval is not…
Can a firm represent a husband in a divorce when it represented his current wife in her earlier divorce from a previous spouse about five years before?
No. The opinion concluded the attorney should withdraw and represent neither party, because in the wife's earlier divorce the firm might have learned confidential information about her assets, inherit…
Does leaving the Attorney General's office or another state agency bar a lawyer or law clerk from later working for a firm that is in litigation against the State?
No, not per se. The opinion concluded that the bar applies only where the person had substantial responsibility for the adversarial litigation while in public employment; if so, either the lawyer cann…
Is there a conflict of interest when a municipal attorney's spouse serves on the elected board of education of the same municipality?
No, not per se. The opinion concluded the marital relationship creates no inherent conflict, but the attorneys may have to withdraw when a matter arises involving both public bodies if the relationshi…
Can an attorney who sits on a municipal zoning board of adjustment represent a private client in a lawsuit against that same municipality?
No. The opinion concluded the representation was improper because the attorney was part of the municipality's official family, and suing it created a public appearance that adverse interests had commu…
Can a lawyer represent a husband on appeal in a matrimonial case when the wife once consulted the lawyer's firm about that same matter, even though she never retained it and paid no fee?
No. The opinion concluded the lawyer and all members of his firm were precluded from writing the husband's appeal, because the wife's earlier consultation, though brief and unpaid, created a duty to p…
Is an assistant county counsel in a conflict of interest if his wife is elected or appointed to the county board of freeholders that he serves?
No, not per se. The opinion concluded that because both the wife as a freeholder and the husband as assistant county counsel would act on behalf of the whole county, there was no conflict of interest …
May the law partner or associate of a municipal court judge serve as a lay member of a municipal planning board or board of health in the same town?
Yes. The opinion concluded that serving in an individual lay capacity (not a representative one) on any municipal board other than the governing body is not a conflict, even though the lawyer's associ…
May a municipal prosecutor represent a private client in a driver's license revocation hearing before the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles?
Yes. The opinion concluded there is no impropriety, provided the offense did not occur in the prosecutor's own municipality, applying R. 1:15-3(b) rather than the general conflict rule DR 5-105.
When a lawyer moves from the plaintiff's firm to the defendant's firm in the same lawsuit, must the new firm withdraw even if the lawyer is screened off from the case?
Yes. The opinion concluded the new firm must immediately withdraw, because DR 5-105(D) imputes the lawyer's individual disqualification to the whole firm and the appearance of conflict persists despit…
May a lawyer draw a sale or lease contract at a real estate broker's request and be paid by the broker, where the lawyer represents neither party to the contract?
No. The opinion concluded the arrangement is improper and violates DR 5-107(B) and DR 3-101(A), the rules on third-party direction of a lawyer and aiding a nonlawyer in the unauthorized practice of la…
May an attorney who is a county freeholder represent a private client appealing the county prosecutor's refusal to hire him as a county detective?
No. The opinion concluded it would be unethical, because the prosecutor acts on behalf of the county in hiring decisions, so a freeholder-attorney opposing that decision would be opposing another coun…
When a firm must withdraw from representing multiple parties because their interests have become adverse, may it still seek fees for the work it did before the conflict arose?
Yes. The opinion concluded the firm had to withdraw from all parties under DR 5-105(B), but may seek the reasonable value of services rendered before withdrawal, since the conflict over dividing any r…
May an attorney bring a third-party forgery claim for his litigation clients against a bank he currently represents, and has represented, in unrelated matters?
No. The opinion concluded the attorney should ask the court to be relieved from the trial; neither dual written consent nor referring the third-party motion to another lawyer would cure the conflict a…
May one attorney serve as counsel to both the planning board and the board of health in the same municipality?
Yes, generally. The opinion concluded a planning board attorney may also serve the local board of health, except where a particular situation presents a conflict or a clear potential for conflict is i…
May the law partner of a municipal prosecutor serve as counsel to a nonprofit senior-housing development corporation whose board is appointed by the township?
Yes. The opinion concluded there is no conflict, because the inquirer would represent only the autonomous corporation and would not appear before municipal boards, and the corporation receives no muni…
May a lawyer who formerly served a public body represent private clients before that same body, and should a special rule bar all such appearances?
The Committee concluded that existing standards already bar a former public lawyer only from matters in which he had substantial responsibility while employed, and that no new blanket rule prohibiting…
May a lawyer who represents a municipality's board of fire commissioners appear before that town's municipal court for a private client in an unrelated matter?
Yes. The opinion concluded that a fire district is an autonomous body rather than an adjunct of the municipality, so its attorney is not subject to the practice limitations that bar municipal attorney…
May a lawyer practice criminal defense in the same state where her spouse serves as a deputy attorney general prosecuting criminal appeals?
No. The opinion concluded she should not practice criminal defense in New Jersey while her husband is a deputy attorney general in the Division of Criminal Justice, because the situation presents an a…
May a municipal prosecutor be politically active in a neighboring municipality and elsewhere in the county where he serves?
Yes. The opinion concluded there was nothing unethical in the proposed political activity, since the rules barring political activity reach the judicial branch rather than municipal prosecutors, and t…
May a lawyer sue a defendant in one case while representing that defendant's spouse in an unrelated pending matter?
No. The opinion concluded the lawyer should withdraw from suing the wife in the slander action while representing her husband in a pending workers' compensation case, because the appearance of conflic…
If a lawyer represents a town-created nonprofit housing association whose trustees are appointed by the mayor and council, may he also appear for private clients before that town's boards?
No, not both. The opinion concluded that counsel for such an association must choose between representing the agency, which precludes the lawyer and his firm from appearing before the town's bodies, o…
May a lawyer who is the target of a grand jury investigation represent the former employees and clients subpoenaed as witnesses against him, recommend their counsel, or pay that counsel's fee?
No. The opinion concluded the lawyer's personal interest bars him from representing the witnesses, that their consent cannot cure it, and that he may give only a bare recommendation to retain counsel,…
If a lawyer's office associate becomes a part-time municipal legal assistant, may the lawyer still finish a workers' compensation claim his office is pursuing against that municipality, even with the city's consent?
No. The opinion concluded the lawyer must withdraw, because his associate's municipal position is imputed to the whole office under DR 5-105(D), and the public interest in the matter means the city's …
May a former assistant prosecutor defend an accused in a criminal matter that was under investigation, by a state commission, within his old office's jurisdiction during his tenure, even if he never touched the file?
No. The opinion concluded the representation was improper, because the public would see a matter investigated within his former office's jurisdiction during his tenure, and his lack of personal involv…
May a firm represent a husband in a divorce when it previously represented the wife and the couple together in personal injury and business matters, and the wife objects?
No. The opinion concluded the firm should not represent the husband, following earlier opinions that precluded a firm from representing one spouse in a matrimonial matter after representing both, even…
When the county must provide a jail guard a defense to a criminal complaint, may the county counsel handle that defense, or must outside counsel be retained?
Outside counsel. The opinion concluded the county counsel and his assistants may not appear for the jail guard in a criminal proceeding, so an outside attorney should be engaged.
Does a conflict that bars a firm from practicing criminal law in a county also bar a solo lawyer who tries the firm's cases in its name under a fee arrangement?
Yes. The opinion concluded the same disabilities that barred the firm extend to the inquirer, because he practices under the firm's name and can do so only as its associate, so he may not take cases t…
May a lawyer who sits on the county planning board represent private clients before municipal planning boards and other municipal agencies in the county?
Not before municipal planning boards. The opinion concluded the lawyer may not appear before a municipal planning board, but generally may represent private clients before other municipal agencies exc…
May a municipal public defender, paid by the town to defend indigent defendants, also represent paying clients before that town's municipal court and agencies?
Yes. The opinion concluded the representation is proper, because the public defender's clients are the indigent defendants he is appointed to defend, not the municipality, so his appointment and salar…
May the attorney for a county vocational school board also represent a civil service council that negotiates contracts for employees of the same county?
No. The opinion concluded that the county school board attorney is part of the county's official family, so representing employees in contract negotiations with the county would invite the inference t…
May a lawyer who represents a county prosecutor in an ethics matter also defend people accused of crime in that same county?
No. The opinion concluded that counsel to a prosecutor should refrain from representing the accused in that county while he represents the prosecutor, because the close personal relationship invites a…
If a lawyer is counsel to a local police union (PBA), can the lawyer appear in criminal courts in that area on matters where no PBA member is involved?
Yes. The opinion concluded that counsel to a local PBA is not barred from appearing in magistrate's or county criminal courts in cases where no PBA member the lawyer represents is a complainant or wit…
Can a lawyer serve as counsel to a local board of health while, in pending litigation, he sues the same municipality on behalf of officials seeking indemnification and fees from it?
No. The opinion concluded the lawyer may not become counsel to the board of health, because he would be collecting fees from the taxpayers through the board while simultaneously suing the municipality…
If a lawyer represents a wife-passenger injured in a car crash, can the same lawyer also handle her husband-driver's derivative loss-of-consortium claim?
Yes, with the husband's consent. The opinion concluded that, given the abolition of interspousal immunity and the relaxed driver-passenger policy for spouses, the wife's attorney may also represent th…
Can a former assistant prosecutor later represent a man he convicted, in a civil-service appeal where that conviction is the reason the man lost his retirement benefits?
No. The opinion concluded the representation is improper under DR 5-105 and DR 4-101, because the conviction he obtained is the very basis of the benefits denial, raising both a confidential-informati…
After an associate leaves a firm, can he represent a former client of that firm in fighting the firm's bill for legal work the associate himself did while employed there?
Effectively no. The opinion concluded that while a client may always choose new counsel and the new lawyer need not collect the old firm's fee, a lawyer must not encroach on the prior attorney's pract…
Can a lawyer represent a wife in her divorce after he was briefly retained by the woman named as correspondent (an adversary aligned with the husband) in an earlier phase of the same dispute?
No. The opinion concluded the lawyer should withdraw, because he had earlier represented the correspondent, whose interests were adverse to the wife, and switching sides in related matrimonial litigat…
After two legal-aid offices merge under one board of trustees but stay separately run, can a lawyer in one office oppose a lawyer in the other office on behalf of opposing clients?
Yes. On the facts, the opinion concluded that where the two legal-services components remain autonomous divisions with separate administrators, no shared office space, and no access to each other's fi…
Can a municipal prosecutor also take public-defender assignments to defend criminal cases in county court?
Sometimes. The opinion concluded a municipal prosecutor may not defend an accused in county court where the offense arose in, or the accused lived in, his own municipality, but may do so where both th…
Can a lawyer defend criminal cases in the same county where his spouse serves as an assistant prosecutor?
No. The opinion concluded that defending criminal matters in a county where one's wife is an assistant prosecutor would be improper, because the marital relationship places an undue, perhaps impossibl…
Can a lawyer who is counsel to one city challenge a neighboring city's tax assessments when his law partner is the mayor of that other city?
No. The opinion concluded that neither partner should participate, because partners who share earnings cannot owe divided loyalties to two cities whose tax positions directly conflict, and even the ap…
Can a lawyer who once defended one co-defendant now represent the other co-defendant, whose interests are adverse, on a related charge?
Only on strict conditions. The opinion concluded it would be unwise for the lawyer to represent the new co-defendant unless he is convinced beyond doubt the matters are unrelated, no confidences are i…
Can a lawyer who represented a police union in salary talks with a town then become the municipal court judge in that same town?
The opinion declined to bar it. It concluded that selecting a municipal judge is solely the governing body's discretion, and that whether the judge's prior ties to police officers require him to disqu…
How far does serving as county counsel limit a lawyer's private practice before county courts, the surrogate, zoning boards, and a bank he is tied to?
The opinion concluded county counsel is not broadly barred: he may practice in the county courts (except criminal and probate matters reserved by rule), may appear before local zoning boards unless th…
Is a municipal attorney automatically conflicted out if his spouse becomes the town's tax collector?
No. The opinion concluded there is no conflict per se when a municipal attorney's wife serves as tax collector of the same municipality, whether she is elected or appointed, though a particular situat…
If one lawyer in a firm sits as a tax-appeals judge, can the firm handle tax appeals before that tribunal or the boards below it?
No. The opinion concluded that because the associate-judge could not appear in tax matters that reach his own tribunal, that disqualification imputes to the whole firm, and his recusal in particular c…
If a lawyer is the attorney for a municipal utilities authority, can he, his partner, or his associate appear before other municipal agencies of the same town, or represent other agencies of that town?
No to appearing before other agencies for private clients. The opinion concluded the lawyer, his partner, and his associate may not appear before the municipality's other agencies, and a municipal att…
Can a lawyer represent a wife in a divorce against a husband for whom the lawyer once did unrelated work, like a home purchase and a single collection call?
It depends on confidences. The opinion concluded that, assuming the lawyer obtained no confidences about the husband's finances or resources in the earlier unrelated matters, it would not be improper …
Can an employee of a planning board's attorney, or an attorney who sits on the board of adjustment, practice before other agencies of the same municipality?
No. The opinion concluded that neither an employee of a municipal agency's attorney nor an attorney member of a municipal board may practice before other agencies of the same municipality, because the…
If a lawyer represents both buyer and seller in a real estate deal and a dispute breaks out between them, can the lawyer keep representing one of them?
No. The opinion concluded that once a serious controversy arises between jointly represented buyer and seller, the lawyer may no longer represent either party and must withdraw from both.
Can a lawyer who handled a company's workers' compensation defense later represent those same employees in new compensation claims against the company?
No. The opinion concluded that a lawyer who formerly defended a corporation in its employees' compensation matters, and had access to the corporation's injury files, may not now represent those employ…
Can a lawyer serve as municipal attorney when his father owns the corporation developing land bought from that municipality, even if the lawyer recuses on those matters?
No on these facts. The opinion concluded that although not improper per se, it was clearly improper for the lawyer to serve as municipal attorney where his father owned the development corporation, an…
Can a former assistant county prosecutor defend someone indicted from an investigation his old office ran, if he played no part in it and had already resigned?
No. The opinion concluded it would be improper for a former assistant prosecutor to defend a person indicted as a result of an investigation by his former office, even though he took no part in it and…
Can a county counsel represent a private client in a suit against the county's commissioner of registration challenging one of the commissioner's rulings?
No. The opinion concluded that because the public sees county counsel as the lawyer for the whole 'official county family,' which includes the commissioner of registration, representing a private part…
Browse New Jersey Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics opinions by topic
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.