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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Can a county counsel represent private clients before municipal courts and bodies, such as on traffic and disorderly-persons charges or in civil municipal matters?
It splits. The opinion concluded a county counsel should not appear for private clients before a municipal court on traffic or disorderly-persons matters, but generally may represent private clients i…
If a firm sublets office space to an attorney who sits on the county board of freeholders, can the firm still appear before the county board of taxation?
No. The opinion concluded that because the freeholder-attorney subtenant is an 'office associate' of the firm, neither the firm nor anyone in it may appear before the county board of taxation.
If a lawyer's son becomes a full-time assistant prosecutor and they dissolve their partnership, can the father keep practicing criminal law in that county?
No. The opinion concluded that the father and former partner of a full-time assistant prosecutor should not continue to practice criminal law in the county, even though the son is only one of fourteen…
Can one attorney represent both the board of adjustment and the planning board of the same municipality?
Only if no conflict arises. On reconsideration, the opinion concluded that an attorney should not represent both boards in the same municipality if there is or may be a conflict of interest in a parti…
Can a lawyer who regularly defends people accused of crime also serve as attorney for organizations of law enforcement officials?
No. The opinion concluded that a lawyer regularly engaged in defending those accused of crime may not also serve as attorney for organizations of law enforcement officials.
Can a lawyer defend a criminal client when the witnesses against him are officers of a company the same lawyer also represents, if everyone knows and consents?
Yes, on these facts. The opinion concluded that with full disclosure and the client's consent, and no confidences from prior work usable against the client, the lawyer may continue to represent the cr…
Can a lawyer represent a workers' compensation claimant against an employer the lawyer's office also represents in other matters?
No, while the representation continues. The opinion concluded that it is improper to represent a comp petitioner against an employer the attorney still represents; if that representation has fully end…
Can one lawyer represent both the driver and the passenger-owner against the other driver if they sign waivers agreeing not to sue each other?
No. The opinion concluded that consent and waiver do not permit an attorney to represent two or more parties who may have potential claims against one another arising out of the same transaction.
Can a lawyer represent a town's zoning board when his law partner (and relative) sits on the town's governing body?
No. The opinion concluded that it is not proper for an attorney to represent a zoning board where his law partner sits as a member of the municipality's governing body, because appearing before his ow…
If a lawyer becomes municipal prosecutor, are his partners barred from appearing before the town's boards, and from other towns' courts?
Partly. The opinion concluded that if a partner becomes municipal prosecutor, all firm members are barred from appearing before that borough's council and boards; they are barred from other municipal …
Can one lawyer pay another a referral fee for sending over the driver of a car while the referring lawyer keeps the passenger from the same crash?
No. The opinion concluded that a referral fee for sending the driver to one lawyer while the referring lawyer keeps the passenger violates the spirit, if not the letter, of the Supreme Court's directi…
Can a zoning board attorney keep defending the board on appeal when the appealing applicant is a client of the attorney's law partner?
No. The opinion concluded it is unethical for a board of adjustment attorney to continue defending the board's denial of a variance when his firm partner represents one of the principals of the appeal…
Can a lawyer collect a finder's fee from a bank for steering client funds into its accounts, and must he disclose and hand over the fee?
Yes with consent, but the fee belongs to the client. The opinion concluded a lawyer may recommend such investments only with full disclosure and knowledgeable consent, and must turn over or credit the…
Can a lawyer who is a part-time associate of the municipal attorney appear as counsel for the town's board of adjustment in litigation the municipal attorney is also handling?
No. The opinion concluded that because the inquirer and the municipal attorney were associated (indirectly if not directly) in the practice of law, and were publicly so perceived, his appearing for th…
Can a municipal attorney appear with a municipal official subpoenaed to testify about municipal matters, and can the town pay for it?
Yes, within limits. The opinion concluded that a municipal attorney may represent an official testifying on municipal matters and the town may pay, but he must withdraw and send the official to separa…
Can a municipal attorney foreclose tax sale certificates for private clients in the same municipality he serves?
No. The opinion concluded that the potential conflict inherent in foreclosing private clients' tax sale certificates in the municipality the attorney serves makes such representation improper.
Can a corporation's general counsel set up an office at the company to prepare wills and estate plans for employees who pay their own fees?
No. The opinion concluded the plan violated the Canons of Professional Ethics: it was not protected group legal practice, and it raised an employer intermediary problem (Canon 35), solicitation and ad…
Can a lawyer practice in the criminal and juvenile courts where his mother works as secretary to the county's Chief Probation Officer?
Yes. The opinion concluded that, absent actual misconduct, the mere employment of a close relative in a court-related department does not create enough appearance of impropriety to bar the attorney fr…
Can a lawyer (or his firm) defend an indigent criminal client when the lawyer's brother is an investigator in the prosecutor's office?
It depends on whether the brother is a witness. The opinion concluded the assigned attorney (and his firm) may represent the defendant when the investigator brother will not testify, but it is imprope…
Is it a conflict for a lawyer to represent a municipal planning board when his law partner is the father of the town's mayor?
No. The opinion concluded the representation is proper, reasoning that only actual kinship between the lawyer and the official is proscribed; a relationship as remote as being the partner of the mayor…
Can a municipal judge also act as the attorney for a developer whose land project needs approvals from that same municipality's boards?
No. The opinion concluded that a municipal judge may not represent a developer of land in the municipality he serves when the project depends on actions of the municipal planning and zoning boards, be…
When the same insurer covers both the plaintiff and the defendant, can the defense lawyer use the plaintiff's statement to the insurer against the plaintiff at trial?
No. The opinion concluded that where both parties are insured by the same company, a lawyer retained by the insurer to defend may not use the plaintiff's statement to the company against the plaintiff…
Can a lawyer hired by an insurer to defend an insured develop facts that would defeat coverage, after telling the insured to get his own lawyer?
No. The opinion concluded that defense counsel retained by a carrier owes the insured undivided fidelity and may not take a position adverse to coverage in the case itself; he must disclose the situat…
Can one attorney represent both the board of adjustment and the planning board of the same municipality?
No. The opinion concluded that an attorney should not represent both boards of the same municipality, because the potential for conflict between them is so inherent in their different statutory duties…
Can an assistant county prosecutor represent private plaintiffs in a civil rights suit against a police department in the same county?
No. The opinion concluded it is improper for an assistant county prosecutor to represent private plaintiffs suing a municipality, its police department, and officers in the same county, because of the…
Can a lawyer who shares an office with the municipal attorney represent a developer building and selling homes in that municipality?
No. The opinion concluded that an office associate of the municipal attorney may not represent a developer operating in the municipality that employs the municipal attorney, because the conflict that …
Can a law firm represent a client against people it previously represented only in an unrelated routine matter such as a change of name?
Yes, on these facts. The opinion concluded there was no conflict because the firm's prior representation of the now-adverse parties was a routine change-of-name proceeding wholly unrelated to the pres…
Can a part-time assistant municipal attorney represent a builder client operating in the municipality if he discloses the relationship and steps aside from the variance hearing?
No. The opinion concluded it is unethical for an assistant municipal attorney (also zoning board counsel) to represent a builder operating in his municipality, even with disclosure to the board, withd…
Can one attorney represent both the driver and the passengers in a suit against another driver, and does it matter if a passenger is the driver's child?
It depends on the passenger. The opinion concluded the attorney may not represent the driver together with passengers who are legally free to sue him (here, an adult sister and a child's friend), even…
Can a legal services organization represent a wife in a divorce when its predecessor office had earlier represented the husband in unrelated matters?
No. The opinion concluded that a legal services corporation and its predecessor are treated like a single law partnership, so the predecessor's prior attorney-client relationship with the husband bars…
Can a lawyer bring a negligence suit against a person he once defended in an unrelated, now-dismissed municipal court case?
Yes. The opinion concluded the attorney may bring the negligence action against a former client where the prior matter (a dismissed assault charge) was entirely unrelated in parties and subject matter…
After withdrawing from an estate's administrator who defies a distribution order, can the lawyer represent the other heirs against that former-client administrator?
No. The opinion concluded that when the administrator-client refuses to obey the court's distribution order and the lawyer's instructions, the lawyer has grounds to withdraw, but after withdrawing he …
Can a former workers' compensation judge represent the insurance carrier against a claimant whose earlier claim he decided as a judge?
No. The opinion concluded that a lawyer who, as a workers' compensation judge, decided an earlier claim for the same claimant may not later represent the carrier against that claimant, because Canon 3…
Can a lawyer be the planning board attorney when a partner in his firm is the attorney for the same municipality?
No. The opinion concluded it is unethical for an attorney to serve as planning board counsel where a partner in his firm is the municipal attorney for the same municipality, because the municipal-atto…
Can the attorney for a municipal board of health also sue the same municipality, represent private clients before its other boards, or defend cases in its municipal court?
No. The opinion concluded that even though the board of health is largely autonomous, it remains an agency of the municipality, so its attorney may not pursue negligence claims against that municipali…
Can a member of a city's law department who prosecutes in municipal court also defend a police officer charged in that same court?
No. The opinion concluded that any member of the city's law department who prosecutes cases in the municipal court should not defend a police officer in the same court; the municipality may instead re…
Can a municipal solicitor defend a criminal defendant when the alleged offense occurred in his own municipality and was investigated by its police?
No. The opinion concluded it would be improper for a municipal solicitor to represent a defendant in a criminal action where the offense allegedly occurred in the municipality he serves and the arrest…
Can an assistant municipal attorney represent a client in a claim against the board of education that the municipality's governing body appoints?
No. The opinion concluded it would be improper for an assistant municipal attorney to prosecute a workers' compensation claim against a board of education appointed by the municipal body he represents…
Is it a conflict for an attorney to serve as counsel to a planning board when a relative sits on, and chairs, that board?
No. The opinion concluded there was no unethical conduct in an attorney representing a planning board chaired by his uncle, because in advising the board he sought no discretionary favor for a client,…
Can a lawyer who represented a widow on behalf of her late husband's estate later sue that same estate on the widow's own injury claim?
No. The opinion concluded a conflict exists, in violation of Canon 6, when an attorney who represented the widow on behalf of her deceased husband's estate then represents her in a claim against that …
Is a divorce lawyer disqualified from continuing to represent the wife because he held a reconciliation conference with the unrepresented husband and took a small fee?
No. The opinion concluded the lawyer could continue to represent the wife where he repeatedly urged the husband to get his own counsel and received no confidences, though it said he should not have ac…
Can the same attorney serve as counsel to both a municipality's planning board and its board of adjustment?
No. The opinion concluded it is improper for one attorney to represent both the zoning board and the planning board where each agency routinely refers matters to the other and the likelihood of disagr…
Can a legal aid society represent several groups of co-defendants with potentially adverse defenses, and can it cure the conflict by spreading them among its own staff?
No. The opinion concluded the society would have a conflict in representing multiple co-defendant groups whose defenses could be inconsistent; full disclosure cannot cure it, assigning the cases to di…
Can a lawyer who serves a city's redevelopment agency, forecloses its tax sale certificates, or sits on its sewer authority also appear before city bodies for private clients?
No. The opinion concluded that each of the three lawyers, the redevelopment agency's counsel, the tax-sale-foreclosure attorney, and a member of the city sewer authority, is part of the municipal gove…
May a borough's municipal attorney also serve as legal adviser to that borough's planning board in preparing a master plan?
Not in that controversial capacity. The opinion concluded that the general principles barring a municipal attorney from dual municipal roles apply, so he cannot advise the planning board on controvers…
May a firm represent a local P.B.A. (police union) while it also represents defendants on police complaints and uses police officers as witnesses in other matters?
The opinion concluded that the contemplated representation of the P.B.A. was improper and should be avoided, because the firm also appeared against and alongside the same city's police officers in oth…
May a municipal planning board's attorney represent his own wife to oppose a neighbor's zoning variance before the board of adjustment?
The opinion concluded the planning board attorney should not represent his wife at the variance hearing, both because the matter could return to his planning board and create a conflict of interest an…
May a lawyer who is also a police officer on leave, and his firm, handle criminal cases in the municipality where he serves on the police force?
The opinion concluded that neither the lawyer (a police lieutenant newly admitted to the bar) nor his firm may handle any criminal case arising in the municipality where he is a police officer on leav…
May a county attorney or county prosecutor (or their partners) represent private clients before county boards or in criminal matters in that county?
The opinion concluded that neither the county attorney nor the county prosecutor, nor their assistants, partners, and associates, may represent private clients before county boards or in criminal matt…
May a municipal prosecutor, in one consolidated trial, prosecute a civilian and at the same time defend a police officer charged by that civilian?
The opinion concluded it would be improper for a municipal prosecutor to serve in that dual capacity in the same consolidated trial; while a court rule expressly let a municipal attorney defend a poli…
Does an attorney's service on an unofficial municipal charter-revision advisory committee disqualify him from representing private clients before that city's court and agencies?
The opinion concluded that service on the proposed advisory committee (which had no official status or statutory authority) is in the public interest, does not entail a conflict of interest, and will …
Does serving as attorney for an intermunicipal sewerage authority bar the lawyer (and his firm) from appearing for private clients before the courts and agencies of the two member municipalities?
The opinion concluded that representing the intermunicipal sewerage authority ethically bars the attorney and his partners from appearing before any magistrate or agency of either municipality; the ag…
May a lawyer who defended a man in a murder case later represent that man's wife in a divorce action against him?
The opinion concluded the attorney should not undertake the divorce action for the wife of his former criminal client, because his murder defense necessarily involved confidences and secrets, includin…
May a real estate lawyer accept appointment to chair a municipal committee advising on a property reassessment while he represents local landowners before the town's boards?
The opinion concluded the attorney should not accept the appointment, because he represented several clients whose land values would be affected by the reassessment, and Canon 6 prohibits representing…
May a lawyer who arranged and closed a mortgage loan for a longtime client foreclose that mortgage for the lender against that same client?
The opinion concluded it would be improper for the attorney to foreclose the lender's mortgage against the borrower, because the attorney had represented the borrower in about three prior matters and …
May the attorney for a zoning board of adjustment also represent the municipal governing body in court appeals, including cases where the governing body reversed the zoning board?
The opinion concluded the zoning board attorney could not appear for the governing body where it reversed the board, because that would put him against his original client in violation of Canon 6; the…
May a municipal attorney continue to represent a developer or builder operating in a neighboring municipality when that client is also building in the town the attorney serves?
The opinion concluded the continued representation was improper under Canon 6, because the room for public misunderstanding when a municipal attorney represents a developer operating in his own munici…
May a lawyer represent a husband in a divorce when the wife once made unsolicited calls to him that did not seek his services or concern the divorce?
The opinion concluded the attorney is at liberty to represent the husband, because the wife's earlier calls were entirely unsolicited, sought no legal advice or services, and did not concern the divor…
If a lawyer becomes a member of a municipal zoning board of adjustment, may he represent private clients before the town's other boards, the governing body, and the municipal court?
The opinion concluded it would be improper for an attorney-member of the zoning board to represent clients before the zoning board, planning board, governing body, municipal court, or other municipal …
If a wife consults a lawyer about her marital problems but does not retain him, may that lawyer later represent the husband in a divorce?
The opinion concluded the attorney is prevented from representing the husband: once the wife consulted him about her marital problems, Canon 6 and Canon 37 applied even though she did not retain him, …
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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.