State Bar of Nevada Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the State Bar of Nevada, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Can a Nevada lawyer require a client or prospective client to sign a non-disclosure agreement before giving legal advice?
No. The Committee concludes a Nevada lawyer may not require a current or prospective client to sign an NDA as a condition for receiving legal advice, because the confidentiality duty exists for the cl…
Can a company make in-house counsel sign a non-compete or a broad confidentiality clause that limits practicing law after leaving?
No. The Committee concludes that an employment or stock-award covenant not to compete that restricts in-house counsel's right to practice law after termination violates Rule 5.6, and that a confidenti…
Can a criminal defense lawyer accused of ineffective assistance disclose confidential client information to the prosecution to defend the claim?
Yes, with limits. The Committee concludes that a criminal defense lawyer facing a former client's ineffective-assistance claim may disclose confidential information under the self-defense exception of…
Can a personal injury lawyer own a business that buys and sells the medical liens of other lawyers' injury clients?
No. The Committee concludes it is unethical for a lawyer who handles personal injury cases to be in the business of buying and selling other attorneys' clients' medical liens, because the lawyer's per…
Can a lawyer accept an anonymous lump-sum cash payment that is meant to cover legal fees for the lawyer's clients and a co-defendant represented by a different lawyer?
The Committee concluded that accepting an anonymous lump-sum cash payment intended to cover fees for both the lawyer's clients and a co-defendant represented by another lawyer raises conflict and conf…
Can a lawyer who is also a licensed clinical social worker practice law through the same LLC she set up for her social work practice?
The Committee concluded that yes, an attorney may practice law and operate as a licensed clinical social worker under the same LLC, provided she does not represent the same clients in both capacities …
What kinds of client information does Rule 1.6 stop a lawyer from disclosing?
The Committee concluded that Rule 1.6(a) protects ALL information relating to the representation of a client, not just secrets, confidences, or privileged communications. The duty applies whatever the…
Can a lawyer store confidential client files electronically on a third party's server, outside the lawyer's exclusive control, without violating confidentiality?
The Committee concluded that the duty under SCR 156 (now NRPC 1.6) is not absolute and that a lawyer may store confidential client information electronically with an outside agency, just as with paper…
Does a would-be client create an attorney-client relationship, or a duty of confidentiality, just by sending a lawyer unsolicited information, including through the lawyer's website?
The Committee concluded that a prospective client's unilateral act, such as sending an unsolicited letter, generally does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship, though one can arise by …
If a lawyer learns a child has been abused, does the duty of confidentiality or Nevada's mandatory child-abuse reporting statute control?
The Committee concluded, under the rules then in force, that SCR 156 (the predecessor to NRPC 1.6) required the lawyer and the lawyer's legal assistants and law-student attorneys to keep child-abuse i…
Can a lawyer refer a personal injury client to a company that advances money repaid out of the settlement?
The Committee concluded that it is ethically proper for an attorney to refer a personal injury client to an independent company that advances money repaid from the settlement, so long as the attorney …
Who owns the insurance defense file, the insured or the insurer, and how long must a lawyer keep it?
The Committee concluded that because the policyholder is the client, the policyholder has the greatest claim to the file and is entitled to the original on request (with copying costs generally borne …
Can an insurer demand information from defense counsel that it could use to deny the insured's coverage?
The Committee concluded that it is improper for a law firm retained by an insurer to defend a policyholder to give the insurer case information the insurer could use to deny the policyholder's coverag…
Can a lawyer disclose that a former or prospective client used the lawyer's advice to commit a fraud on a court?
The Committee concluded that where a former or prospective client used the attorney's advice to perpetrate a fraud on a court, the attorney may, at the attorney's discretion, disclose the information …
Can a nonresident Nevada-licensed lawyer use space in a client's business as a Nevada office instead of associating local counsel?
The Committee concluded that none of the proposed arrangements, where a nonresident Nevada-admitted attorney uses space inside a client's Nevada business staffed by the client's own employees, satisfi…
Can a lawyer hold embezzled money a client deposited in trust, and must the lawyer turn it over to authorities?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer cannot use the attorney-client privilege to keep the fruits of a client's crime; the funds must be surrendered to an appropriate law enforcement official with ide…
Must an insurance defense lawyer tell the insurer that the insured client committed fraud in obtaining the policy?
The Committee concluded that the insured client's communication about potential insurance fraud is confidential under SCR 156 and may not be revealed to the insurer without the client's consent, and t…
Can a lawyer run a side business placing temporary secretaries and clerks in other law offices?
Only with safeguards. The Committee concluded a lawyer may operate a temporary legal-staffing business if he does not place temps in offices where he has adverse matters pending, ensures the employees…
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Legal ethics opinions from the State Bar of Nevada 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.