Ohio Board of Professional Conduct Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Does Ohio's mandatory fee arbitration rule apply to a fee dispute between a lawyer who left a firm and that lawyer's former firm?
No. Ohio's mandatory fee mediation or arbitration under Prof.Cond.R. 1.5(f) reaches only disputes between lawyers in different firms who agreed to divide fees under Rule 1.5(e). A departed lawyer's di…
Can an Ohio lawyer pay a staff member a bonus for being named in a positive online review?
No. The Board concludes a bonus tied solely to a positive online review impermissibly ties nonlawyer pay to a particular client or matter and raises a risk of overreaching; bonuses based on revenue, p…
Can a law firm require a departing lawyer to pay a percentage of fees on transferred cases to repay the firm's advertising costs?
No. The Board concludes that requiring a departing lawyer to pay the firm 25% of fee recoveries on transferred cases, on top of quantum meruit, is an impermissible restriction on the right to practice…
Can lawyers who share an office but run separate practices share staff and divide fees, and how do they protect client information?
Yes. Lawyers in separate practices may share office space, equipment, and staff, and may divide fees under Prof.Cond.R. 1.5(e), but must segregate files, control access, and train staff to protect cli…
Can a law firm make an associate sign an agreement to pay the firm a percentage of fees earned after departure from clients who follow the associate?
The opinion concludes a law firm may not require an associate to sign an employment agreement that makes the departing associate pay the firm a percentage of fees earned thereafter from clients who ch…
Can a lawyer accept a fee from a financial services company for referring clients to it for investment or financial products?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer may not accept a referral fee from a financial services group for referring clients. The arrangement gives the lawyer a pecuniary interest adverse to the client and…
Do solo lawyers who share office space but are not a firm have to follow the fee-splitting rules when they divide a fee?
The opinion concluded that lawyers who practice in association but are not in a partnership, of counsel, or other recognized firm relationship are not in the 'same firm' under Prof. Cond. R. 1.5(e), s…
Can an Ohio lawyer join an online referral service that takes a per-case 'marketing fee' based on the legal fee earned?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer's participation in an online, nonlawyer-owned referral service is unethical where the lawyer must pay a per-matter 'marketing fee' calculated as a percentage of the…
Can one law firm be designated 'of counsel' to another law firm in Ohio?
The opinion concluded that a law firm (not just an individual lawyer) may enter an 'of counsel' relationship with another law firm, provided both firms comply with the Rules of Professional Conduct. T…
If a personal injury lawyer hires an outside firm to resolve a client's health care liens, can the cost be billed as a litigation expense or only as part of the contingent fee?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer may use professional judgment to bill outsourced health care lien resolution either as part of the contingent fee or as a litigation expense; either way the clien…
What makes an 'of counsel' designation proper, and how does it affect firm names, fee division, and conflicts of interest?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may be 'of counsel' to a firm only where there is a continuing, close, regular, and personal relationship that is more than a partner/associate role, a mere forward…
Can a lawyer sell or assign a settlement legal fee to a funding company for immediate cash at a discount?
The opinion concluded that it is improper for an attorney, upon reaching a settlement, to sell or assign the legal fee to a funding company for immediate cash at a discount, because it is an improper …
When lawyers in different firms split a fee based on assuming joint responsibility, does the client have to sign a written agreement?
The opinion concluded that when lawyers not in the same firm divide a fee under DR 2-107(A) based on assuming responsibility (rather than proportional work), each lawyer must assume responsibility thr…
Can a lawyer transfer shares in a legal professional association to an irrevocable trust for nonlawyer beneficiaries if the trustee is a lawyer?
The opinion concluded that it is improper under DR 5-107(C)(1), Gov. Bar R. III section 3(B), and DR 3-102(A) for an attorney to transfer shares in a legal professional association to an irrevocable t…
Can a law firm pay a real estate agency an annual fee and offer the agency's customers discounted legal services in exchange for the agency promoting the firm?
The opinion concluded that it is improper for a law firm to pay an annual fee to a real estate agency and offer discounted legal services to the agency's customers in exchange for the agency promoting…
Can an Ohio lawyer pay an online lawyer referral service a registration fee plus a percentage of the legal fees earned from referred clients?
The opinion concluded that an Ohio attorney may pay an online lawyer referral service a membership or registration fee and a fee calculated as a percentage of the legal fee earned, provided the servic…
Can an Ohio lawyer take a fee from a financial services company for referring clients who need financial services?
The opinion concluded that it is ethically improper for a lawyer to accept a fee from a financial services group for referring clients in need of financial services, because the arrangement is an impr…
Can an Ohio lawyer pay a non-profit organization (other than a bar association) a percentage of the legal fee earned from a client it referred?
The opinion concluded that paying a non-profit organization other than a bar association a percentage of the legal fee from a referred client is improper, as it is not a usual and reasonable fee under…
Can an Ohio lawyer refer a client to a finance company if the lawyer agrees to give the company a percentage of the legal fee in exchange for the company lending the client money?
The opinion concluded that prospectively agreeing to pay a financing company a percentage of an earned legal fee in exchange for the company lending money to the client is improper fee-splitting under…
Can an Ohio lawyer split a contingency fee with a non-lawyer private investigator who works on the case?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not split a contingency fee with a non-lawyer private investigator as compensation for investigative work, because DR 3-102(A) prohibits sharing legal fees with…
Can a law firm help a business corporation sell wills and other legal forms to consumers by mail?
The opinion concluded that it would be improper for a law firm to help a business corporation market legal forms where the sale includes advice and counseling, drafting, and execution instructions, be…
Can a bar association require a lawyer to pay a percentage of fees from referred clients, and impose fee-arbitration and panel co-counsel conditions?
The opinion concluded that a bar association may require a lawyer to pay a percentage of fees earned from referred clients (treated as usual and reasonable dues under DR 2-103(B)) if conditions are me…
Can a law firm hire a collection agency to chase down unpaid legal fees, and what client information can it share with the agency?
The opinion concluded that a law firm may use a collection agency to collect delinquent legal fees if it first confirms the fee is reasonable and not illegal, makes amicable collection attempts, and r…
If lawyers keep separate practices in the same building, can they split fees, and how must they protect client confidences and share staff?
The opinion concluded that lawyers with separate practices in the same building are not in the 'same firm,' so fee divisions must meet DR 2-107(A); to protect confidences under DR 4-101 they must keep…
Are lawyers who share an office and cooperate on cases, but are not partners, in the 'same firm' for purposes of the fee-division rules?
The opinion concluded that lawyers who practice in association with each other but not as a partnership are not in the 'same firm' under DR 2-107(A), so they must fully comply with the rule's restrict…
Can an Ohio lawyer practice under a trade name like 'Debt Relief Clinic,' use a multistate firm name, and send direct mail to people facing foreclosure?
The opinion concluded that 'Debt Relief Clinic' is a prohibited trade name and misleading name under DR 2-102(B), that practicing as 'X and Associates' with an out-of-state partner is proper under DR …
Can a law firm require a departing associate to pay back a percentage of fees earned from former firm clients who follow the associate?
The opinion concluded that a separation provision requiring a departing associate to pay the firm a percentage of fees later earned from former firm clients who chose to follow the associate is unethi…
Can a retired partner who has gone on inactive status to skip CLE still be listed as an inactive partner of the firm and keep receiving retirement payments?
The opinion concluded that retiring partners who take inactive status under Gov.Bar R. VI(8) become exempt from CLE, but listing them as inactive partners in a directory is misleading because it impli…
Can a business owned by lawyers operate as an agency that places temporary lawyers with law firms in Ohio?
The Board concluded that a temporary lawyer placement service may operate ethically if it follows guidelines in a written agreement: no fee-splitting with the agency under DR 3-102(A), no agency contr…
Can a lawyer who advises a trust grantor be paid part of his fee directly by the bank serving as trustee?
The Board concluded that a lawyer may represent a trust grantor and receive a portion of his fee from the third-party trustee bank only after the client knows the entire arrangement and consents, with…
Can a CPA firm employ a lawyer to write wills, prepare returns, and administer estates for its accounting clients?
The Board concluded that an attorney may not be employed by a certified public accountant's firm to practice law for the firm's accounting clients, because the arrangement would involve sharing legal …
Can a lawyer pay a now-suspended or disbarred lawyer a share of a fee under a referral or fee-sharing agreement made before the suspension?
The Board concluded that a lawyer may share fees with a suspended or disbarred lawyer if the fee-sharing agreement was made before the suspension or disbarment and the fee is divided on the basis of w…
When can a lawyer share a fee with another lawyer outside the firm, and does advancing litigation costs or appearing as co-counsel count as 'responsibility assumed'?
The Board concluded that under former DR 2-107(A)(2), a division of fees between lawyers outside the same firm must be proportional to the services performed and responsibility assumed, and that 'resp…
Under the former Ohio Code of Professional Responsibility, could a lawyer send a written announcement to other lawyers offering to act as an associate or consultant in a particular branch of the law, and could the announcement promise a follow-up call?
The Board concluded that a lawyer could announce availability to other lawyers to act as a consultant or associate in a particular branch of law under former DR 2-105(A)(3), provided the announcement …
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Legal ethics opinions from the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct 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.