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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Can a Child Support Enforcement Agency staff attorney represent the state in a CSEA matter the same attorney decided as an administrative hearing officer?
Not without informed consent confirmed in writing from all parties, because the attorney participated personally and substantially as an adjudicative officer; other law may bar it even with consent. T…
Is an Ohio mayor's court magistrate bound by the Code of Judicial Conduct, and can the magistrate run for partisan office or lead a political party?
No. The Board concludes that a mayor's court magistrate does not perform judicial functions 'within a court' as the Code's Application section uses that phrase, so the Code of Judicial Conduct does no…
Can a prosecutor prepare a judgment entry at a judge's direction and revise it without involving defense counsel?
A prosecutor may prepare a judgment entry at the court's direction, but should not make substantive edits at the court's later request unless opposing counsel is included, because doing so would be an…
If a former public defender becomes the county prosecutor, can the office prosecute the defender's old cases?
Only with case-by-case analysis: the prosecutor is personally disqualified, absent informed written consent, on matters where he or she represented the defendant or obtained protected client informati…
Can a county prosecutor appear before a part-time judge who employs one of the prosecutor's assistants in private practice?
Yes. The part-time assistant prosecutor may not appear before the judge who employs the assistant's firm, and that conflict cannot be waived, but it is not imputed to the elected county prosecutor, wh…
Can a law director or assistant law director try a case in which another lawyer from the same office will testify as a witness for the city?
The opinion concludes this is a fact-specific determination. A law director or assistant law director may act as an advocate in a trial where another lawyer in the office testifies only when the testi…
Can a former magistrate who is now a private lawyer represent a party in a post-decree matter from a divorce the magistrate handled?
The opinion concludes that, absent informed written consent from all parties, a former magistrate may not represent a person in post-decree matters arising from a divorce or dissolution in which the m…
Can a county prosecutor's office prosecute a juvenile while also representing the county child-services agency in a case involving the same child?
The opinion concludes the State of Ohio is a client of the prosecutor's office, so a conflict arises when the office seeks different outcomes for the state and for job and family services in matters i…
Does a lawyer have to report a criminal defense lawyer who practices in the same firm as the county prosecutor?
The opinion concludes there is a duty to report only when the lawyer has actual, unprivileged knowledge that the defense lawyer is acting contrary to law, namely by taking court appointments (barred b…
Can a part-time city law director, or other lawyers in the director's private firm, represent private clients in matters before the director's municipality?
The opinion concludes that a part-time law director may not represent private clients in matters related to the employing municipality, and should not seek the municipality's consent to do so. The dir…
Can lawyers in a part-time county prosecutor's law firm take criminal defense cases against the state?
The opinion concluded that a part-time county prosecutor cannot represent criminal defendants prosecuted on behalf of the state (or a municipality the prosecutor is authorized to prosecute for), becau…
Are state public defenders in the central appellate office and the trial branch offices one 'firm' for imputing conflicts, and can an appellate defender argue another defender was ineffective at trial?
The opinion concluded that, given the State Public Defender's structure (a central appellate office and separate trial branch offices in different counties, with separate databases), the appellate and…
Can a county prosecutor represent two county officials or entities at once when they disagree, or when one sues the other?
The opinion concluded that a county prosecuting attorney may represent multiple statutory clients in negotiating a contract or memorandum of understanding unless a Rule 1.7(a) conflict exists that can…
Can a city law director who has no duty to prosecute state-law crimes still defend criminal cases?
The opinion modified Opinion 2008-5 to hold that a city law director, assistant, or village solicitor who has no legal duty to represent the state may represent criminal defendants if no city police o…
Can a lawyer whose law partner is a city law director represent criminal defendants?
The opinion concluded that a city law director or assistant city director, having prosecutorial duties for the state, could not represent criminal defendants where the state is plaintiff; a firm colle…
Can lawyers in the same county public defender's office represent co-defendants, even at a preliminary hearing or in unrelated cases?
The opinion concluded that an assistant county public defender should not represent co-defendants at a felony preliminary hearing, or one co-defendant in a felony while representing the other in an un…
Must a court-appointed lawyer for an indigent criminal defendant give the no-malpractice-insurance notice under Rule 1.4(c)?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer appointed by a court to represent an indigent criminal defendant need not provide the Rule 1.4(c) notice that the lawyer lacks professional liability insurance, bec…
When a city, its officials, or its agencies conflict, can the city law director represent them through different assistant law directors?
The opinion concludes that a city law director must apply Rules 1.11 and 1.7 to each situation. Where a conflict can be cured under Rule 1.7(b), different screened assistant law directors may represen…
Can a child-support agency staff attorney represent the state in a matter where the same lawyer earlier issued the administrative order as the agency's hearing officer?
The opinion concluded that a CSEA staff attorney may not represent the state in any action (including a contempt action) involving a matter in which that same attorney, acting as the agency's administ…
Can a lawyer who represents criminal defendants also serve as a special prosecutor in the same court?
The opinion concluded that a judge may appoint an attorney as a special prosecutor in the same county and even the same court where the attorney represents criminal defendants, if the appointment is o…
Can a law director try a case in which another lawyer from the same law director's office will testify for the city?
The opinion concluded that it is improper for a law director or assistant law director to act as advocate in a trial in which another attorney from the same office will testify for the city, unless a …
Can a court-employed attorney mediator take a private paid mediation of a case pending on the docket of the court that employs the mediator?
The opinion concluded that it is improper, under Section 2921.43(A)(1) of the Ohio Revised Code and DR 9-101(B), for a court-employed attorney/mediator to conduct a private fee-paid mediation of any c…
Must a sitting judge resign to seek appointment as county prosecutor, and what campaign activity is allowed?
The opinion concluded that a judge need not resign to be a candidate for appointment as prosecuting attorney, since the resign-to-run rule covers elections, not appointments; the judge may announce an…
Can a retired judge who can be recalled to the bench work as a paid legislative lobbyist for judges' associations?
The opinion concluded that a retired judge eligible for recall to judicial service may not serve as a paid legislative agent (lobbyist) for the Common Pleas Judges' Association and the Association of …
Can a full-time judicial law clerk also practice law part-time, and how does it affect the judge's cases and appointments?
The opinion concluded that if a court permits a judicial law clerk to practice law part-time, the clerk may not represent clients in matters before the judge served or before other judges in the same …
Can a lawyer who serves on a city council represent clients in that city's municipal court, in civil and in criminal cases?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who is a city council member may represent civil clients in the municipal court if certain restrictions are heeded, but may not represent criminal defendants, priva…
Can different attorneys in the same Ohio prosecutor's office prosecute two family members who are charged with committing domestic violence against each other?
The opinion concluded that it is not per se improper for different attorneys from the same prosecutor's office to simultaneously prosecute family or household members charged with domestic violence ag…
Can an Ohio prosecutor offer to dismiss a criminal charge that lacks merit if the defendant signs a release of civil claims against the police and the city?
The opinion concluded that once a prosecutor concludes a charge lacks merit, offering to dismiss it in exchange for a release of civil claims is improper under DR 1-102(A)(5) and DR 7-105(A). Decided …
Can a criminal defense attorney also serve as a special county prosecutor in another county?
The opinion concluded that a private criminal defense attorney may serve as a special county prosecutor in another county only if the attorney does not represent criminal defendants in the court where…
Can lawyers from different divisions of the same legal aid society represent opposing parties in Ohio?
The opinion concluded that two attorneys from separate divisions of a legal aid society may not represent opposing parties unless it is obvious each can adequately represent the parties and the partie…
Can an attorney who is a court administrator write a law handbook for a publisher that sells books to the court and keep the royalties?
The opinion concluded that a court administrator may accept a publisher's offer to author a juvenile law handbook for royalties under R.C. 102.03(D) and (E) if he does not use his office to secure the…
Does the no-contact rule apply when a lawyer wants to communicate with a government agency or its employees that are represented by counsel?
The opinion concluded that DR 7-104(A)(1) applies to communications with a government party represented by counsel; a government party is an employee, official, or body with authority to bind or settl…
Can a prosecutor and a criminal defense lawyer who are siblings handle opposite sides of the same case?
The opinion concluded that representation of opposing parties by a prosecutor and a defense attorney who are siblings creates a conflict under DR 5-101(A), worsened when they are former partners and t…
Who does a child support enforcement (CSEA) attorney represent, and what conflicts limit a part-time CSEA attorney's private practice?
The Board concluded that the CSEA attorney's client is the state-at-large in both AFDC and non-AFDC cases, so the custodial parent must be told at the outset that the attorney represents only the stat…
Can a prosecutor publicly explain why a criminal charge was not filed once the investigation is finished?
The Board concluded that former DR 7-107(A) barred extrajudicial statements about a pending criminal investigation, but did not apply to completed investigations, so a prosecutor could explain why a c…
Can a law firm that represents a public mental-health board also represent neighbors opposing a land-use variance sought by that board's agency?
The Board concluded that a firm representing a public mental-health board could not also represent landowners opposed to a variance sought by the board's agency, because the clients had differing inte…
Can a county commissioner who is also a lawyer represent clients in the Court of Common Pleas of the same county, and can the commissioner's law partner take those cases?
The Board concluded that the former Code did not specifically preclude a county commissioner from appearing in the county's Court of Common Pleas, in civil or criminal cases, as long as doing so did n…
When a former county public defender becomes county prosecutor, can the office still prosecute cases that were pending in the public defender's office, by assigning them to a special prosecutor?
The Board concluded that a former public defender who became county prosecutor could appoint one of his assistants as special prosecutor to handle cases that had been pending before the public defende…
Could a prosecutor appear before a part-time municipal court judge who employed one of the prosecutor's assistants as an associate in the judge's private law firm?
The Board concluded that nothing in the Code specifically barred a prosecutor from appearing before a part-time judge who employed the prosecutor's assistant, but that the prosecutor should not appear…
Could a lawyer serve as a Court of Claims Commissioner in the Victims of Crime Reparation section while also working as a Special Assistant Attorney General on unrelated matters?
The Board concluded that a lawyer who sat as a Court of Claims Commissioner hearing reparation appeals could also serve as a Special Assistant Attorney General on collection work and matters for the D…
Could a part-time city, municipal, or county prosecutor represent criminal defendants in private practice, and were the prosecutor's law partners barred too?
The Board concluded that a part-time prosecutor whose duties included representing the State of Ohio in criminal cases could not represent criminal defendants against the State, with only narrow excep…
Did a county public defender who was running for county prosecuting attorney have to resign as public defender, and what did the lawyer have to disclose to clients?
The Board concluded that nothing in the Code of Professional Responsibility automatically required a public defender to resign because of a candidacy for county prosecutor, but under former DR 5-101(A…
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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.