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 lawyer who was fired by a client keep contacting that client to win the matter back after the client hired a new lawyer?
With rare exception, no. Once the discharged lawyer knows the former client has retained new counsel in the matter, contacting the client to resume the representation is barred by the no-contact rule …
Can a lawyer buy a competitor lawyer's or firm's name as a search-engine keyword to display the lawyer's own ad above the competitor's?
The opinion concludes a lawyer or law firm may not purchase the name of another lawyer or firm for use in competitive keyword online advertising, because doing so is designed to deceive the searching …
When a lawyer leaves a law firm, who notifies the clients, and what can the departing lawyer and the firm say about continued representation?
The opinion concludes that both the departing lawyer and the firm have an ethical duty to ensure affected clients are informed of the departure, and they may notify clients jointly or separately. The …
Which settlement terms restricting a plaintiff's lawyer (no other clients, no solicitation, keep everything confidential, no disparagement) are allowed under Rule 5.6?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not offer or agree to direct or indirect restrictions on the lawyer's right to practice. Settlement terms requiring the lawyer to affirm having no other clients…
Can an Ohio lawyer send unsolicited emails to get clients, and what disclosures must the email carry?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may use email to solicit professional employment because email is a written communication that does not involve the real-time contact prohibited by Prof. Cond. R. 7…
Can a lawyer who gives a legal seminar hand out firm materials and meet with attendees afterward to discuss their cases?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may present a legal seminar to prospective clients and make firm brochures and information available near the exit (without personally distributing them), but may n…
Can an Ohio lawyer send text messages to solicit prospective clients?
The opinion concluded that Ohio lawyers may use text messages to solicit prospective clients, because a text is a written or electronic communication under Prof. Cond. R. 7.2(a). The message must stil…
Is a personalized law-firm advertising letter to a business prospect a direct-mail solicitation that must carry the 'Advertising Material' label?
The opinion concludes that a personalized letter advertising legal services to a prospective business client, addressed to a contact person, is a direct-mail solicitation subject to Rule 7.3(c): it mu…
When a lawyer announces opening a practice by letter, do the direct-mail solicitation rules apply?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may announce a new practice with an announcement card and biography to the bar, businesses, and others; a personalized letter and biography to fellow bar members is…
Can lawyers run booths or programs offering free help with advance directive forms to the public?
The opinion concluded that attorneys may volunteer in a bar-association-sponsored program providing public education and pro bono legal services on advance directive forms; whether individual lawyers …
Can a lawyer set up a mutual client-referral arrangement with a chiropractor?
The opinion concluded that an attorney may send a chiropractor a letter asking to meet about the attorney's services, but may not enter a mutual referral agreement, reward or compensate the chiropract…
Can an Ohio lawyer send unsolicited email advertising legal services, and what rules apply?
The opinion concluded that attorneys are discouraged from, but not barred from, sending unsolicited email advertising legal services, which is treated as targeted direct mail subject to DR 2-101(F)(2)…
Can an Ohio lawyer contact other counsel or an out-of-state party to offer to serve as appellate or local counsel?
The opinion concluded that an Ohio attorney may contact opposing or co-counsel in person, by phone, mail, or email to offer to serve as appellate counsel, and may contact out-of-state counsel to offer…
Can a lawyer donate legal services to be auctioned or raffled as a prize at a charity fundraiser?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer should not donate legal services to be auctioned or used as a prize drawing at a charitable fundraiser, because the donation gives a thing of value that secures emp…
Can an Ohio law firm put client testimonials, client names, or links to its case opinions on the firm's website?
The opinion concluded that it was improper for a law firm website to include client testimonial quotations describing the firm's services, even with client consent, but that the firm could list a clie…
Can an Ohio lawyer hand out law firm brochures in person at a street corner, fair, or festival?
The opinion concluded that it is improper under DR 2-101(F)(1) for a lawyer to personally distribute law firm brochures at a street corner, fair, or festival, and improper under DR 2-101(F)(1) and DR …
Can a lawyer set up a for-profit group legal services plan and take the client referrals it generates?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not receive referrals from a group legal services plan the lawyer established and runs through a for-profit organization that bears no liability for its members…
Can an Ohio lawyer charge for a public legal seminar, accept clients who come from it, and do the same on a radio talk show?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may charge a nominal seminar fee, accept employment that results from a seminar or radio talk show, and announce availability to speak, so long as the lawyer does n…
Does an Ohio law firm have to label its newsletter 'Advertisement Only,' and what can the newsletter contain?
The opinion concluded that a law firm may mail a newsletter to an untargeted broad group without the 'Advertisement Only' recital, but a newsletter sent to persons known or reasonably knowable to need…
Can a company's in-house lawyer separately, privately represent the company's customers on related legal matters?
The opinion concluded that a corporation's lawyer may not provide private legal representation to the corporation's clients on matters related to the corporation's work, because making corporate couns…
Can an Ohio lawyer participate in a televised group legal advertising program that routes calls by zip code?
The opinion concluded that the Code does not preclude Ohio lawyers from participating in televised group legal advertising, and that ethical concerns about improper screening and referral are largely …
Can out-of-state attorneys send direct mail to Ohio members of a class action?
The opinion concluded that the Code does not bar direct-mail communication from named plaintiffs and their counsel to potential or actual class members during a class action, nor accepting employment …
Can a lawyer write to a business to offer to represent it or to be hired as in-house counsel?
The opinion concluded that an attorney may contact, by mail, an officer or manager of a business to offer general representation (where the business routinely uses lawyers) or to propose being hired a…
Can a lawyer make donations to a nonprofit agency that refers clients to the lawyer?
The opinion concluded that it is improper for a lawyer who does pro-bono work for a nonprofit social service agency to make periodic voluntary contributions to the agency while receiving client referr…
Can a lawyer write to a union asking that the firm be recommended to the union's members for legal work?
The opinion concluded that an attorney may write a union representative requesting that the firm be considered for recommendation to the union membership, provided the union is a bona fide organizatio…
Can a lawyer join a for-profit referral service that advertises for clients, screens callers, and refers them to paying attorneys?
The opinion concluded that an attorney should not participate in a for-profit lawyer referral service that jointly advertises, screens callers, and refers them to attorneys who paid for the service, b…
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 an Ohio lawyer send targeted direct mail letters soliciting people known to need legal services, such as those charged with a crime?
The Board concluded that, in light of Shapero v. Kentucky Bar Association, a lawyer may use a targeted direct mail campaign to solicit clients known to need legal services, provided the letters are tr…
Can a legal aid lawyer hand an unrepresented indigent person her card in court and offer to represent them for free?
The Board concluded that a legal services lawyer may ethically make an in-person, no-fee offer to represent an indigent defendant who has appeared in court without representation, because the Code's b…
Can an Ohio lawyer use a telemarketing program that cold-calls people to find clients?
The Board concluded that telemarketing is an intrusive form of solicitation for pecuniary gain that creates the potential for overreaching, invades privacy, and pressures the recipient for an immediat…
Can a law firm send newsletters to companies and individuals who are not current clients?
The Board concluded that a law firm may send newsletters to non-clients, provided the newsletters contain no false, fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive statements or claims, because newsletters are a…
Could a lawyer provide a free consultation to surviving family members as part of a funeral director's package, with the funeral director referring the family to the lawyer?
The Board concluded that a lawyer could not provide a free consultation as part of a funeral package, because former DR 2-103(C) barred requesting an organization to recommend the lawyer's services an…
Could a lawyer write to adoption organizations asking them to refer prospective clients, offering discounted fees for adoptions of 'special children'?
The Board concluded that a lawyer could not send letters to adoption groups seeking their referral of clients, because former DR 2-103(C) barred requesting a person or organization to recommend the la…
Could a legal aid lawyer who charged no fee solicit indigent people known to need representation, by direct mail or in person, after an eviction case was filed against them?
The Board concluded that a legal aid lawyer who received no fee could ethically solicit indigent clients known to need legal services by direct mail only, provided the communication was not false, fra…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could opposing candidates for a judicial office engage in a public debate immediately before a partisan primary election, and what restrictions applied to the format?
The Board concluded that the former Code did not specifically prohibit or allow public debates between judicial candidates, but that Canon 7B(1)(c) limited candidates to promising faithful and imparti…
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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.