Oklahoma Bar Association Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Oklahoma Bar Association, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Can a lawyer pay client court costs and fines with a rewards credit card and keep the points, and must the lawyer disclose this to the client?
Yes, with conditions. The committee concluded that using a rewards credit card to pay client court costs or fines and keeping the points is ethically allowable if done consistently with Rule 1.7; whet…
Can a plaintiff's lawyer contact the client's medical providers and offer to prepare and file medical liens for them so the full medical bills become admissible?
Qualified yes. The committee concluded a plaintiff's attorney may, with the informed written consent of both the injured client and the providers, offer to prepare and file a medical-provider lien, bu…
Can a plaintiff's lawyer agree, as part of a settlement, to hold the defendant and insurer harmless from the client's liens or government claims, and can defense counsel demand it?
No. The committee concluded a lawyer may not sign a settlement release indemnifying the opposing party against the client's lien or subrogation liability, because it is prohibited financial assistance…
Does tying an insurance staff lawyer's bonus to a minimum number of jury trials create UPL or a conflict of interest, and must the lawyer tell the insured?
The committee concluded that an insurer's plan rewarding staff counsel for a minimum number of jury trials is not the unauthorized practice of law, but a staff lawyer who tries a case solely to qualif…
Can a full-time public defender give personal money to an indigent death-row client's prison account?
Yes, on these narrow facts. The committee concluded a salaried public defender may make personal gifts (not loans) to an indigent capital client's prison account when there is no expectation of repaym…
Can a plaintiff's lawyer agree in advance to indemnify the client against attorney's fees and costs the client would owe if the defendant prevails?
No. The committee concluded that an advance agreement to indemnify a client against attorney's fees and costs awarded to a prevailing defendant is not an 'advance' permitted by Rule 1.8(e), and is bar…
Can a lawyer who owns a chiropractic clinic refer personal-injury clients there and let the clinic defer its bills until the case settles?
No, not on these facts. The committee concluded that the lawyer's ownership interest in a clinic that defers a personal-injury client's bills until settlement makes the deferral the lawyer's own prohi…
Can a lawyer employed as in-house counsel for an aircraft title company also represent the company's customers by rendering title opinions they pay for directly?
Yes, with conditions. The committee concluded that the title company's staff lawyer may also render title opinions for the company's customers if the lawyer reasonably determines the dual representati…
Can an estate-planning lawyer sell financial products like insurance to a client, or refer the client to a business the lawyer profits from?
Yes, with conditions. The committee concluded that a lawyer may sell ancillary financial products to a client or refer the client to a business the lawyer profits from if the transaction is fair and r…
Can an insurance defense lawyer represent an insured when the insurer sends the lawyer's bills to an outside auditor?
No. The committee concluded that defense counsel may not agree to represent an insured knowing the insurer will send counsel's invoices to an outside auditor, because seeking the client's informed con…
Can a lawyer in an eminent domain case give the court-appointed commissioners ex parte material to influence their valuation while withholding it from opposing counsel?
No. The committee concluded that improperly influencing the commissioners' valuation, and concealing or contradicting evidence between the commissioners and opposing counsel, is unethical and violates…
Can a lawyer put a mandatory binding-arbitration clause in a retainer agreement covering fee, malpractice, and other disputes?
Yes, with conditions. The committee concluded that nothing in the Rules prohibits a mandatory arbitration clause covering fee disputes, malpractice, and other claims under the retainer, provided the l…
If a lawyer and client had no romantic relationship before the representation began, can the lawyer start a sexual relationship with the client during the case?
Probably not without violating the Rules. The committee concluded that a lawyer who begins sexual relations with a client, where no consensual sexual relationship predated the lawyer-client relationsh…
May a lawyer who is an employee (staff attorney) of a liability insurer represent the insurer's insured in a defense?
Yes, with conditions. The committee concluded that a staff attorney employed by a liability insurer may represent the insured if the lawyer discloses all limitations on the representation, the insurer…
May a lawyer have a sexual relationship with a current client during the representation?
No (as the opinion stood). The committee concluded that a sexual relationship with a client or the client's representative during an ongoing representation is unethical, except with a spouse, because …
If a lawyer is an elected official or employee of a city, may the lawyer or the lawyer's firm represent clients in matters pending before that city?
No (as the opinion stood). The committee concluded that when a lawyer is an elected official or employee of a municipality, neither that lawyer nor a lawyer associated with them may represent clients …
May a lawyer who serves as a part-time judge of a court not of record represent criminal defendants in other courts?
Yes. The committee concluded that a lawyer serving as a part-time municipal judge of a court not of record may act as defense counsel in criminal cases filed in other courts, subject to the Code of Ju…
May a lawyer take a mortgage or security interest in a client's property that is the subject of the litigation to secure payment of the lawyer's fee?
Yes. The committee concluded that a mortgage or security interest taken only to secure a reasonable fee is a legally permissible lien, not a prohibited 'proprietary interest' under DR 5-103(A)(1), eve…
May a lawyer take a mortgage or security interest in a client's property that is the subject of the litigation to secure payment of the lawyer's fee?
Yes. The committee concluded that a mortgage or security interest taken only to secure a reasonable fee is a legally permissible lien, not a prohibited 'proprietary interest' under DR 5-103(A)(1), eve…
Can a lawyer serve as both the executor of an estate and the attorney for that estate, and collect a fee for each role?
Yes to both. The committee concluded a lawyer may serve in the dual capacity of executor and attorney for the same estate, and may be paid a fee for each position, provided the lawyer complies with th…
If one lawyer in a public defender's office withdraws from representing a co-defendant because of a conflict, may another lawyer from the same office take over the representation?
No. The committee concluded that a public defender's office is to be treated as a law firm or association under DR 5-105(D), so when one assistant public defender must withdraw from representing co-de…
May an attorney recommend title insurance to a client and then act as both title examiner and agent for the title insurance company in the same real estate or loan transaction?
Yes, with full disclosure. The committee, adopting ABA Formal Opinion 331 and expressly replacing and withdrawing its earlier Opinion 281, concluded that under DR 5-101(A) and DR 5-104(A) an attorney …
May a lawyer employ as an associate a referee of the Court of Criminal Appeals, or appear before city bodies when an officemate is the city's assistant city manager?
No to both. A referee of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals is barred by statute (20 O.S.1971, § 50) and by the Code of Judicial Conduct from practicing law, so a lawyer may not associate with him…
May a lawyer who is also a title insurance company agent solicit and write title insurance on property purchased by the lawyer's client or on which the lawyer rendered a title opinion?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may serve as a title insurance company's soliciting or issuing agent while practicing law, provided the second business is conducted under the Code's standards (n…
Can a firm take a matter adverse to a former client of a lawyer who once shared offices under the firm name, and can a lawyer-witness's partner serve as advocate where the firm's testimony is essential?
On Inquiry 1, no: a lawyer who held himself out under the firm's name (cards, stationery, pleadings) is treated as an associate, so the former client is treated as the firm's client, and the firm shou…
May a part-time municipal judge who also keeps a private practice represent a client trying to get a platted street in that same municipality vacated?
No. The committee concluded that because the public at large of the municipality occupies a position at least equivalent to a client of the municipal judge, and the city may oppose vacating a street, …
May one attorney represent both the husband and the wife in a divorce where the pleadings put them in an adversary position?
No. The committee concluded that an attorney who filed the divorce petition for the plaintiff-wife became disqualified from also representing the defendant-husband and filing a responsive pleading in …
Under a court's 'own recognizance' release system, may a lawyer enter a guilty plea or pay a client's fine to keep his OR privileges if the client fails to appear?
No. The committee concluded that entering a guilty plea without the client's knowledge and consent, and paying the resulting fine and costs to preserve the lawyer's 'OR' privileges, are both unethical…
Can the lawyer for an estate's executrix also represent the sole legatee defending the will against common-law-marriage claimants?
No. The committee concluded that, given the potential conflict between the executrix's duty to administer the estate lawfully and the sole legatee's interest in upholding the will against the common-l…
Can a lawyer serve as a Selective Service Government Appeals Agent when the role requires protecting both the registrant and the Government?
Yes, but only with clear up-front disclosure. The committee concluded the role is incompatible with an attorney-client relationship, so the lawyer had to tell both the registrant and the Government at…
May a lawyer (or a partner of a lawyer) who represents a city board appear before other boards or commissions of the same city, and does it matter whether he is paid by retainer or by the case?
The committee concluded that because the board is not autonomous from the city, the conflict-of-interest rule (Canon 6) bars the board's attorney and his partner from representing clients before other…
May a lawyer who is a partner of, or shares an office with, an assistant district attorney accept appointment or employment to defend criminal cases?
A partner (or a lawyer sharing fees or client responsibility) may not, because the conflict is inherent and non-consentable; a lawyer who only shares office space, with no shared fees, responsibilitie…
May a part-time municipal-court judge whose court is not a court of record defend persons charged with crimes in other courts?
Largely no. The committee concluded that a court-not-of-record judge who tries misdemeanors and binds felony defendants over should scrupulously avoid accepting criminal defense work, except to accept…
May a lawyer who sits on the state Pardon and Parole Board, or a member of his firm, represent defendants in criminal cases in state court?
No. The committee concluded that because the State is interested adversely to a convicted person seeking clemency, a lawyer on the Pardon and Parole Board (or a member of his firm) who represents crim…
May a bank's salaried trust officer who is also a lawyer give legal advice to bank patrons, and may the bank advertise his name as performing those services?
No. The committee concluded that an attorney-trust officer giving the public advice that constitutes the practice of law is unethical, that he may not let the bank use his name in advertising such ser…
May a person qualified as both lawyer and doctor hold out in both professions, are all firm members responsible for one member's misconduct, and may a building be named 'Medical-Legal Building'?
The committee concluded that a lawyer-physician must choose to hold out as one or the other because practicing both is too fraught with conflicts and confidentiality dangers; that firm members who kno…
May a lawyer own an interest in an abstract company, and may he let his name appear as 'General Counsel' in the abstract company's advertisements?
Owning an interest is fine in itself, but it must not be used to solicit law business. The committee concluded that letting the lawyer's name appear as 'General Counsel' in an abstract company's adver…
May a lawyer have his wife post a client's bond, take a fee for referring clients to a bondsman, or run property through a bondsman to leave a bond insecure?
No to all three. The committee concluded a lawyer cannot do indirectly through his wife what he is barred from doing directly; that taking a referral fee from a bondsman is unethical under Canons 6 an…
May a former prosecutor who resisted a defendant's insanity defense later represent that defendant, in private practice, in a proceeding to be restored to competency?
No. The committee concluded that Canon 36 bars a lawyer who held public office from later taking employment connected with a matter he investigated or passed on while in office, and that the former pr…
May a lawyer appointed Acting County Attorney keep a separate law office and a private practice?
Yes. The committee concluded an Acting County Attorney appointed under 19 O.S.A. § 187 may, and indeed should, maintain a separate office for private practice, but must avoid any employment in which h…
May a finance company's lawyer arrange and pay for its debtor's bankruptcy so the debt survives, and may the debtor's own lawyer take that payment?
No. The committee concluded the arrangement indicates a Canon 6 violation; the finance company's lawyer cannot also represent the debtor, the debtor's lawyer accepting the company's payment cannot giv…
When a firm member is the city attorney, may the firm represent private clients before the city council, its boards, or the municipal court?
No. The committee concluded such representation violates Canon 6's bar on conflicting interests; because the city attorney himself could not appear, neither can his partners, since one partner's canon…
May a part-time assistant county attorney privately represent a beer-license applicant in a hearing his own office has a duty to contest?
No. The committee concluded the representation would violate Canon 6's bar on representing conflicting interests; full-time assistants cannot practice privately at all, and even a statutorily permitte…
May a lawyer who once represented an estate's administratrix later represent heirs in a proceeding against her?
No. The committee concluded that a lawyer who formerly represented the administratrix may not represent heirs against her, even if she reposed no confidences in him, because he was in a position to ac…
May the oil-lease purchaser's lawyer file the sale petition in a guardianship or estate that already has its own attorney of record?
The committee said the petition should formally be filed by the estate's attorney of record, though the purchaser's lawyer may draft documents and cooperate; the purchaser's lawyer must not put the sa…
May a lawyer defend a suit brought by someone who earlier consulted his partner about bringing that same suit but did not retain the firm over a fee disagreement?
It depends. The committee concluded the firm is disqualified only if the partner received information helpful to the defense; if the partner did not discuss the merits or acquire usable facts, the def…
Can a lawyer who serves as a justice of the peace or police judge be a law partner, and can the partner file cases in that judge's court?
No. The committee withdrew Opinion 162 after finding a controlling statute it had overlooked: a justice of the peace may not office with an attorney, so he cannot be a law partner, and both questions …
Is a lawyer who passively owns part of the insurance agency that wrote a defendant's liability policy disqualified from suing that defendant?
No. The committee concluded there is no conflict of interest because the lawyer never had an attorney-client relationship with the insurer; under Canon 6, disqualification for conflicting interests re…
May a lawyer practice in a court where his law partner sits as the part-time judge (justice of the peace or police judge)?
No, as to that court. The committee concluded the partnership itself was proper since the part-time judge could practice in other courts, but the partner could not practice in the court over which the…
Is a lawyer disqualified from representing a surviving partner in litigation, and what happens if the lawyer may be a witness?
On the facts given, the committee found no apparent conflict under Canon 6, so the lawyer was not disqualified from representing the surviving partner; it cautioned that if the lawyer became a necessa…
May a county attorney (prosecutor) use the threat of criminal charges to collect a private debt, such as a bad check?
No. The committee concluded that an assistant county attorney who used his office to compel payment of a private bad-check debt by threatening criminal prosecution acted unethically and was subject to…
May a lawyer represent a claimant against a former employer when, before admission to the bar, the lawyer investigated and handled that same claim as the employer's lay claim agent?
The committee concluded no, without the former employer's consent. A claim agent who investigated a claim acquires confidential information so nearly like that of a lawyer that Canon 6's bar on repres…
After examining a title for a prospective purchaser and noting defects, may the lawyer take a fee from the seller to cure those same defects?
The Board concluded he may, but only by the express consent of all concerned given after a full disclosure of the facts, under Rule 8.
Must a criminal-defense lawyer withdraw from defending a man accused of embezzling school funds after the lawyer is later appointed attorney for the school board?
The Board concluded he should withdraw. Representing the board generally while defending a person charged with embezzling its funds would create at least the appearance of impropriety.
After leaving office, may a former county attorney represent a divorcing wife against a husband he once prosecuted in a bastardy proceeding involving the same couple?
The Board concluded it depends. If the divorce is wholly dissociated from the bastardy matter he prosecuted, he may accept; if the divorce facts are associated with facts he investigated in office, Ru…
After leaving office, may a former county attorney represent a private client in a civil damage suit arising out of a collision caused by a crime he prosecuted in office?
The Board concluded he may not. The damage suit could not be dissociated from the facts of the collision he had prosecuted, so Rule 38 barred him from accepting the private employment.
When may an office-sharing lawyer take a suit related to a matter his office-mate handled, and when is the original lawyer disqualified from the other side?
The Board concluded an office-mate may take the suit if the original lawyer is not disqualified, but that lawyer may not represent the opposing side if he learned related confidences representing the …
Can a lawyer who once represented an estate's administrator later sue an heir's share in that same, still-open estate for a creditor?
Yes. The Board concluded that a lawyer who briefly represented an administrator and withdrew may later accept employment from a creditor seeking to reach an heir's contingent share; nothing in Rule 8 …
Can a former prosecutor sue on a note for the defense fees in a case he once prosecuted?
Yes. The Board concluded that a former County Attorney suing on a note given for defense fees in a bastardy case he prosecuted does not violate Rule 38, because he never passed on the facts of the not…
Can a former judge be retained in a case that was pending before him if he never ruled on its merits?
Yes. The Board concluded that a former district judge who only allowed a routine amended-petition filing, without passing on the merits, did not violate Rule 38 by later accepting employment in that c…
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Legal ethics opinions from the Oklahoma Bar Association 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.