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 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…
May a law firm keep the name of a deceased or retired partner in the firm name?
Yes. The committee concluded that DR 2-102(B) permits a firm to continue using the name of one or more deceased or retired members 'if otherwise lawful,' which it read to mean permitted unless specifi…
May a lawyer who employs one or more other lawyers practice under a name using the word 'Associates' after his own name, such as 'John Doe and Associates'?
Yes, in defined circumstances. The committee, following ABA Formal Opinions 310 and 318, concluded that 'John Doe and Associates' is proper where a sole practitioner employs other attorneys, but impro…
May an individual attorney form a professional corporation that then becomes a partner in the law partnership in which the attorney was formerly a partner?
Yes. The committee concluded that a professional corporation organized to render legal services under the Oklahoma Professional Corporation Act is not a 'non-lawyer' within DR 3-101, 3-102, or 3-103, …
May a lawyer show earned law degrees (J.D., LL.M., S.J.D.) on letterhead and use the title 'Doctor'?
Yes. Superseding its earlier Opinion 247, the committee concluded that under DR 2-102(F) a lawyer may show earned law degrees (LL.B., J.D., LL.M., S.J.D.) on his letterhead, card, office sign, and sig…
May a lawyer who is also a CPA display both certificates in his office, list under both yellow-pages headings, and sign tax returns 'CPA'?
Yes to all three. The committee concluded a lawyer-CPA may display his bar and CPA certificates in his private office, list under both yellow-pages headings (with no cross-reference and neither listin…
Under the Code of Professional Responsibility, may a lawyer who is also an accountant hold out and practice in both professions?
Yes, within limits. Adopting ABA Formal Opinion 328 and overruling its older Advisory Opinion 208, the committee concluded the Code does not bar a lawyer from also practicing another profession or bus…
Is a large, eye-catching attorney 'shingle' placed among commercial signs near a shopping-center thoroughfare, far from the office, improper advertising?
Yes. The committee concluded that a prominent, eye-catching attorney 'shingle' placed about 150 feet from the office among eight commercial advertising signs near a shopping-center thoroughfare did no…
May a lawyers' professional corporation list its name ending in 'Inc.' in the telephone directory?
Yes. The committee concluded a lawyers' professional corporation may be listed in the classified and alphabetical sections of the telephone directory ending with 'Corp.' or 'Inc.', but if it elects su…
May a lawyer be listed as an attorney in a new toll-free area-wide telephone directory that also covers towns where the lawyer has no office?
Yes. The committee held that a lawyer who maintains a bona fide office or residence anywhere within the area covered by a new toll-free area-wide directory may be listed in it, and the old 'exchange a…
What telephone directory listing details may a lawyer or firm use, such as alternate listings, bold type, extra address lines, or after-hours numbers?
The committee concluded that a lawyer's directory listing must look like every other lawyer's: no alternate listings, no listing firm members' names under the firm name, no bold or unusual type, no pa…
May a lawyer list his graduate degrees, or use 'Doctor' or 'Dr.' before his name, on his shingle, professional card, or letterhead?
No. The committee concluded that using degrees or the title 'Doctor' on a shingle, card, or letterhead, or in introductions, is improper self-laudation under Canon 27; such distinctions may appear onl…
Who may receive a lawyer's professional announcement, what occasions justify one, what may it contain, and how should deceased partners or those on leave be shown?
The committee concluded that announcements may go to clients, relatives, and personal friends but not casual acquaintances; that a departing associate may send them to a former firm's clients only whe…
May a law firm put its name and occupation on office windows and doors, and on how many, and what wording may a shingle carry?
A single proper professional sign may mark the office entrance, but the committee concluded that placing the firm name on additional doors or windows is unethical, that a shingle may carry only the la…
May a lawyer or firm list their names in the classified or alphabetical sections of a telephone directory, including in exchange areas where they have no office?
A uniform classified listing in the lawyer's own exchange area is proper, but classified listings outside that area are improper. The committee concluded an individual lawyer (but not a firm) may list…
May a lawyer in general practice be named as 'counsel' in a savings and loan association's published statement of condition or newspaper advertisement?
No. Following ABA Informal Decision No. 645, the committee concluded that publishing the name of the general counsel of a corporation, bank, or savings and loan association in any advertisement, lette…
May a lawyer buy a listing in a paid classified directory published by a private firm that solicited him?
No. The committee concluded that under Canon 43 a paid listing in such a private classified directory is clearly prohibited; the only permitted listings are a simple yellow-pages entry, legitimate cit…
May a lawyer have his name listed under more than one classification in a city directory's classified section?
No. The committee concluded that a lawyer may not appear under more than one classification, whether or not an extra charge applies, because directory listing is proper only when all local Bar members…
May a lawyer be listed in a civic club or Chamber of Commerce directory if he pays an extra fee, or if the directory circulates outside the membership?
No to the paid listing: the committee concluded that under Canon 43 a lawyer may not purchase a directory listing except in an approved law list. If the directory circulates beyond the membership, a c…
May a lawyer submit biographical data to a 'Who's Who' type directory when listing requires paying a fee or buying a copy of the publication?
No. The committee concluded that a lawyer may not submit biographical data to a 'Who's Who' type publication if he must pay a fee or, as a prerequisite, must subscribe to purchase the completed volume…
May a lawyer publish a notice in a general-circulation legal newspaper announcing availability to serve other lawyers in a specialized field, and may the notice describe his past industry experience?
No on both counts. The committee concluded that Canon 46 permits such an announcement only in a true local legal journal sent to lawyers, not in a paper of general circulation like the Daily Legal New…
May lawyers form a professional corporation under Oklahoma's Professional Corporation Act and practice law in that form?
Not yet, at the time. The committee concluded that practicing law as a professional corporation does not itself violate the canons, but because the canons do not affirmatively permit it and corporate …
May a lawyer who is also a CPA practice law while holding himself out as an accountant on his door, letterhead, or elsewhere?
No. The committee concluded a lawyer-accountant must choose one profession to hold himself out in; practicing law while advertising as an accountant would indirectly solicit law business in violation …
May a lawyer's professional card use the title 'Judge' and describe him as an 'Experienced Receiver'?
No. The committee concluded both are improper under Canon 27; a simple professional card may carry only the lawyer's name, address, telephone, associates or firm, and a plain designation of his profes…
May a law firm publish or distribute announcements of a reorganization, new partners, or a change of address in a legal journal, and may those announcements list the firm's fields of practice?
No to the published versions. The committee concluded that Canon 27 bars publishing such announcements anywhere except an approved law list, and that listing the firm's areas of practice is improper s…
May a lawyer list fields of practice like 'Probate, Land Titles, Corporations' and 'General Practice in All Courts' on his letterhead?
No. The committee concluded that listing fields of practice on a letterhead represents that the lawyer is especially qualified in those fields and is a form of advertising barred by Canon 27, whose on…
May a lawyer state on his letterhead that he is also 'counsel' for a high-ranking state official?
No. The committee concluded that noting on a letterhead that the lawyer is 'counsel' for a top state official is a form of advertising, because it suggests special political or legal qualifications, a…
May a law firm call itself 'John Doe and Associates'?
No. The committee concluded that the firm name 'John Doe and Associates' is improper under Canon 33, because 'associates' is misleading and amounts to a trade name barred in the selection and use of a…
May a lawyer call himself a 'tax attorney' or 'corporation lawyer' on his letterhead or shingle, or let a civic club list him that way in its roster?
No on the letterhead, office door, or shingle: designating a special branch is indirect advertising barred by Canon 27. But a civic club may list him by occupational branch in its members' roster, as …
May a municipal criminal court judge practice law or keep his name in the firm name, and does long-standing custom excuse it?
No. The committee concluded the municipal criminal court is a court of record, so its judge may not practice law during his term; he may not keep his name in the firm name or on letterhead under Canon…
May a law firm's letterhead advertise that its members are former public officials, such as an ex-judge or ex-U.S. Commissioner?
No. The committee concluded that a letterhead calling attention to members being ex-officeholders was self-laudation and indirect advertising that violated Canon 27.
May a surviving partner keep using a firm name that includes a deceased partner's name?
The Committee concluded the continued use is not unethical in itself where local custom permits it, but it is improper where the firm name would mislead by representing that the deceased is still a me…
Can a lawyer keep a card in a city directory if he trims it to just his name and 'Attorney and Counsellor at Law'?
No. The Board concluded that even a pared-down card in a city directory violates Rules 29 and 45, because a city directory whose circulation is not confined to lawyers is not a reputable law list or d…
Can a lawyer run a professional card listing his specialties in a city directory aimed at the public?
No. The Board concluded that a card noting special branches of practice may go only in a reputable law list circulated among lawyers, not in a city directory aimed at the public; the directory card wa…
Can a law firm list an 'Insurance Adjustment Department' and the names of non-lawyer adjusters on its letterhead?
A firm may note an insurance-adjustment department with a bar member's name, since claim adjustment is professional employment; but listing non-lawyer adjusters' names on the letterhead is objectionab…
What must a lawyer do when his name keeps appearing in law lists that the bar has not approved as reputable?
He must promptly act to discontinue the listing; under amended Rule 45 a lawyer who permits his card to continue in an unapproved publication after notice is guilty of unprofessional conduct, and unap…
Could a lawyer have a professional card published in a newspaper, even free of charge, without violating the ethics rules?
The Board concluded no. Under amended Rule 29, a lawyer's card could be published only in an approved law list or directory; publishing cards in newspapers, with or without charge, was prohibited.
After a law partner dies, can the surviving partner keep using the firm name to finish the partnership's unfinished business?
The Board concluded the deceased partner's name could be used only for the limited time needed to wind up the former partnership's unfinished business, signed as 'Blank and Blank by Blank (surviving p…
Could a former judge hold himself out as 'associate counsel' to his old partners while still taking cases against their clients, or against them, when he was not called into the matter?
The Board concluded the arrangement was improper. Holding out as associate counsel to the former partners while opposing their clients in matters he was not called into would tend to bring reproach up…
After a senior partner left the firm to take a quasi-judicial public office, could the firm keep his name in the firm name and on its stationery?
The Board concluded no. Because the former partner now held a quasi-judicial office before which the firm could appear, Rule 35 barred keeping his name in the firm name or on the stationery.
Can a lawyer let an out-of-state collection agency use his office address and building directory as a Tulsa branch office?
The Board concluded it was improper, because the lawyer would be aiding the collection agency in creating the false impression of a Tulsa branch office it did not maintain, contrary to Rule 17's bar o…
Can a law firm add a salaried lawyer's name to the firm name and hold him out as a partner when he is only an employee?
The Board of Governors concluded no. Holding a salaried employee out as a full partner misrepresents his standing to the public and violates Rule 34 (formerly ABA Canon 32).
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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.