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 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…
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 …
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 an assistant district attorney also keep a private practice, and is a judge disqualified from hearing cases where his former law partner appears as counsel?
The committee concluded that an assistant DA paid over 65% of the DA's salary may not engage in private practice (under 19 O.S. 215.15), while one paid 65% or less may handle civil cases not in confli…
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 lawyer in the National Guard or military Reserve, while on drill or short active duty, perform civilian legal work (wills, abstracts, personal legal problems) for unit personnel?
No. The committee concluded that using a Reserve or Guard lawyer's active-duty time to render personal civilian legal services to unit personnel defeats the purpose of that duty and is improper, in th…
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 lawyer write directly to a town board that is represented by counsel to criticize its decision to appeal his case?
No. The committee concluded that writing directly to the represented town board violated Canon 9; once litigation has begun, contact with the adversary must go through its counsel, and the fact that t…
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 part-time city attorney run a private practice from his City Hall office and put a shingle by the door?
Yes. The committee concluded that because a small-town city attorney's salary contemplates simultaneous private practice, conducting that practice from a City Hall office is not unethical if the city …
May a lawyer running for office note on campaign literature that he is a bar member and held legal-type posts in veterans' groups?
Yes. The committee concluded that a lawyer genuinely seeking office may state his profession and his memberships and offices, including legal-type posts in veterans' organizations, on campaign literat…
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…
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.
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…
Could a sitting mayor take an assigned share of the contingent fee in the city's own litigation and then vote, as a commissioner, on its settlement?
No. The Board condemned a mayor who took an assigned interest in the contingent fee for the city's litigation while on the city commission, then voted on the settlement; it violated Oklahoma public po…
Could a lawyer who serves as president of a town's board of trustees also be the town's paid attorney in its legal work?
No. The Board concluded that a lawyer serving as president of an incorporated town's board of trustees could not be paid to represent the town as its attorney, because a Oklahoma statute voids any con…
May a former city attorney who defended the city in nuisance suits over its sewage plant later represent those same plaintiffs suing the city for continuing the same nuisance?
The Board concluded no. Under Rules 38 and 8, a former city attorney could not accept employment against the city in a matter he had passed upon and defended while in office, even for damages arising …
May a lawyer employed by the State Banking Department as a liquidating agent take a client's case suing the State on relation of the bank commissioner over a different insolvent bank?
The Board concluded yes, but only if the lawyer had not obtained any information about the facts of the proposed suit through his department employment; if he had, accepting the case would be improper…
Can a former judge accept employment as a lawyer in a child-custody matter whose merits he decided while sitting as a judge?
No. The Board concluded a former judge could not represent the grandmother seeking custody of a child where, as a sitting Superior Court judge, he had decided the merits of the same custody controvers…
After leaving the bench, may a former county judge represent a later-appointed estate administrator in an appeal over that administrator's appointment, when the judge earlier admitted the will and appointed the first administrator?
The Board concluded yes. Rule 38 barred a former judge only from matters he had investigated or passed upon while in office; because he never acted on the merits of the last administrator's appointmen…
Could a newly appointed county attorney prosecute an embezzlement case against a person he had already sued and obtained a civil judgment against, while still trying to collect that judgment?
The Board concluded he could not properly conduct the prosecution, because his personal interest in collecting the related civil judgment made the situation too susceptible of misconstruction under Ru…
When a lawyer becomes a judge of a court of record, what happens to his bar membership and may he still handle cases like uncontested divorces?
The Board concluded that becoming a judge of a court of record only suspended the lawyer's right to practice during his term; he remained a State Bar member, paid active-member fees unless enrolled as…
Could a former county attorney, after leaving office, defend the very people he had charged and bound over while serving as prosecutor?
The Board concluded no. Under Rule 38, a lawyer who investigated or passed upon a matter while in public office could not, after retirement, accept employment connected with that matter, so the former…
When is a former judge barred from later serving as an advocate because he previously acted on the merits of the matter in a judicial capacity?
The Board adopted the ABA's interpretation: a former judge must refrain from representing a party in any matter involving the same facts he acted upon judicially, and a judge acts on the merits when h…
Does the no-contact rule barring communication with a represented party apply to a county attorney trying to get a represented defendant to plead guilty?
The Board concluded yes. Rule 11 applied to all bar members, including county attorneys, so a county attorney violated it by communicating with a represented defendant about the charges without counse…
Could a lawyer represent debtors before a bankruptcy Conciliation Commissioner while remaining a law partner of the lawyer who held that office?
The Board concluded no. So long as the partnership continued and one partner served as Conciliation Commissioner, the other partner could not with propriety represent debtors under Section 75 of the B…
Can a lawyer who is the city's mayor also serve as city prosecutor in a municipal court whose judge he appoints and can remove?
The Board condemned the practice: because the mayor-prosecutor appointed and could remove the municipal judge and once had a per-conviction fee interest, the arrangement offended due process under Tum…
Can a city attorney defend city council members and officers when taxpayers sue them over a settlement the council approved?
The Board concluded the city attorney could, with propriety, represent the officers and council members in defending a taxpayer suit that challenged a settlement the council had approved by resolution…
Does opposing counsel's consent let a former city attorney take a case barred by the former-government-lawyer rule?
The Board concluded no. Rule 38 admits no exception and Rule 8's consent provision does not apply, because the prohibition rests on public policy that consent cannot waive.
Can a former city attorney who investigated a malpractice case while representing the city later represent the plaintiff against the codefendant doctors?
The Board concluded no. Under Rule 38 the former city attorney could not accept the retainer, because he investigated the facts in his official capacity, and taking the case would risk using official-…
Can an ex-county attorney who only perfected an appeal while in office, without investigating the facts, later be employed in that same case?
The Board concluded no. Under Rule 38 a former public officer cannot accept employment in a matter he passed on in office; the prohibition is broad and does not turn on how extensive his participation…
Can a lawyer whose firm holds civil claims against bank officers also be hired as a special prosecutor in the criminal case against those same officers?
The Board concluded it would be improper. A firm with civil claims against the same defendants should not accept employment to assist in their criminal prosecution, because the profession must avoid e…
Can a former judge or former county attorney accept private employment in a matter he investigated, passed on, or decided while in office?
The Board concluded no. Rule 38 bars a lawyer from acting as an advocate in a matter on whose merits he previously acted in a judicial capacity, or from accepting employment connected with a matter he…
Can a county attorney accept compensation from a crime victim in connection with the prosecution of the alleged offender?
The Board of Governors concluded no. In counties where county attorneys were prohibited from private practice, demanding or accepting compensation for legal services or a reward for official acts was …
Does the lawyer-as-witness rule apply to a county attorney who testifies in a criminal case and then continues to prosecute it?
The Board of Governors concluded yes. Rule 21, which directed a lawyer-witness to leave the trial to other counsel, applied to county attorneys and their assistants in criminal cases with the same for…
Does the lawyer-as-witness rule apply to a county attorney who testifies in a criminal case and then continues to prosecute it?
The Board of Governors concluded yes. Rule 21, which directed a lawyer-witness to leave the trial to other counsel, applied to county attorneys and their assistants in criminal cases with the same for…
Can a lawyer who serves on a city council represent private clients in that city's municipal courts?
No. The committee concluded that a lawyer who sits on the city council may not practice before that city's municipal courts, because the council selects, budgets for, and can remove the municipal judg…
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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.