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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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 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 an Oklahoma lawyer employ a suspended or disbarred former lawyer in the law office, and what duties may that person perform?
Yes, with strict limits. The committee concluded that it is not ethically improper or illegal for a licensed attorney to employ a suspended or disbarred former lawyer in the law office, but that perso…
May a lawyer represent a collection agency in suits to collect debts the agency is pursuing for creditors?
Only when the agency is itself the party. The committee concluded it is unprofessional for an attorney to represent a collection agency acting on behalf of a creditor other than itself, because the ar…
Does Opinion 260's ban on nonlawyers presenting court orders also bar licensed legal interns from appearing in court?
No. The committee clarified that Opinion 260's references to 'law interns' meant unlicensed law students or apprentices, not Legal Interns holding a limited license from the Oklahoma Supreme Court; ac…
May a lawyer compile and sell to the public a manual of small claims procedures and practices?
Yes. The committee concluded a lawyer may ethically compile and sell a procedural manual or reference book to the public, provided there is no unethical advertising or solicitation in its content or m…
Can a lawyer have a secretary or other nonlawyer staff file papers and present orders to a judge for signature in divorce or probate matters?
Filing papers and similar ministerial courthouse tasks are fine, but the committee concluded a nonlawyer may not present pleadings or orders to a judge for signature, because that can call for profess…
Can lawyers form a for-profit business trust that performs and financially backs their title-opinion work and markets title services to the public?
No. The committee concluded the proposed 'Attorney's Title Opinion Fund' would be a lay agency performing legal services for profit and would inevitably act as a feeder for its members' private practi…
May a lawyer take collection suits referred by a credit bureau that deals directly with the lawyer, advances costs, and is paid from any recovery, while the creditor has no direct contact with the lawyer?
Only under strict conditions. The committee concluded that the lawyer may not divide legal fees with the lay agency, must form a direct attorney-client relationship with the creditor rather than let t…
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 lawyer let his name appear on a government agency's list of 'qualified examiners,' and may a lay company advertise 'Bonded-Lawyers' on a form it gives its customers?
No to both. The committee concluded that letting one's name appear on the FAA's list of qualified examiners amounts to soliciting business in violation of Canon 27, and that a lay company's use of the…
May a lawyer be on the FAA's distributed list of 'qualified examiners,' and may a lay company advertise 'Bonded-Lawyers' on its order forms?
No to both. The committee concluded that appearing on the FAA's distributed examiner list is soliciting business under Canon 27, and that a lay company's 'Bonded-Lawyers' advertising flagrantly violat…
May a law firm list itself in the telephone directory under the heading 'Adjuster' without noting that its members are lawyers?
No. The committee concluded the listing violated Canon 27, because claims adjusting is so closely tied to the practice of law that an attorney doing it would inevitably be practicing law, and such spe…
May a lawyer run newspaper ads offering 'Income Tax Service' if the ads omit that he is an attorney?
No. The committee concluded that the ads flagrantly violated Canon 27, and that leaving out the lawyer's profession was a mere subterfuge to evade the canons; a lawyer performing tax work that is gene…
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 lawyer who has just become a judge finish the cases he had pending in state courts when he took the bench?
No. The committee concluded that a newly appointed judge of a court of record cannot complete cases pending in any Oklahoma state court, because a sitting judge is barred from practicing law; he may o…
May a county judge who is a lawyer prepare income tax returns for individuals?
No. The committee concluded that when a lawyer, judge or not, accepts employment to prepare income tax returns, he is practicing law; and because a sitting judge is forbidden by the Oklahoma Constitut…
May a county bar association run newspaper ads urging the public to use a lawyer to prepare their legal papers?
Yes. The committee concluded such institutional, educational advertising by the organized bar does not violate the Canons, adopting ABA Opinion 179's conditions, provided it teaches the value of preve…
May a lawyer provide legal services to members of an automobile club under a membership plan where the club pays for and limits the fee?
The committee concluded a lawyer may serve a club on matters common to all members, but furnishing legal services to individual members on their own affairs through the club ran afoul of Canon 35's ba…
What are a lawyer's duties when a non-lawyer takes a case in the lawyer's absence and signs the lawyer's name to court papers?
The non-lawyer's conduct is the unlawful practice of law. If the lawyer authorized it he aided UPL and violated Rule 29; if he did not, he should proceed for the innocent client but tell the non-lawye…
Can a lawyer take charge of a merchants' association's collections on a contingent basis?
The Board concluded that if the work includes legal services such as forcing collections by suit it violates Rules 29 and 37; collecting accounts without suit is not the practice of law, but a lawyer …
Can a non-lawyer represent an individual or a corporation in a justice of the peace court?
The Board concluded a non-member of the State Bar may not lawfully represent an individual or corporation, as agent or otherwise, in a justice of the peace court, and doing so is a misdemeanor; a corp…
Can a justice of the peace who is also a lawyer draw pleadings and run a collection business in his own court?
The Board concluded the practice was indefensible: it was the practice of law, violated Canon 31 of the Judicial Ethics canons barring a judge from practicing in his own court, and ran afoul of a stat…
Is a debt-adjustment company practicing law, and may a lawyer represent such a company that gets its clients through newspaper ads?
The Board concluded the debt-adjustment plan was the practice of law, so it would be unethical for a lawyer to handle the business of such a company; the lawyer would be aiding a lay agency in the pra…
Can a lawyer contract with a lay membership association to represent its individual members at a discounted fee?
The Board concluded the arrangement would violate the Rules of Professional Conduct: it would amount to the practice of law by a lay organization, and the lawyer would be soliciting business by indire…
Is it improper for a law firm to arrange in advance that a justice of the peace will enter default judgments and continue contested cases, and does the justice practice law by doing so?
The Board found no real ethical question presented for the attorneys, and concluded the justice of the peace was not engaged in the practice of law and was a judicial officer over whom the Board had n…
Can an out-of-state law firm whose members are all non-residents maintain a permanent office in the state and engage in general practice?
The Board concluded no. Non-resident lawyers maintaining a state office and conducting general practice are practicing law unlawfully under Sections 46 and 48; comity permits only appearing in a parti…
Can a lawyer about to take office as county judge keep handling collection accounts he took in before taking the bench?
The Board concluded he should not. Although merely collecting accounts is not the practice of law, statute bars a county judge from practicing law, and public policy means a county judge should not en…
Is a lawyer's enlarged or multi-heading telephone-directory listing improper advertising, and does a lay insurance adjuster who tries workers' compensation cases practice law?
The Board concluded both are improper. A paid directory listing in distinctive type or under multiple headings is advertising barred by Rule 29, and a lay insurance representative who tries cases befo…
Does an accounting firm that prepares incorporation papers and secures business licenses for corporate clients engage in the unauthorized practice of law?
Yes. The Board concluded that incorporating companies and securing foreign-corporation licenses requires legal knowledge and constitutes practicing law, so an accounting firm doing this as a regular p…
Can a trust company solicit will business by mail, and what is the position of its lawyer trust officer who takes part in the plan?
The Board of Governors concluded that if the trust company drafts wills or advises on them, it engages in the unauthorized practice of law, and the lawyer trust officer who participates is a party to …
Does a real estate corporation engage in the unauthorized practice of law by giving its customers legal advice through a publication it distributes?
The Board of Governors concluded yes. A lay corporation that, through a periodical sent to its customers, gives legal advice about their rights (such as how to evict a tenant) is rendering a service i…
Can a corporation have a regular employee, who is not a lawyer, file and handle its cases in a justice-of-the-peace court?
The Board of Governors concluded no. While an individual plaintiff or defendant may appear in person before a justice of the peace, a corporation cannot appear through a non-lawyer employee; it can ap…
What counts as the practice of law under the State Bar Act's prohibition on unauthorized practice?
The Board of Governors defined the practice of law as any service involving legal knowledge, whether representation, counsel, or advocacy, in or out of court, rendered in respect of the rights, duties…
Can a non-lawyer practice before a justice of the peace, and can a lawyer give a layman a power of attorney to sign pleadings and commence lawsuits in the lawyer's name?
The Board of Governors concluded no on both points. A non-member of the State Bar who practices before a justice of the peace commits a misdemeanor, and a lawyer who delegates authority to a layman to…
Can a corporation set up an in-house legal department and advertise legal services to the public by employing licensed lawyers to do the work?
The Board of Governors concluded no. A corporation that furnishes legal services to its customers through employed lawyers is engaged in the unauthorized practice of law in violation of Section 48 of …
Can a disbarred or suspended lawyer working as a 'legal assistant' question a witness at a deposition if a licensed attorney supervises?
No. The committee concluded that a suspended or disbarred lawyer who conducts the questioning of a witness at a deposition, even under a licensed attorney's supervision, engages in the unauthorized pr…
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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.