Oregon State Bar Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Oregon State Bar, with full citations and source links on every page.
No Oregon State Bar opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Can one lawyer represent both spouses in an estate plan that requires them to waive their elective-share rights?
A lawyer may give both spouses general information about elective-share rights and waiver, and may advise on the estate plan after a waiver is executed, but advising both on whether to waive, or draft…
Can a plaintiff's lawyer personally agree to indemnify the defendant for the client's failure to repay Medicare or fund a Medicare set-aside as a settlement condition?
No. The opinion concludes a lawyer may not join the client in indemnifying the opposing party for the client's failure to reimburse a third-party payer like Medicare or to fund a set-aside; doing so m…
Can a hearings officer, agency adjudicator, or judge apply or negotiate for a government legal job while a matter involving the prospective employer is pending before them?
Under Oregon RPC 1.12(b), an adjudicator who participates personally and substantially in a matter may not negotiate for employment with a party or a party's lawyer in that matter, though merely apply…
Can a lawyer or firm represent two unrelated clients who take opposite positions on the same legal issue in different cases?
Often yes. The opinion concludes that taking inconsistent legal positions for unrelated clients in factually unrelated cases is not itself a conflict; a conflict arises only when the lawyer actually k…
Can a lawyer act as the client's lawyer and also as the real estate broker and mortgage broker in the same transaction?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes a lawyer may serve in multiple roles in the client's real estate transaction if substantive law allows it, but the personal-interest conflict under Oregon RPC 1.7…
Can a lawyer at a firm that represents a corporation also serve as the corporation's officer, director, or shareholder, and is the conflict imputed to the whole firm?
Qualified yes: a lawyer may serve as an officer, director, or shareholder of a corporate client, but where there is a significant risk the dual role will materially limit the representation the lawyer…
Can one lawyer represent both spouses together in a joint bankruptcy, in preparing their wills, and in their divorce?
The opinion concludes joint representation in a bankruptcy or wills is usually permissible with informed written consent because spouses' interests are typically aligned, but representing both spouses…
Can one lawyer represent more than one defendant in the same criminal case?
The opinion concludes usually no: in most criminal joint representations the lawyer would have to advance one client's interest (such as a plea deal to testify against the other) while opposing it for…
Can a lawyer who first reviewed coverage for an insurer then defend both the insurer and the insured in the underlying lawsuit under a reservation of rights?
The opinion concludes the lawyer may, but because the prior coverage work creates a significant risk of materially limiting the defense of the insured, the lawyer must reasonably believe both clients …
Can a lawyer represent two clients in a chain of debt, a creditor of a seller and the buyer being sued by that seller, when one client may only be paid if the other loses?
The opinion concludes it depends on the facts: there is no conflict if the middle party can pay the creditor regardless of the outcome, a waivable conflict if payment is doubtful, and a direct, noncon…
Can a lawyer who sits on a legal aid society's board represent a client opposing someone represented by one of the legal aid society's own staff lawyers?
The opinion concludes the board-member lawyer and the legal aid staff lawyer may each represent their respective clients in the same matter, because in the ordinary case the board role does not materi…
Can two Oregon lawyers who share office space represent opposing parties in the same lawsuit?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes office sharers may represent opposing parties if they do not hold out as one firm, keep their files separate, and protect each other's client confidences; if they…
Can a defense lawyer condition a settlement on the plaintiff's lawyer promising never to sue the defendant again?
No. The opinion concludes that conditioning a settlement on the plaintiff's lawyer agreeing not to sue the defendant in the future is a restriction on the lawyer's right to practice barred by RPC 5.6(…
Is an employee covered by a prepaid group legal-services plan automatically a client of the plan's law firm?
No. The opinion concludes a plan beneficiary is not per se a current client of the firm; the firm may oppose one covered employee on behalf of another it actually represents, because mere eligibility …
Can one part-time nonlawyer work for two Oregon firms that are on opposite sides of matters?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes that, unlike a shared lawyer (whose dual employment would create a non-waivable firm conflict), a shared nonlawyer is governed by RPC 5.3: dual employment is allo…
In an Oregon bankruptcy, can a lawyer represent the debtor and the debtor's creditors at once, or represent two creditors of the same debtor?
No to representing the debtor and that debtor's creditors together in the bankruptcy (a non-waivable conflict), but the lawyer may represent the debtor alone while keeping the creditors on unrelated m…
Can an Oregon lawyer represent both the issuer and the underwriter on the same municipal bond issue?
No. The opinion concludes that simultaneously representing the issuer and the underwriter in the same bond transaction is a non-consentable current-client conflict under RPC 1.7, because the lawyer wo…
Can an Oregon lawyer paid by an insurer represent both the insurer and the insured in a subrogation action against a third party?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes the lawyer may represent both where their interests do not appear to diverge, so long as the insured gives informed consent to the insurer paying the fee under RP…
Can an Oregon lawyer represent both the birth mother and the adopting parents in an adoption, or just the adopting parents when the lawyer formerly represented the birth mother?
No to joint representation, because the parties' interests are necessarily opposed and consent cannot cure it; yes to representing only the adopting parents, qualified, if the prior matter for the bir…
Is a public defender office treated as a law firm for conflicts, so that one lawyer's former-client conflict disqualifies the whole office, and does it change when the lawyer leaves?
Yes. A public defender organization is a firm under Oregon RPC 1.0(d), so a lawyer's former-client conflict under Oregon RPC 1.9 is imputed to the whole office under Oregon RPC 1.10(a) and cannot be c…
Can one lawyer represent both the driver and the passengers of the same car in injury claims against the other driver?
It depends on the issue. The opinion concludes a lawyer cannot represent both if the driver's liability to the passengers is genuinely in play (a possible nonwaivable conflict), may represent both for…
Can a defense lawyer send an insured client's detailed legal bills to the insurer's outside audit company, and may the lawyer ask the client to consent?
Not without consent if the bills contain protected information. The opinion concludes a lawyer may submit bills with no confidential information, but otherwise needs the insured's informed consent und…
If lawyers and firms are linked through 'of counsel' relationships, are their clients treated as one firm's clients for conflict-of-interest purposes?
Yes. The opinion concludes that an 'of counsel' lawyer is a member of the firm for conflict purposes, so firms and solo practices joined by of-counsel ties are treated as a single unit and their clien…
Can a lawyer who did joint estate planning for a married couple later represent one spouse against the other in their divorce?
It depends. The opinion concludes the lawyer may represent one former-client spouse in the dissolution without consent if the divorce is neither a matter-specific nor an information-specific former-cl…
Can a plaintiff's lawyer also represent the plaintiff's treating expert witness at the expert's deposition in the same case?
Yes, qualified. On these facts the interests of the plaintiff and her treating psychotherapist are not directly adverse and may be aligned, so there is no conflict under RPC 1.7 and no consent is requ…
When the only lawyer who worked on a client's matter leaves a firm and the client follows the lawyer, can the former firm later represent parties adverse to that client without consent?
Yes, qualified. Under RPC 1.10(b), once the lawyer who handled the client leaves and takes the client, the former firm needs the client's consent only if the new matter is the same or substantially re…
Can one lawyer represent several individuals together in forming a corporation or partnership?
It depends on the parties' interests. If, after reasonable inquiry, the would-be co-owners' interests are consistent with no material divergence, there is no conflict and the lawyer may represent all …
Can a part-time special prosecutor also represent private clients adverse to the state, city, or county, and can the prosecutor obtain an advance blanket waiver of future conflicts from the state?
Yes. A special prosecutor's only government client is the state, so the lawyer may represent private clients against the state in unrelated matters with the affected clients' written informed consent,…
When an insurer hires a lawyer to defend an insured under a reservation of rights, can the lawyer take a step that helps the insurer but cuts off the insured's defense or coverage?
No. A lawyer hired by an insurer to defend an insured has two clients, and where the insurer defends under a reservation of rights the insured is the primary client whose protection must be the lawyer…
When a lawyer moves between criminal defense practice, a district attorney's office, or the bench, which conflicts follow the lawyer, and when are they imputed to the new firm or curable by screening?
A lawyer carries former-client and former-government conflicts when switching sides, and may take a conflicting matter only with the affected clients' written informed consent. A defense lawyer's conf…
When a lawyer represents a personal representative or trustee, are the estate, trust, or beneficiaries also the lawyer's clients, and can the lawyer tell beneficiaries about the fiduciary's breach of duty?
A lawyer for a personal representative or trustee represents the fiduciary alone, not the estate, trust, or beneficiaries, so the current-client conflict rules do not bar representing one person who w…
Can a lawyer who represents a charity and sits on its board also represent a donor making a gift to the charity, or draft the donor's will naming the charity?
The lawyer may not represent both the charity and the donor in the gift transaction, because that is a nonwaivable conflict under RPC 1.7(a)(1) and (b)(3). The lawyer may represent only the donor in t…
Can a law firm represent criminal defendants when one of its lawyers is the city councilor or mayor and city police officers will be witnesses?
Yes, qualified. The city is not the firm's client, so RPC 1.7(a)(1) does not apply, and cross-examining a city police officer does not by itself create a conflict; the firm should watch for personal r…
Can a lawyer who serves as a part-time municipal judge represent private clients before the town council or defend a client by cross-examining police officers who appear before that judge?
Qualified yes to both: neither representation is barred outright, and on the facts given there is no RPC 1.7 conflict (one client per matter) and no improper use of public office, but the lawyer must …
If an Oregon lawyer gets an advance conflict waiver from a prospective client, can the lawyer or firm later represent the opposing party?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes the lawyer and firm may represent the opposing party if no disqualifying information was received, or if it was, only where RPC 1.18(d)'s conditions (mutual infor…
Are advance or blanket waivers of future conflicts enforceable for an Oregon lawyer, and can a firm rely on them?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes advance conflict waivers are permissible if the lawyer adequately explains the material risks and alternatives; enforceability turns on the waiver's specificity, …
If a current client files a bar complaint against the lawyer but does not fire the lawyer, must the lawyer withdraw from the case?
No, qualified. The opinion concludes a client's bar complaint does not require withdrawal and is not a per se conflict; the lawyer must withdraw only if the complaint creates a significant risk that a…
Can an Oregon lawyer advance a litigation client's living expenses, post bail, or pay the lawyer's own investigation costs?
It depends on the advance. The opinion concludes advancing living expenses risks a conflict under RPC 1.7(a)(2) and is allowed only as modest gifts to indigent clients under RPC 1.8(e)(3); advancing b…
Can an Oregon lawyer own an outside business that does deals with the lawyer's clients, and advise those clients on the deals?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes nothing bars a lawyer from owning other businesses, but advising a client on a transaction with the lawyer's own enterprise requires satisfying the personal-inter…
Can a tax lawyer buy a nonlawyer's tax preparation business, and what solicitation and conflict limits apply afterward?
Yes: nothing in the rules or ORS chapter 9 bars a lawyer from buying a business, but the lawyer may not use the acquisition for improper solicitation (such as conditioning the purchase on the consulta…
What must an Oregon lawyer do when staff or a bookkeeper steals client funds from the trust account?
The opinion concludes the lawyer must tell the affected clients under RPC 1.4, must obtain a conflict waiver under RPC 1.7 to keep representing them, and may restore the funds but cannot unilaterally …
Can a lawyer who represents a trade association also become a dues-paying member of that association?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes a lawyer may join a trade-association client as an associate member unless the membership materially limits the lawyer's judgment without the client's written con…
Can a lawyer represent a buyer or seller in a real estate deal in which the lawyer's spouse is the broker earning a commission?
Qualified yes: because the spouse-broker is not the lawyer's client there is no client-client conflict, but the lawyer must assess whether interests in or duties to the spouse create a personal-intere…
When a lawyer represents both an insurer and its insured, can the lawyer forward all settlement funds to the insurer and let the insurer decide how to split subrogation and the insured's uninsured losses?
The opinion concludes the lawyer may not, because the settlement funds belong to both clients; the lawyer must keep disputed sums separate and either hold them until the clients agree or interplead th…
Can an insurance defense lawyer agree in advance to follow an insurer's litigation billing and management guidelines without regard to how they affect the insured?
No. The opinion concludes a lawyer may not commit in advance to comply with insurer litigation guidelines without regard to their effect on the insured; the lawyer must review the guidelines case by c…
Can a lawyer who is also a state legislator take a fee from a client to push legislation that benefits the client?
No. The opinion concludes a lawyer-legislator may not accept a fee to seek legislation for a client, because the arrangement is bribe-giving and bribe-receiving under Oregon law and is barred by RPC 1…
Can an Oregon lawyer agree to review and finalize estate-planning documents prepared by an out-of-state company that sells the plans to customers and pays the lawyer?
No. A company that consults with customers, explains documents, and gives estate-planning advice is engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, and a lawyer who reviews and executes its documents aid…
Can a lawyer serve as the escrow agent in a deal where the lawyer also represents one of the parties?
No. The opinion concludes a lawyer may be a neutral escrow agent only when the lawyer represents none of the parties; a lawyer for a party cannot also be the neutral escrow, though the lawyer may stil…
Can a lawyer who sometimes serves as a pro tem judge, and the lawyer's partner, keep representing clients before other judges of that same court?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes the lawyer and partner may continue such representation without special disclosure or consent where there is no significant risk that the pro tem service material…
Can a lawyer discuss a client's matter with a mentor or on a professional listserv outside the firm, and must the consulted lawyer check for conflicts first?
A lawyer may consult an outside lawyer or a listserv but must protect client confidentiality under Oregon RPC 1.6: general or genuinely hypothetical questions are fine, but if the facts could reveal t…
Can a lawyer draft a parent's will that leaves the lawyer a substantial gift, and can a lawyer act as counsel for (or serve as) the personal representative of a parent's estate when the lawyer is also a beneficiary?
Qualified yes to both: RPC 1.8(c) lets a lawyer prepare an instrument giving the lawyer a substantial gift where the lawyer is related to the client, so a child-lawyer may draft a parent's will; and a…
When a lawyer represents a corporation or partnership with two unrelated owners, does that automatically make the owners the lawyer's clients, or vice versa?
The opinion concludes representing an entity does not by itself make its shareholders or partners the lawyer's clients, and representing one owner does not by itself make the entity a client, unless t…
Can a lawyer try a case when the lawyer or a partner will testify, and does it matter if the testimony helps or hurts the client?
It depends. The opinion concludes a lawyer generally may not try a case in which the lawyer will testify for the client unless an RPC 3.7(a) exception applies, a partner may try the case if the testim…
Can a county counsel who advises county employees on county business also negotiate the county's collective-bargaining agreement against those same employees?
The opinion concludes county counsel may negotiate the collective-bargaining agreement because the county is the lawyer's only client; advising employees on county business does not make them clients,…
Can the lawyer for a resigned estate personal representative also represent the successor, including against the first one's fee claim?
The opinion concludes the lawyer may represent the successor personal representative absent a conflict and may keep representing the original one, but may not represent the successor in opposing the o…
In a state support-enforcement case, is the custodial parent the lawyer's client whose instructions the lawyer must follow?
No, qualified. The opinion concludes that in support-enforcement proceedings the client is the State of Oregon, not either parent, so the government lawyer owes the former wife no client-type duty and…
Can an Oregon lawyer borrow money from, lease property from, or go into business with a client?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes a lawyer may enter a business transaction with a client only if the lawyer meets all of RPC 1.8(a): fair and fully disclosed written terms, written advice to seek…
Can an Oregon lawyer who represents a trade association take on one member against another member in an unrelated matter?
Yes. The opinion concludes the lawyer's client is the association, not its individual members, so representing one member against another non-client member in an unrelated matter is not a current conf…
Can an Oregon lawyer accept payment from an insurance adjuster to handle a conservatorship for an unrepresented minor and the minor's parents?
Yes, qualified. Under Oregon RPC 1.8(f) the lawyer must obtain the client's informed consent to the third-party payment and must not let the adjuster direct or regulate the lawyer's professional judgm…
Can an Oregon lawyer take a new matter adverse to a former client when only confidential information, not the same matter, is at stake?
It depends on the information. The opinion concludes that where the new matter is not the same or substantially related to the former representation, the lawyer may proceed without consent unless the …
Browse Oregon State Bar opinions by topic
Legal ethics opinions from the Oregon State Bar 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.