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.
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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…
In a suit against a company, can the opposing lawyer interview the company's current or former employees without defense counsel's permission, and ask what they told the company's lawyers?
The opinion concludes a current employee is off-limits without consent only if they are management or their conduct is at issue; former employees who are not separately represented may be contacted fr…
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…
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 a plaintiff's lawyer interview current and former employees of a state agency defendant without the Attorney General's consent?
A current agency employee is off-limits under Oregon RPC 4.2 only if the employee is part of management or their conduct is at issue; other current employees, and former employees, may be contacted wi…
Can an in-house lawyer who was fired for refusing to make a false statement sue for wrongful termination if the suit requires revealing information about the representation?
Yes, but only with qualifications. Oregon RPC 1.6(b)(4) lets a lawyer disclose otherwise-protected information to establish a claim in a controversy with the client, so a fired in-house lawyer may rev…
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 …
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…
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, …
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…
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 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,…
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 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 a lawyer's engagement agreement require a corporate client to indemnify the lawyer against civil claims by a nonclient, like an investigated employee?
Yes. The opinion concludes a lawyer may include an engagement provision in which the client agrees to indemnify the lawyer against independent civil claims by a nonclient (here, an investigated employ…
Can a county counsel's office communicate ex parte with, and prepare draft findings for, a county land-use hearing officer it helped hire?
Yes, qualified. Ex parte communication between county counsel and the planning division, hearing officer, or commissioners is not improper if authorized by ordinance or other law, by extension of the …
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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.