Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel, with full citations and source links on every page.
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I represented the City Council in negotiations with the Mayor. Can I keep representing clients with claims against the city, even on unrelated matters?
The panel concluded that because the City Council is integrally involved in matters concerning the city, the attorney should obtain the consent of all involved parties under Rule 1.7 before continuing…
I was a Superior Court law clerk. Can I now represent a party in a case that was pending before the judge I clerked for?
The panel advised that under Rule 1.12(a) the attorney should not represent any party in a matter that was pending before the judge for whom the attorney clerked, because the attorney often discussed …
My firm is legal counsel to a state agency and also represents a corporation that might benefit from the agency's decision in a pending case. Is that a conflict?
The panel found no conflict under Rule 1.7(b), because any effect on the corporation from the agency's action was highly speculative and the firm's responsibilities to the agency would not be material…
I'm a lawyer employed by a state agency. Can I represent private clients before other state agencies?
The panel concluded that so long as no overlapping interests exist between the attorney's state agency employment and the potential clients, the attorney may represent those clients before other state…
My ex-partner was the town solicitor and I appeared as co-counsel for the town. Can my firm now appear before the town's boards for private clients, and am I personally barred for a year?
The panel concluded that under Rule 1.10(c) the firm may presently represent clients before the town boards so long as the subject matter is not the same as or substantially related to a matter in whi…
I left a job in the state Executive Department to enter private practice. Can I represent private clients before that department right away?
The panel concluded that Rule 1.11 and Rhode Island General Laws § 36-14-5 prohibit the attorney from representing a private client before, or appearing before, the Executive Department for one year f…
I worked for a utility for eight years in non-lawyer roles, then got admitted to the bar. Can I now take a state-agency legal job that would put me opposite that utility?
The panel concluded that the facts gave rise to no conflict of interest, because the lawyer had access only to public information as a non-lawyer employee of the corporation and the corporation had ne…
I'm a part-time assistant city solicitor who also has a private practice with my firm. Which matters can I and my firm handle without a conflict, and does my role disqualify the whole firm from cases against the city?
The panel held that the attorney may serve as a part-time assistant city solicitor only if she does not represent private clients adverse to the city, that zoning-board and municipal-court matters (an…
My wife is a bankruptcy court clerk with purely ministerial duties limited to Chapter 11 filings. Can I represent debtors filing under Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, different chapters than the ones she handles?
Yes. The panel held that representing clients filing under 11 U.S.C. Section 701 et seq. (Chapter 7) and Section 1301 et seq. (Chapter 13) does not involve any conflict between the clients' interests …
As a prosecutor I convicted a driver for a fatal driving-to-endanger charge. Now that I'm in private practice, the victim's father wants me to represent him in a civil suit against that same driver and the town over the same death. Can I take the case?
No. Applying Rule 1.11's bar on a lawyer representing a private client in connection with a matter the lawyer participated in as a public officer or employee, and the rule's broad definition of "matte…
I've been offered a part-time position in a city solicitor's office limited to advising the Zoning Board, and I want to stay at my private firm. Can I still sue the city in unrelated matters like personal injury cases, and does it matter what my specific duties are?
No, and no. The panel held that accepting any position in the city solicitor's office makes the city a client of the attorney, so under Rule 1.7 she may not thereafter represent a client directly adve…
I'm part-time counsel to a state grant program, and part of my salary comes from that program. It denied a city federal reimbursement, and now the contractor the city stiffed as a result wants me to sue the city privately. Can I take the case, and can I refer it to attorneys I share office space and a phone line with instead?
The panel held the attorney may represent the claimant against the city if he obtains the client's informed consent, after full disclosure of his relationship to the grant program, as Rule 1.7(b) requ…
I'm a consulting attorney for a water district that has no affiliation with a town. One of the town's zoning board members also happens to be a commissioner of the water district. Can I still bring cases before that zoning board under Rule 1.7?
Yes. The panel held that because no inconsistencies arise among the attorney's obligations to his zoning-board clients, his obligations to the Water District, and his own interests, Rule 1.7 does not …
I'm a part-time Probate Judge appointed by my town's Town Council. Can I still represent private clients before that town's Planning Board and Zoning Board?
Yes. The panel held that representing clients before the Planning Board or Zoning Board does not involve any conflict between the interests of the attorney's client and those of the attorney's appoint…
My firm represents a municipal water board being sued in one matter, while I personally represent a private client (through separate outside counsel) suing that same board in an unrelated matter. Both clients gave oral consent. Is that enough under Rule 1.7(b), or do I need it in writing?
Yes, oral consent is enough. The panel held that oral consent after consultation from both affected clients satisfies Rule 1.7(b)'s consent requirement under these circumstances, though it noted writt…
As a state agency staff attorney, I have a personal legal claim pending against one branch of a municipality, and I'm about to handle an agency litigation matter against a different branch of that same municipality. Do I have a conflict, and can I proceed with consent?
No conflict arises, and the attorney may carry out her usual agency responsibilities, provided she makes full disclosure of her pending personal matter to all parties involved and obtains their consen…
I've been offered part-time work representing the state against claims under a specific statute, and I want to keep my associate job at a firm that represents claimants under that same statute. Can I take the state job if I withdraw from my own firm's cases under that statute, or if the firm walls off one isolated associate to handle them instead?
No, under either scenario. The panel held that accepting the part-time state position would be improper under Rule 1.7 because the attorney would be representing a client directly adverse to another c…
I'm a Rhode Island lawyer who is also a state employee. Can I participate in a strike by state employees?
No. The panel held that the inquiring attorney, a state employee, may not participate in a strike by state employees, reasoning that public employees are already barred from striking against their pub…
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Legal ethics opinions from the Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel 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.