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 represent ABC Corporation in one lawsuit. A minority-shareholder officer wants me to represent him against the other shareholders. Can I, even if I withdraw from the corporation?
The Panel concludes that under Rule 1.7 the attorney may not represent the shareholder against the corporation unless both the corporation and the shareholder consent after consultation, and withdrawa…
I represent a client suing a state agency. That same agency wants to hire me as a special prosecutor in an unrelated matter. Can I take it on?
The Panel concludes that under Rule 1.7 the attorney may represent the state agency as special prosecutor so long as the lawyer reasonably believes the other client will not be adversely affected and …
Years ago I briefly advised a former client on a promissory note. Can I now represent a new client in an unrelated debt-collection matter against that former client?
The Panel concludes that under Rule 1.9 the representation is permissible if the debt-collection matter is not the same or substantially related to the prior work and the lawyer does not use informati…
The mayor appointed me to a narrow municipal committee overseeing one fund. Can my firm keep suing the same municipality and appearing before its boards in unrelated matters?
The Panel concludes that, because the lawyer serves as a member (not counsel) of a narrowly-defined committee and the firm's matters are unrelated to it, the firm is not precluded from representing cl…
I represent a corporation and its sole shareholder, and I've done work for an employee too. Can I represent the shareholder in selling stock to that employee?
The Panel says it depends on whether the employee is still a client: if so, Rule 1.7 governs and requires consent; if the employee is a former client, Rule 1.9 permits the representation unless the ma…
One of my partners is a part-time municipal court judge. Can the rest of our firm represent clients whose interests are adverse to that municipality?
The Panel concludes that no firm member may appear before the judge or in any matter the judge handled as judge unless the judge is screened under Rule 1.11(a); otherwise the Rules impose no black-let…
My secretary previously worked for the firm now representing the wife and knows confidential information about her. Can my firm keep representing the husband, and can the husband waive the conflict?
The Panel concludes the secretary's knowledge is imputed to the firm under Rules 5.3 and 1.10(b); a waiver is possible under Rule 1.10(d)/1.7, but because obtaining the husband's consent would require…
Can I advance the court costs and litigation expenses for indigent personal-injury clients and be reimbursed only if the case recovers?
Yes. The Panel concludes that advancing court costs and litigation expenses, with repayment contingent on the outcome, is permitted under Rule 1.8(e)(1) as long as the advanced costs are related to th…
My firm did estate planning for a judge. Can I still appear before that judge?
The panel concluded that the attorney may appear before the judge so long as the appearance does not impact the tribunal's impartiality and does not create an appearance of professional impropriety; i…
I'm the estate's attorney (and resident agent for the non-resident executor), and the executor improperly took estate funds. What should I do?
The panel advised that the attorney should ask the executor to authorize disclosure to interested parties, including the estate's beneficiaries, creditors, governmental authorities, and the probate co…
I represented the seller at a closing where the buyer was unrepresented, then wrote the buyer about the 'legal services' I provided. Can I now foreclose against the buyer?
The panel concluded that, because the attorney had sent the buyer a letter making declarations of legal services provided to the buyer, an appearance of impropriety would exist if the attorney now ini…
I once represented a client and opined that a contract was enforceable. Its successor counsel now wants it declared void. May I help successor counsel, or the opposing party's counsel?
The panel concluded that the attorney may, but is not obligated to, voluntarily assist successor counsel on the former matters, but may not assist counsel for the other signatory, because that would c…
Can I charge a contingent fee to collect past-due alimony and child support, and can I co-sign a loan so my client can pay my fee?
The panel concluded that a contingent fee is proper for collecting past-due alimony and past-due child support but improper when seeking to obtain increased alimony or child support (Rule 1.5(d)(1)), …
A director of a state agency is suing the agency in his individual capacity. Does the agency's counsel have to withdraw?
The panel concluded that counsel's withdrawal would not cure the conflict created by the director being on both sides; instead, another government officer not subject to the director's authority shoul…
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 had an initial consultation with someone who didn't hire me. Can I now represent an organization against that person in the same matter?
The panel concluded that a conflict of interest exists under Rule 1.9, because a substantive initial consultation is sufficient to constitute representation for this purpose, the interests of the two …
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…
A witness in my case does landscaping work for me. Is that a conflict of interest?
The panel concluded that no conflict exists where there is no connection between the witness's employment and the legal services involved, the attorney disclosed the relationship to all parties, and n…
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…
A new associate at my firm previously represented the plaintiff in a workers' comp case at another firm. My firm represents the defendant in the related product-liability suit. Can we stay in?
The panel concluded that the associate's opportunity to obtain sensitive client information about the plaintiff at the prior firm precludes the inquiring attorney's firm from continuing to represent t…
Can I sit on the board of directors of a credit union while also serving as the credit union's lawyer?
The panel concluded that the attorney may serve both as a director and as legal counsel to the credit union so long as service in one capacity does not affect the attorney's independent professional j…
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…
My old firm represented both X and Y. I only ever worked for Y. Now Y wants me to take on a dispute against X. Can I, and does the firm still representing X have a conflict?
The panel concluded that the inquiring attorney may not represent Y against X without X's informed consent, because the attorney's former employment at the firm representing X afforded access to X's c…
I share office space and expenses with another lawyer, and we now represent opposing parties in a custody and support case. Can we both stay in?
The panel concluded that unless one of the attorneys withdraws, neither may proceed, because their office-sharing arrangement, with shared administrative and secretarial staff and access to each other…
I represent a title insurer, and I also prosecute actions in a bank's name to clear title defects even while defending against that bank's claims. Whose consent do I need?
The panel concluded that Rule 1.7 governs and that the attorney should obtain the bank's informed consent, even though the bank's name is only contractually invoked to bring the action and the title i…
A former joint client is suing my long-time client and wants to depose me. Can I be deposed, does privilege block it, and may I keep representing my client against the former joint client?
The panel concluded that the attorney-client privilege does not by itself prevent a lawyer from being deposed, though Rule 1.6 governs what may be disclosed, and that under Rule 1.9 the attorney canno…
Can I defend another lawyer in a disciplinary complaint brought by someone who says I recommended that lawyer to them, if I never actually represented or dealt with that person?
The panel concluded that the inquiring attorney may represent the lawyer before the Disciplinary Board, because an attorney-client relationship never existed between the inquiring attorney and the com…
I represent one client in a civil matter and previously represented another person in an unrelated criminal matter. The former client might testify against my current client. Is that a conflict?
The panel concluded that Rule 1.9 controls and that no conflict of interest arises, because the reasons the attorney was engaged by the two clients are so unconnected that they do not amount to the sa…
I drafted the note and mortgage for a real estate sale, and now the buyers want me to represent them in a lawsuit claiming the purchase price on the settlement sheet was false. Can I take the case?
The panel concluded that under Rule 3.7 the attorney cannot represent the buyers in the action, because the attorney prepared the transaction documents and has knowledge of a material issue, making th…
My current client in a criminal case gave me information that implicates a former client I once represented on an unrelated misdemeanor. Is that a conflict?
The panel concluded that Rule 1.9 controls and that no conflict of interest arises, because the attorney's representation of the two clients does not involve the same or a substantially related matter…
My partner handled the real estate closing for a couple who are now divorcing, and another partner once hired the husband's plumbing company. Can our firm represent the wife in the divorce?
The panel concluded that a conflict arises under Rule 1.9 as to the jointly purchased real estate the partner closed unless the husband gives informed consent; that the other partner's earlier use of …
My personal-injury client is struggling to pay the mortgage. Can I lend the client money to help cover the monthly payments?
The panel concluded that Rule 1.8(e) prevents the attorney from lending the personal-injury client money to assist the client in meeting monthly mortgage obligations.
I represent two co-defendants in a civil case, and I've found evidence that clears one of them and pins the liability on the other. Can I keep representing both?
The panel concluded that Rule 1.7 prevents the attorney from representing both co-defendants because their interests are so materially adverse that the attorney could not reasonably believe representi…
My sibling is a lawyer representing the other side in a case I'm handling. Do I need client consent, and does the conflict spread to everyone at my firm?
The panel concluded that Rule 1.8(i) requires client consent, based on a thorough explanation of the relationship, where a lawyer knows a parent, child, sibling, or spouse represents an adverse party,…
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 represent a two-partner real estate partnership, and also one partner individually. The partners are now feuding and giving me opposite instructions through their separate lawyers. Can I keep doing partnership work at one partner's direction, and what do I do with the partnership files?
The panel held that because the partners explicitly refused to agree on the legal work, Rule 1.7(a) cannot be satisfied, so the lawyer may neither perform nor assist another attorney in performing par…
I rent office space from Lawyer A and agreed to represent his former client before a zoning board where Lawyer A was a witness. The client now hints at a malpractice claim against Lawyer A. Can I condition my continued representation on the client releasing Lawyer A?
No. The panel held that a lawyer may not condition continued representation on the client releasing another lawyer from malpractice liability, because doing so would impermissibly circumscribe the cli…
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…
Years ago my firm briefly represented a corporation trying to buy assets from an estate, while the estate's heirs were separately bidding on other assets with their own counsel. The deals never collided. Can I now represent those heirs against the estate's executor, even though a firm lawyer may be a witness?
Yes. The panel held that Rule 1.9 does not bar the representation because the former client (the corporation) and the current clients (the heirs) only could have become adverse over one asset and neve…
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 …
I defend an insurance company's workers' comp claims against one of its large self-insured-up-to-a-deductible clients. A different worker, employed by an unrelated policyholder of the same insurer, now wants me to represent her against the insurer directly. Can I take her case with everyone's consent?
Yes, if the informed-consent requirements are met. The panel held the attorney may properly represent the injured worker in connection with her work-related injuries provided he obtains consent from a…
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 …
A former customer of my longtime business client called me a few times with general questions and I never billed him for it. Now that customer is disputing money with my client. Did those free calls create a conflict of interest under Rule 1.7?
Yes. The panel held that the salesperson's phone consultations with the attorney created an attorney-client relationship despite the attorney never charging a fee, which activated Rule 1.7, and the at…
I was associated with a lawyer's firm years ago. He still represents cases from that period as co-counsel with me, but a new client of his retained him four or five years after I left. Can I represent someone against that new client under Rule 1.9?
Yes. The panel held that because the attorney was no longer associated with his former colleague, Lawyer L, when Ms. B retained Lawyer L's services, Ms. B never became the inquiring attorney's own cli…
A former client I met with once, years ago and don't recall, now objects to my representing his wife in their divorce, even though opposing counsel told me my former client didn't object and I relied on that for months. Can I keep representing the wife?
The panel declined to decide whether the former client's later-reported consent was informed and binding, holding that the extent or adequacy of disclosure underlying consent is a contested factual de…
My wife just became a licensed real estate agent, and I expect probate clients to need to sell real estate. Can I refer them to her?
Yes, consistent with the panel's prior Opinion 88-33 on referrals to a relative's business, a marital relationship between an attorney and a real estate broker does not itself make referrals improper,…
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 partner sits on a hospital's Board of Directors, but neither of us has ever done legal work for the hospital. A prospective client wants me to sue a physician on staff there. Can I take the case?
Yes, but only with consent. The panel held the partner's hospital board seat could constitute a limiting interest under Rule 1.7(b), which Rule 1.11's imputed disqualification provisions extend to the…
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…
My law partner is one of four partners in a real estate partnership that wants to sue an insurance company, and my law partner won't be a witness. Can I represent the real estate partnership?
Yes. The panel held it was proper for the inquiring attorney to represent the real estate partnership under Rule 3.7(b), which allows a lawyer to act as advocate in a trial where another lawyer in the…
I used to represent Mr. Y before the City Planning Board, where Mr. X (a Board member at the time) raised a boundary dispute between his property and Mr. Y's. I no longer represent Mr. Y, and Mr. X now wants me to represent him in that same boundary dispute against Y. Can I take the case?
Not without Mr. Y's consent. The panel held that unless the former client, Mr. Y, expressly consents after consultation, representing Mr. X in the boundary dispute would violate Rule 1.9's bar on repr…
I represent an injured passenger, and the driver I'm suing now claims he once called me for advice. Will the ethics panel decide whether that phone call created a conflict?
No. The panel declined to render an opinion, holding that whether an attorney-client relationship arose from the driver's phone call was a contested question of fact better resolved in the pending cou…
I represented both spouses in an adoption years ago, and now I represent the husband alone in their marital dispute. The wife says I have a conflict from the adoption representation. Will the ethics panel rule on whether I can continue?
No. The panel declined to rule, holding that whether continued representation would be proper turns on a contested factual question, whether privileged information from the wife was actually conveyed …
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…
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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.