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State Bar Association of North Dakota Ethics Opinions

Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the State Bar Association of North Dakota, with full citations and source links on every page.

48 opinions · Updated June 29, 2026
4 opinions Imputed Disqualification

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Can a firm that represents a city in civil matters also take a contract to defend indigent defendants the city is prosecuting?

No. The committee concluded that a firm which represents the city (through contracts with the city attorney) cannot also serve as contract indigent-defense counsel against the city's own prosecutions.…

February 25, 2009

If a prosecutor is conflicted out of a matter because it is adverse to a former client, are the other lawyers in the same state's attorney's office also disqualified?

The committee concluded that a state's attorney who formerly represented a party may not handle the office's same matter against that former client under Rule 1.9(a), and that because the lawyers in a…

June 28, 2006

Can separately located public defender offices run by one state commission be treated as separate law firms, so a conflict in one office is not imputed to the others?

On the facts presented (offices in different cities with separate staff, files, computer systems, and letterhead, no shared access to client confidences, and only administrative oversight by the commi…

June 1, 2006

Can a law firm sue a company it did transactional work for years ago on behalf of a personal-injury plaintiff, when the firm also represents a bank that lent the company money?

The committee concluded the firm could treat the company as a former client because more than two years had passed with no contact, so Rule 1.9 did not bar a new, unrelated personal-injury suit agains…

February 2, 2005

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Legal ethics opinions from the State Bar Association of North Dakota 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.

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