South Carolina Bar Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the South Carolina Bar, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Can a lawyer use a CPA to collect tips from the public about an adverse government agency while promising the responders confidentiality?
The committee concluded that whether the promised confidentiality creates an evidentiary privilege is a substantive-law question it could not answer, but it flagged an ethical concern: the lawyer must…
Can a lawyer who represents the buyer or lender at a real estate closing also act as the agent for the title insurer and keep the commission?
The committee concluded a closing lawyer may normally also serve as the title insurer's agent, but must disclose at the outset any adverse impact on the lawyer's judgment from the agency role or the c…
Can a lawyer who represented a mother in a custody case later represent a babysitter accused of abusing the child now in the father's custody?
The committee concluded there is no prohibition on the lawyer taking the new representation, provided the babysitter's interests are not materially adverse to the former client's and the lawyer does n…
Does threatening to file criminal charges to win a civil settlement violate the rules, and must the lawyer who receives the threat report it?
The committee concluded that threatening to present criminal charges solely to gain an advantage in a civil matter violates Rule 4.5; whether the receiving lawyer must report it under Rule 8.3(a) is u…
When a lawyer properly represents both an injured plaintiff and the plaintiff's health insurer claiming subrogation, can the lawyer collect a fee from both?
The committee concluded that where dual representation of the plaintiff and the subrogated health insurer is itself permitted (under Opinion 91-25's conditions), there is no prohibition on collecting …
Can a lawyer who shares office space and a secretary with another lawyer sue that other lawyer's client?
The committee concluded that because the two lawyers are separate professional associations who do not hold themselves out as one firm (separate phone lines and letterhead), they are not a firm for im…
Can a lawyer take part in a living-trust program where a non-lawyer company gathers client information and drafts the documents, leaving the lawyer to review and execute?
The committee concluded the arrangement is improper: if the local attorney represents the trust customer, having no contact until execution and merely checking documents drafted by others violates Rul…
Can a lawyer donate legal services to be auctioned at a charity fundraiser?
The committee concluded that donating legal services for a charity auction does not violate the Rules, provided the lawyer makes express qualifications: defining the nature and scope of the donated se…
Can a lawyer who is a bankruptcy trustee in one division represent a creditor in other divisions, and what duties does a lawyer-trustee owe?
The committee concluded that a lawyer-trustee is not required to decline representing a creditor in other divisions of the Bankruptcy Court, provided he complies with Rule 1.7(b) and never represents …
Can a lawyer representing a wife in a divorce also represent a new client who turns out to be the husband's alleged paramour?
The committee concluded the lawyer cannot represent both, because the information that the second client is the husband's paramour creates a built-in conflict: revealing it would breach the second cli…
Can a lawyer work with a counterfeit-investigation company that locates infringers, recommends the lawyer, and takes a share of the recovery?
The committee concluded the arrangement is fraught with the potential for ethical violations but could be carried out without violating the Rules if the lawyer keeps the client informed, gets consent …
Can a lawyer advance money to a client to pay for a rental car before the client's insurance claim is settled?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may not advance money to a client for a rental car before settlement, because Rule 1.8(e) permits advancing only court costs and expenses of litigation, and a ren…
Can an attorney use powers of attorney from both the buyer and seller to sign the closing documents in a real estate transaction?
The committee concluded that if the attorney is employed merely to perform the ministerial act of signing the closing documents, the Rules are not implicated; but if he is expected to give legal advic…
Can a former judicial law clerk represent a client on appeal in a case the clerk worked on while clerking for the trial judge?
The committee concluded that Rule 1.12(a) bars a former law clerk from representing a client in a matter in which he participated personally and substantially as a clerk unless all parties consent aft…
Must a lawyer-legislator warn clients up front that the lawyer's representation of them before state agencies will be publicly disclosed?
The committee concluded that no provision of the Rules requires a lawyer-legislator to tell a client that representation before a state agency will ultimately be made public, because such representati…
Can a lawyer advertise a 'Workers Compensation Legal Clinic' offering free assistance, and is that misleading?
The committee concluded that 'Workers Compensation Legal Clinic' is an improper trade name under Rules 7.2 and 7.5 because it implies a connection with the Workers' Compensation Commission and the ad …
Can an attorney who served as a minor's guardian ad litem then serve as the minor's counsel in a later commitment proceeding?
The committee concluded that under Rule 3.7 an attorney who is likely to be a witness as to his findings while serving as guardian ad litem is disqualified from serving as the minor's counsel during t…
Can a personal injury lawyer also represent the client's health insurer to recover its subrogated medical expenses from the same defendant?
The committee concluded that where the plaintiff is contractually obligated to reimburse the health insurer, a lawyer may represent both the plaintiff and the insurer to recover medical expenses from …
If a lawyer represents a partnership, is the general partner also a client for conflict purposes when the lawyer takes a case against a corporation that partner owns?
The committee concluded that whether the lawyer may take the second matter depends on whether his representation of the partnership might reasonably be perceived by the general partner as also represe…
Can a lawyer represent a co-defendant of a client represented by the lawyer's spouse, or by the spouse's office?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may represent a co-defendant of his spouse's client only after disclosing the marital relationship and obtaining the client's consent (Rule 1.8(i)), and may not p…
Can a law firm act as a title insurance agency under its own firm name, or must it form a separate entity?
The committee concluded the Rules do not require a law firm to set up a separate entity to act as a title insurance agency, so long as its method of operation does not otherwise violate the Rules; if …
Can a law firm's partnership agreement reduce or eliminate a departing partner's share of accounts receivable?
The committee concluded that a partnership amendment denying withdrawal compensation applied equally to all departing partners, regardless of whether they keep practicing, does not appear to violate R…
Can a part-time county public defender also represent criminal defendants in other counties?
The committee concluded there is no apparent conflict in a lawyer serving as public defender in one county while representing criminal defendants in other counties, provided the lawyer reasonably beli…
Can an in-house lawyer for a company send debt-collection letters on letterhead implying he is outside counsel, and what fee is reasonable?
The committee concluded that using letterhead implying the in-house attorney is independent outside counsel violates Rules 7.1 and 7.5; the collection-department employees' activities may violate Rule…
Can a former assistant solicitor, now counsel to the Foster Care Review Board, handle abuse/neglect matters he worked on as a prosecutor?
The committee concluded that under Rule 1.11(c)(1) the lawyer may not participate, on behalf of the Board, in any matter in which he participated personally and substantially as an assistant solicitor…
Can a lawyer who serves on county council, which sets magistrates' facilities and pay, practice before those magistrates, and can the lawyer's partner?
The committee concluded the Rules of Professional Conduct do not expressly prohibit a county council member from representing clients in the local magistrate's court, but State Ethics Commission opini…
Can lawyers refer clients who need to borrow money to a lender the lawyers helped set up, and pay the lender from the settlement?
The committee concluded that because the lawyers had no financial interest in the lender and merely represented it in setting up its business, the lender's acts are not attributed to them; so referrin…
Can a lawyer advise a divorce client to secretly tape-record the client's telephone conversations with the client's spouse?
The committee concluded that an attorney may not advise a client to tape-record the client's conversations with a spouse, because secretly recording a conversation without the consent or prior knowled…
Can a child-support agency lawyer pursue a defendant he once represented or whose confidential government information he holds, and can the agency be on both sides in unrelated cases?
The committee concluded that an OCSE lawyer may not pursue a defendant he personally represented in a prior OCSE child-support action (Rule 1.11(c)), nor pursue someone whose confidential government i…
Can a lawyer hire as a paralegal a former secretary of a corporation that is an adverse party in the lawyer's litigation?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may hire as a paralegal a former employee of an adverse corporate party, at least where the paralegal had no decision-making role, possesses no privileged informa…
Will the ethics committee pre-clear a lawyer's proposed radio and newspaper ads, and what standards govern attorney advertising?
The committee concluded it would be inappropriate and impractical to pass on the texts and scripts of the many ads attorneys run each year; while the submitted ads did not appear facially improper, ea…
If a client tells the lawyer not to pay a medical provider's lien out of a settlement, must the lawyer honor that, and what changes if the lawyer signed the assignment?
The committee concluded that where the lawyer did not sign the client's medical lien/assignment, his duty of loyalty requires paying the settlement proceeds to the client, and Rule 1.6 bars revealing …
Can a law firm lease its lawyers through an employee-leasing company whose fee is a portion of the lawyer's pay?
The committee adopted ABA Formal Opinion 88-356 in its entirety, concluding that a firm may use an employee-leasing company to obtain lawyer services where the company's fee is a portion of the lawyer…
Can a lawyer draft a client's will naming himself as personal representative and trustee, and then take commissions and legal fees from the estate?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may, at the client's direction, draft the will and name himself personal representative and trustee unless Rule 1.8(c) applies, may take a personal representative…
Can a lawyer send a direct-mail letter soliciting tax-sale property buyers to offer to clear their tax title?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may use written communication to approach tax-sale purchasers known to need title help, but the proposed letter did not comply with Rule 7.3 and needed amendment …
What conflicts arise when one firm's lawyers serve as the county attorney and town attorney while the firm also takes criminal and family-court appointments?
The committee concluded that the firm cannot represent parties adverse to the county or town it advises (such as in abuse-and-neglect cases or defendants arrested by its agencies), and members cannot …
Can a lawyer help run a membership organization of lawyers and other professionals that offers subscribers legal consultations and referrals?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may not form a partnership with non-lawyers if any of its activities consist of the practice of law (Rule 5.4(b)), may not assist non-lawyers in the unauthorized …
Does a person's brief contact with a firm's secretary about an accident create an attorney-client relationship that bars the firm from later opposing him?
The committee concluded that whether the contact created an attorney-client relationship is a question of fact it could not decide definitively, but that on these facts, given the absence of legal adv…
Can a prosecutor's office mail trial and roll-call notices directly to represented criminal defendants?
The committee concluded that sending such notices to a represented defendant violates Rule 4.2 unless the solicitor's office has the defense lawyer's consent or is authorized by law to give the notice…
May a county bar association give gifts to judges, and if so, what limits apply?
The committee concluded that lawyers' gifts to judges are highly restricted and almost always improper; invitations to bar-related events and properly conducted, anonymous judicial portrait or memoria…
Does a public defender's office have to stop appearing before a circuit judge because the judge's son works in that office?
The committee concluded that the Rules of Professional Conduct do not prohibit members of the public defender's office from appearing before the circuit judge, because Rule 1.8(i) addresses only perso…
Does insurance-defense counsel violate the rules by telling opposing counsel he has no authority to negotiate because the insurer controls settlement?
The committee concluded that, assuming the insured has limited the scope of the representation under Rule 1.2 and consented to the insurer directing litigation and settlement, defense counsel's statem…
Can a lawyer sue an opposing lawyer for malpractice on behalf of the very party his former client defeated, when he holds the former client's confidences?
The committee concluded that the lawyer must protect the confidential information received from his former client, and that unless the former client consents or the information has become generally kn…
Does a lawyer who received a gift of property from a grandparent have an ethical duty to reconvey it to a parent to honor the grandparent's unwritten wishes?
The committee concluded that, because the attorney-grandchild had no fiduciary, confidential, or attorney-client relationship with the grantor, no ethical rule requires the grandchild to fulfill the g…
Can a lawyer trade help collecting a doctor's bills for patient referrals, and can a non-law business tell customers its lawyer escrows all sale proceeds?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may not exchange assistance in collecting a doctor's medical fees for referral of clients, because that gives something of value for a recommendation contrary to …
Are a lawyer's television ads permissible when they compare the lawyer's services and experience to those of other attorneys?
The committee concluded that the proposed television advertisements appeared to comply with Rule 7.2's permitted content, but that because they appeared to compare the lawyer's services and experience…
When a new client describes possible misconduct by their prior lawyer, must the lawyer report it, and will the committee judge the prior lawyer's past conduct?
The committee declined to evaluate the other lawyer's past conduct, explaining it opines only on prospective conduct, and concluded that if the inquiring lawyer believes the other lawyer committed a v…
Can a firm mail its brochure to people who attended a seminar its lawyers presented through a for-profit education company?
The committee concluded that mail solicitation is permitted so long as it is not false or misleading and complies with Rule 7.3's disclosure and filing requirements, and that it does not matter the re…
Can a lawyer participate in a referral service run by the state Highway Patrol that sends accident victims to participating attorneys?
The committee concluded that a lawyer should not participate in a lawyer referral service operated by the South Carolina Highway Patrol, because troopers referring victims to specific attorneys may im…
Can a lawyer who serves on county council sue an elected or appointed county official, like the sheriff, on behalf of a private client?
The committee concluded that the suit is barred only if Rule 1.7(b)'s two preconditions are met (the lawyer-councilman has a responsibility to the proposed defendant, and that responsibility would mat…
Can a firm sue a former insurance-company client over the same kind of benefit-denial claims it once defended, and does reusable legal research create a conflict?
The committee concluded that a Rule 1.9 conflict exists to the extent the prior and present matters share a common course of conduct or company policy, which would make them substantially related; the…
Can a lawyer take a matter from an out-of-state collection agency on terms that forbid the lawyer from contacting or billing the actual client?
The committee concluded that if the agency is engaged in the unauthorized practice of law the lawyer is barred by Rule 5.5 from assisting it, and that even if it is not, the lawyer could not accept th…
Can a lawyer who personally investigated the case and talked to a key witness still try the case, or must the lawyer step aside as a necessary witness?
The committee concluded that if the lawyer is a necessary witness, Rule 3.7 disqualifies the lawyer from acting as advocate unless the lawyer can show that disqualification would work a substantial ha…
Can a lawyer sponsor a Yellow Pages '900-number' service that plays the firm's recorded pitch after free recorded legal information?
The committee concluded that the recorded advertisement following the free legal information would not be false or misleading under Rule 7.1, but that the arrangement is a recorded solicitation govern…
After a closing ends, can the closing attorney report a mortgage broker client's suspected fraud to the lender or law enforcement?
The committee concluded that, where the closing attorney represents the mortgage broker, Rule 1.6 bars revealing information about the broker's fraud to the lender, law enforcement, or Consumer Affair…
If a firm prepared an adoption agreement for both the adoptive couple and the birth mother, can it later sue the birth mother for the couple?
The committee concluded that, under Rule 1.9(a), if the firm represented both the adoptive couple and the birth mother, it may not later represent the couple in a suit against the birth mother to reco…
Can married lawyers appear on opposite sides of the same criminal appeal, one for the state and one for the defendant?
The committee concluded that Rule 1.8(i) permits married lawyers to represent adverse clients in the same matter only with each client's informed consent, and that the appellate nature of the practice…
If a defense lawyer is the only witness to a statement a trial witness now contradicts, must the lawyer withdraw to testify, and does being sole counsel change that?
The committee concluded that, under Rule 3.7, a lawyer likely to be a necessary witness to impeach another witness must withdraw as trial advocate unless disqualification would cause substantial hards…
Can a lawyer who sits on a state youth-services board represent a juvenile in a delinquency case that the agency makes recommendations in?
The committee, reconsidering its earlier opinion under the new Rules, concluded there is no blanket bar: because the board member only sets agency policy and does not adjudicate or have case-specific …
How should a law school graduate who is awaiting bar exam results sign correspondence for a law firm without misleading anyone?
The committee concluded that a law graduate awaiting bar results may sign firm correspondence on matters for which a supervising lawyer takes responsibility, but must make his nonlawyer status clear, …
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Legal ethics opinions from the South Carolina 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.