Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, with full citations and source links on every page.
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When a government attorney provides Title IV-D child support enforcement services, does the attorney have an attorney-client relationship with the parent receiving those services, and can the same attorney later act against that parent?
The opinion concluded that attorneys employed in DHS's Title IV-D child support programs represent the State only; under T.C.A. Section 71-3-124 and the Board's prior Opinion 83-F-55, there is no atto…
Can a plaintiff's lawyer interview a defendant hospital's nurses about the facts of a malpractice claim, and does the attorney-client privilege block it?
Yes; privilege does not block factual interviews. The opinion concluded that nurses employed by a hospital may be interviewed by the plaintiff's attorney without the hospital's lawyer's consent about …
Can a parent corporation's in-house counsel perform legal work for affiliated subsidiaries and limited partnerships, with the parent billing those affiliates for the actual cost of the lawyer's time and overhead?
Yes, in each of the five reimbursement scenarios presented, including where the in-house lawyer's employer is also the managing general partner of the limited partnership being billed, provided in-hou…
Can an in-house corporate attorney represent the corporation itself in court, and can that attorney also handle legal matters for the corporation's customers?
Yes for the corporation itself: an attorney employee may assist, advise, counsel, represent, or appear on behalf of the corporation in its own affairs, in or out of court. No for customers: corporate …
Are a national bank's board members 'management' for the no-contact rule, so adverse counsel cannot interview them without the bank's lawyer's consent?
Yes. The opinion concluded that the directors of a national bank, given their fiduciary duties, management responsibilities, and access to confidential business information, fall within the management…
Can in-house counsel for a group of affiliated companies do legal work for all the affiliates and let his employer bill each affiliate for his time?
Yes, with safeguards. The opinion concluded there is no per se violation in in-house counsel serving affiliated companies and having his employer allocate his salaried time to each affiliate, so long …
Can a plaintiff's lawyer interview a corporate defendant's non-management employees about the facts without the consent of the company's lawyer?
Yes, for rank-and-file employees. The opinion concluded that non-management, non-administrative employees of a corporate defendant are treated as witnesses, not parties, so DR 7-104(A)(1) does not bar…
Can a County Attorney, or the County Attorney's law partner or associate, represent criminal defendants prosecuted by the County Sheriff and deputies?
No. The opinion concluded the appearance of impropriety in a County Attorney representing criminal defendants prosecuted by the same county's law enforcement officers cannot be waived by the public, s…
Can a lawyer sue a corporation for personal-injury damages when the lawyer's associate is that corporation's registered agent for service of process?
No. The opinion concluded that the associate's continuing role as the corporation's registered agent creates differing, substantially related interests between the associate and the suing attorney, so…
If a husband and wife are both lawyers but practice at different, unaffiliated firms, can their firms represent opposing parties against each other?
Generally yes, adopting ABA Formal Opinion 340. The opinion concluded that no disciplinary rule categorically bars husband-and-wife lawyers who practice at different firms from representing opposing i…
Can a legal services law office give client identifying information, like Social Security numbers and demographics, to the government agency that funds the office?
Only with the client's informed written consent. The opinion concluded that client identifying details such as Social Security number, address, date of birth, sex, race, and referral source are secret…
Can a firm whose member serves as City Attorney defend a person the City Police Department is prosecuting in Criminal Court?
No. The opinion concluded it is improper for a firm to defend a person prosecuted by the City Police Department when a firm member serves as City Attorney and is available to advise the police departm…
Can a lawyer who serves as conservator and must testify against a bank in his conservator suit be represented by his own law firm?
No. The opinion concluded that where a lawyer-conservator will be required to testify in his own suit against a bank that dishonored the conservatorship account after a non-lawyer employee forged his …
Are members of a firm that serves as general counsel to a law enforcement officers association disqualified from practicing criminal defense?
Not automatically. The opinion concluded that firm members who serve as general counsel to the Tennessee Law Enforcement Officers Association, handling corporate, tax, regulatory, and death-benefit ma…
Can a law firm defend coal mining clients against federal surface-mining violations when one of the firm's partners sits on the state's quasi-judicial Board of Reclamation Review?
No. The opinion concluded that a lawyer who holds a quasi-judicial position on the state Board of Reclamation Review, adjudicating state surface-mining violations, is barred, along with the rest of th…
Can a firm represent private clients before city boards and negotiate city contracts while also doing case-by-case trial work defending the city and its police officers?
Yes. The opinion concluded that a firm that is not on retainer to a city and is not its municipal attorney does not violate the Canons of Ethics by representing private clients before city boards, the…
If a lawyer serves as a county's attorney, can the lawyer's firm represent land developers, contractors, or other private clients whose matters come before the county?
No, generally. Adopting the New Jersey Rule from In Re: A. & B. and In Re: Dolan, the opinion concluded a firm whose member serves as county attorney is disqualified from representing land developers …
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Legal ethics opinions from the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee 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.