Texas Professional Ethics Committee Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Texas Professional Ethics Committee, with full citations and source links on every page.
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If a Texas lawyer personally posts a bail bond for a client, can the lawyer later go off the bond and have the client jailed?
The Committee concluded that it would violate the Code for a lawyer who personally posted a bail bond for a client he represents to go off the bond and cause the client to be jailed, unless the lawyer…
When a corporation's lawyer learns from an officer that the officer and other directors committed crimes against the company, must the lawyer tell the board, the shareholders, or the authorities, and is the conversation privileged?
The Committee concluded the answers turn on who the client is: the corporation is the client and past personal representation does not make the officer a continuing client, so if only the corporation …
Can a Texas lawyer answer an IRS letter asking about a former client's settled personal-injury case when the lawyer cannot reach the client for instructions?
The Committee concluded that the lawyer must decline the IRS request because the ethical duty to preserve a former client's confidences and secrets is broader than the evidentiary privilege; the lawye…
When the SEC subpoenas a lawyer to testify about a former client's affairs, must the lawyer still protect that former client's confidences and secrets?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer owes a continuing duty to preserve a former client's confidences and secrets in an SEC investigation, and may be released from it only as DR 4-101(C) or DR 7-102(…
If a client confides that an item he gave the lawyer as a fee was stolen in a past burglary, must the lawyer give the client's name to police?
The Committee concluded that, on these facts, the attorney is prohibited under Canon 34 from disclosing the client's name or any information about the past crime confided to him; the duty to preserve …
Can a lawyer suing a former client to collect an unpaid fee use confidential information learned during the representation?
The Committee concluded that when justice requires a lawyer to sue a client for a reasonable fee as a last resort, it is not unethical to use confidential information obtained from the client where cl…
Can a lawyer represent two clients with opposing interests arising from the same collision, and can a lawyer who left the plaintiff's firm later help defend the same suit?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer who represents a personal-injury plaintiff may not also represent the defendant driver in his workers' compensation claim from the same collision without the expr…
Is it unethical for a lawyer to advise a client charged with a crime to hide for a short time before surrendering?
The Committee concluded that whether advising a charged client to hide temporarily is unethical depends on whether the advice or the act advised violates the law: if the law forbids the advice or requ…
Can a lawyer who once represented the wife in a dismissed divorce later represent the husband in a new divorce against her?
The Committee concluded that an attorney who represented the wife in a prior divorce action that was dismissed on reconciliation cannot ethically represent the husband in a later divorce suit against …
Can a lawyer rent space in a shared-office building where non-lawyer tenants use the same receptionist, secretarial pool, and library?
The Committee concluded that renting such shared offices is not unethical, provided nothing on shingles or door signs improperly suggests the individual practitioners are a firm or that a lawyer and a…
Can a lawyer buy, sell, or advertise the sale of a law practice that includes good will and an established clientele?
The Committee concluded that buying, selling, or advertising the sale of a law practice with established clientele is unethical under Canons 24 and 34, though advertising the library, office equipment…
Can a lawyer testify about what a client told him in confidence when the client was planning, and then committed, a crime?
The Committee concluded that when a client reveals an intention to commit a crime and then commits it, the lawyer is not bound to respect the client's confidences and may testify to those facts, becau…
Can a lawyer give the opposing party a copy of a contract he drafted for his client, without the client's consent?
The Committee concluded that the Texas Canons neither prohibit nor compel a lawyer from furnishing the opposing lawyer a copy of a partnership contract he drafted for client X, without X's consent, be…
Can a Texas lawyer who prepared a partnership agreement and acted for both partners later represent one partner in a suit against the other?
The Committee concluded that an attorney may not represent one partner in a suit against the other arising out of the partnership where the lawyer prepared the partnership agreement, acted for both pa…
Can a lawyer reveal to prosecutors that his client witnessed a crime, when the client refuses to come forward?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer whose client confides that he witnessed a crime may decline to reveal that knowledge to prosecutors if the client does not want it disclosed and the client's sile…
Can a lawyer sue a former client when the lawyer's past work for that person was isolated and involved no confidential information?
Yes. The Committee concluded that isolated past representations of a party, where the lawyer obtained no confidential information useful in the new matter, do not disqualify the lawyer from later fili…
Can a lawyer who represented a guardian of an estate keep representing that guardian when a successor guardian contests the first guardian's accounts?
Yes. The Committee concluded (7-1) that having represented the former guardian in administering the estate does not preclude the lawyer from representing that guardian against a successor guardian's c…
Must a lawyer turn over to federal investigators information his investigator obtained by illegally tapping an adverse party's phone?
No. The Committee concluded (5-2) that it would violate Canon 34 for the lawyer to reveal that information to federal investigators, and it declined (8-0) to answer whether disclosure would violate an…
Can a lawyer record a telephone conversation without telling the other person it is being recorded?
Under this 1953 opinion, yes. The Committee unanimously concluded (10-0) that recording a telephone conversation without advising the other person that a record is being made would not violate the Can…
Can the lawyer who drafted an incompetent client's earlier will reveal its contents and the client's mental state to the client's son and guardian?
No. The Committee held (8-1) that the lawyer may not disclose the contents and circumstances of the first will or his opinion of the testator's mental condition, because Canon 34's duty to preserve co…
When is a lawyer disqualified by conflicting interests among an executor, a note's maker, and defendant legatees in a suit to interpret a will?
The Committee found multiple disqualifying conflicts (all 9-0): the executor's chief counsel, who also represents the note's maker, must recuse; a firm member is no better positioned; counsel for thos…
If a workers' comp claimant asks the employer's lawyer whether to appeal the board's award, what can that lawyer say without breaching loyalty to the employer?
The Committee held (7-0) that the employer's attorney should disclose his position to the claimant, represent the employer with undivided fidelity without revealing its confidences, and, if the claima…
If a former client falsely testifies that the lawyer gave him certain advice, may the lawyer reveal the truth and testify despite the privilege?
The Committee held unanimously (7-0) that a Texas attorney falsely accused by his client (a California lawyer) in the client's California disciplinary proceeding may voluntarily testify; the client wa…
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Legal ethics opinions from the Texas Professional Ethics Committee 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.