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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Can a prosecuting attorney represent a city policeman in a civil overtime-wage suit when the same facts might require a criminal prosecution?
The Committee concluded that it would be unethical for a prosecuting attorney to represent a policeman in a civil overtime-wage suit against the City under statutes whose violation he might have to in…
Can the plaintiff's lawyer later represent the defendant insured in a Stowers bad-faith suit against the insured's own carrier?
The Committee concluded that the plaintiff's attorney may represent the insured in a later Stowers suit against the carrier if the plaintiff's judgment has been satisfied, but not if it remains unsati…
Can a district attorney's law firm represent the surety in a county's civil suit over a misappropriation the DA first presented to a grand jury?
The Committee concluded that the firm of a district attorney who presented the misappropriation facts to a grand jury may not ethically represent the bonding company defendant in the county's later ci…
Can a lawyer sue a defendant in a personal-injury case while the lawyer's firm represents that same person as a comp claimant from the same collision?
The Committee concluded that it is a clear violation of Canon 6 for a lawyer to prosecute a personal-injury suit against a defendant while the lawyer's firm represents that same defendant as a claiman…
Can the insurer's lawyer defend the insured in a damage suit and at the same time sue the insured for a declaratory judgment that the policy was canceled?
The Committee concluded by a 7-1 vote that an attorney violates Canon 6 by defending the insured under a non-waiver agreement in a collision damage suit while filing a separate declaratory-judgment su…
Can plaintiff's counsel deal directly with the insurance adjuster to settle a case, and can the defense lawyer consent to that?
The Committee concluded that plaintiff's counsel violates Canon 9 by negotiating directly with the defendant's adjuster without defense counsel's consent; defense counsel may consent in a workmen's co…
Can an assistant county attorney who handles the county's eminent-domain cases also privately represent property owners in condemnation cases the county is not part of?
The Committee concluded that, on the facts assumed, an assistant county attorney who handles the county's eminent-domain matters may also privately represent property owners in condemnation cases in w…
Can one attorney represent both a city and a school district in the same delinquent-tax suit?
The Committee concluded that one attorney representing two taxing agencies in a delinquent-tax suit is not a per se violation of Canon 6, because such dual representation does not necessarily involve …
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 firm that represented both co-executors take one of them against the other once they disagree about settling the estate?
The Committee concluded that a law firm that represented both co-executors in the estate proceeding may not, when their interests diverge over settlement and distribution, represent one of them agains…
Can a county's delinquent-tax attorney also represent one of the defendant landowners in the same tax-foreclosure matter, even with everyone's consent after full disclosure?
The Committee concluded that he may not; Canon 6 lets a lawyer represent conflicting interests only with consent after full disclosure, but it does not let one lawyer represent both a plaintiff and a …
Can a lawyer who serves on a city zoning board of adjustment represent clients before the planning commission and city council on matters outside the board's work?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer who acts with propriety and good judgment may serve on a city zoning board of adjustment and also represent clients before other city boards and the city council …
If a law firm partner is the city's mayor, can other members of the firm represent clients before the city's corporation court whose judge the city commission appoints and can remove at will?
The Committee concluded that no member of the firm may represent clients before the city's corporation court, because the mayor's disqualification under Canon 6 is imputed to the whole firm where the …
Can a lawyer who serves as executor collect both executor's commissions and a separate attorney's fee for legal services to the estate?
The Committee concluded that, if Texas law permits it, collecting both a commission and an attorney's fee for services outside the executor's duties is not unethical, but it is unethical for the execu…
Can a lawyer accept a fee from an insurance company in exchange for advising and encouraging his clients and friends to adopt the company's tax-saving insurance plan?
The Committee concluded that accepting and carrying out such an arrangement as submitted would violate one or all of Canons 6, 24, and 35; the plan is calculated to make the lawyer serve the insurer's…
Can a lawyer employed full time as a bank's trust officer and vice president handle probate and other legal matters for the bank's customers?
The Committee concluded that he may not; doing so would be a clear violation of Canon 24 and would be certain or likely to violate Canons 32 and 6, especially in drafting wills and handling probate fo…
Can an insurance company's salaried attorney also represent the insured for his deductible and his counterclaim in the same suit, and what conditions apply?
The Committee concluded that, on the bare facts, none of these arrangements is unethical per se, but the attorney must be candid with the court about whom he represents (Canon 19), may not use the sit…
If two lawyers share an office and use a joint 'Law Offices of A and B' letterhead, is one disqualified from a case because the other talked to and turned away the opposing party?
The Committee concluded that two lawyers who share an office and hold out under a joint 'Law Offices of A and B' letterhead are in a relationship so close that, even if they are not partners, the disq…
Can a judge borrow money from lawyers who practice in his court, and can a lawyer lend money to a judge, under the Texas Canons?
The Committee concluded that a judge's borrowing from lawyers who practice before him, though it gives the appearance of impropriety, did not violate any Texas Canon because the ABA Judicial Canons ha…
Can the same lawyers represent both individual county commissioners and the county itself when a taxpayer sues to stop illegal expenditures?
The Committee concluded that, where a taxpayer sought to enjoin county commissioners from making illegal expenditures and the county was added as a defendant, the potential conflict between the commis…
Can a lawyer represent an employee's workers' compensation claim and also represent both the employee and the employer against the third party who caused the same accident?
The Committee concluded that, provided the lawyer makes full disclosure of the facts bearing on possible conflicting interests, it is not improper under Canon 6 to represent an employee in his workmen…
Can a former assistant county attorney, and his law partner, defend a person the lawyer had handled as a prosecutor while in office?
The Committee concluded that no member of a law firm may represent a criminal defendant if one of the firm's members, while previously serving as an assistant county attorney, had handled or worked on…
Can a lawyer try a case when a partner in the same firm, who drafted the disputed instruments, will be a material witness?
A majority of the Committee concluded that a lawyer may not ethically represent a client in a litigated matter in which the lawyer's law partner will appear as a material witness, because one firm mem…
Can a law firm own stock in a loan company that lends to its clients with pending claims and keep referring clients there?
The Committee concluded that a firm may invest in the stock of a loan company that lends to persons with pending damage-suit claims, and may continue referring clients who need to borrow to that compa…
Can a lawyer sit as a city commissioner while his law partner represents clients with matters before that same commission?
The Committee concluded that one member of a law firm may not serve as chairman of the City Commission while his law partner accepts employment to represent clients with interests before the Commissio…
Can two lawyers stay law partners when one of them is the County Judge and the other is the County Attorney of the same county?
The Committee concluded that it is generally improper for two lawyers to continue as partners when one is the County Attorney and the other the County Judge of the same county; because the judge's nam…
Can a lawyer who sits on a state commission defend a former client in a suit brought by the state, where the commission has no role in the matter?
The Committee unanimously concluded that a lawyer who is a member of the Texas State Highway Commission may defend his former client in a state suit for conspiracy to violate the Motor Carrier Act, be…
Can a lawyer take a guaranteed annual retainer from one client, work from that client's offices at the client's expense, and offset fees earned from other clients against the retainer?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer may accept a guaranteed annual retainer from a client, with the client furnishing office space and overhead, reduced by the net fees the lawyer earns from other c…
Can a bank require borrowers to use the bank's attorney for loan papers, can one lawyer represent both buyer and seller, and can the buyer's lawyer offer to prepare the seller's deed?
The Committee concluded that a bank may require its own attorney to prepare the mortgage and note (with the borrower's own counsel preparing other papers), that one lawyer may represent both buyer and…
May a Texas County Judge practice law in the County Court-at-Law, and can he keep handling probate matters pending in his own county court?
The Committee found that a County Judge's private practice before other courts is governed by statute (Art. 319, Civil Statutes; Arts. 402 and 403, Penal Code), not by any Canon, so it declined to res…
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 county attorney privately defend an out-of-state father in a child-support contempt case when the only other local lawyer represents the mother and plans a criminal nonsupport prosecution?
The Committee concluded that a County Attorney, in his private practice, may not defend an out-of-state father in a civil contempt action for failing to support his children when the mother's attorney…
Will a Texas bar ethics committee opine on whether a bank serving as executor of two reciprocal wills has a conflict of interest?
The Committee concluded that whether a bank appointed executor of both reciprocal wills has a conflict of interest is outside the Canons and the committee's jurisdiction, because the Canons govern the…
Can a lawyer help defend a criminal case when his law partner is the county attorney, even if that partner stays out of the prosecution?
The Committee concluded that the law partner of a county attorney may not assist in the defense of a criminal case in district court, and that this is true whether or not the county attorney participa…
Can a city attorney use a city-hall office to see private clients and take referrals from city employees?
The Committee concluded that, strictly on the facts stated, a city attorney does not violate the Canons by occupying a city-provided office in city hall one afternoon a week to serve city employees an…
What private legal work may a district attorney, county attorney, or county judge take on, and can they use county offices and staff for it?
The Committee concluded that district attorneys, county attorneys, and county judges may not accept private employment that is adverse to the State or county, forbidden by statute, obtained because of…
Can a lawyer named executor in a client's will probate that will, handle the estate, and charge a fee for the legal work?
The Committee concluded that, so long as the attorney did not solicit his own appointment, he commits no violation of the Canons by serving as the named independent executor (sole or co-executor), pro…
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…
When an insurer hires a lawyer to defend both the insurer and the insured in a suit exceeding policy limits, must the lawyer tell the insured about the conflict and the excess-exposure risk?
Yes. The Committee concluded the insured is the defense lawyer's client, a conflict exists between insurer and insured, and Canon 6 requires the lawyer to inform the insured of the conflict, immediate…
If a lawyer drafted a contract for both sides, can the lawyer later represent one of them in a breach suit against the other?
No. The Committee concluded that where the attorney represented both parties in drafting the contract, it violates Canons 6 and 34 for him to later represent one of them in a breach suit against the o…
Can a county judge disqualify himself and then appear as a lawyer in his own court, and can he keep his name in a law firm whose partner practices before him?
No to both. The Committee concluded a county judge may not disqualify himself and then act as an attorney in a matter handled in his court before a special judge, and may not maintain a law partnershi…
Can a lawyer drafting a client's will insert a provision naming himself as counsel for the estate?
Only if the testator requests it. The Committee concluded that inserting a provision naming the drafting lawyer as estate counsel is ethical when the testator requests it without the lawyer's solicita…
Can a lawyer let the opposing party pay the fee for the work the lawyer does for his own client?
Only with the client's informed consent. The Committee concluded that a landowner's attorney accepting the easement-seeker's offer to pay the attorney's fee is unethical under Canons 6 and 35 unless t…
Can a lawyer-legislator who sponsored a resolution letting a constituent sue the State then take the case and prosecute that suit?
No. The Committee concluded it would be unethical for a lawyer-legislator to accept employment to sue the State on a claim authorized by legislation he sponsored, treating it as contrary to the spirit…
Can a lawyer who handled an estate's probate for the sole beneficiary later sue to remove the executor who paid his fee?
Yes. The Committee concluded that where the estate's administration was substantially complete and the lawyer had been employed by the sole beneficiary, no conflict precludes the lawyer from represent…
Must an insurer-retained defense lawyer warn the insured of his Stowers rights against the insurer in time to demand a within-limits settlement?
The Committee did not resolve it. The eight members split 4-4 on whether an insurer-retained defense lawyer must inform the insured of his rights under Stowers, leaving it an open question. The member…
Is it misconduct for a lawyer to slip a clause into a will, without the testator's knowledge, naming the lawyer's firm to represent the estate?
Yes. The Committee unanimously concluded that inserting a provision naming the drafting lawyer's firm to represent the estate, without the testator's request or knowledge, is fraudulent and dishonorab…
Can a county judge, in private practice, defend a company in a wrongful-death suit he had ordered the guardian to file as probate judge?
No. The Committee concluded that, although Texas law did not legally bar a county judge from private practice on these facts, he should not accept employment to defend the transportation company in a …
Can a building-and-loan association require its own law firm to prepare all loan papers even though the borrower wants his own lawyer?
Yes, on these facts. A majority concluded that a building and loan association may select its own attorneys and require them to prepare all loan papers, and the selected attorneys do not violate the C…
Can a lawyer named independent executor also represent the devisees in suing a tenant who is a stranger to the will over the estate's leases?
Yes, on these facts. The Committee concluded that an attorney appointed independent executor may, at the devisees' request, represent them in a meritorious suit against a stranger-tenant for violating…
Can a prosecutor (or his firm) take a contingent-fee civil damage suit arising from the same accident he is prosecuting criminally?
No. A majority concluded that a district attorney prosecuting a defendant over a highway accident may not, and neither may members of his law firm, press a civil damage suit growing out of the same ac…
Can a defense lawyer post bond as surety for his own client in a criminal case?
Only with the court's leave. The Committee concluded that, although no specific canon barred it, a lawyer acting as surety on his client's bond in a criminal case violates the spirit of Texas Canon 24…
Can a lawyer serve as district attorney while remaining a member of a private law firm?
Yes, by a bare majority. The Committee concluded (5-4) that a lawyer may continue as a member of a law firm while holding the office of district attorney, so long as no member of the firm takes a civi…
Can a county attorney who prosecutes misdemeanors take paid employment as a special prosecutor in felony cases in the same county?
Yes, conditionally. A majority of the Committee (5-3) concluded that if the county attorney has no duty to prosecute or assist in prosecuting felony cases, the Canons do not prohibit him from acceptin…
Can a law firm seek a pardon or parole for a prisoner when a firm member, as a former district attorney, prosecuted and convicted that prisoner?
The Committee deadlocked. It split evenly (4-4) on whether a firm may accept employment seeking a prisoner's pardon or parole when a member of the firm, as the former district attorney, prosecuted and…
Can a lawyer representing a client in one case take on an unrelated case suing that same client?
It is a very close question on which the Committee divided. A plurality concluded that where a lawyer's employment is limited to one case, accepting employment against that client in a wholly unrelate…
If a lawyer is also a city judge, what matters are off-limits for him and his firm, and when must he recuse from cases involving firm clients?
The Committee unanimously (6-0) answered all five questions in the affirmative: a city judge and his firm may not represent parties in matters tied to his judicial role (civil suits ancillary to crimi…
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…
Can a district attorney prosecute defendants his former law firm was hired to defend, even though he never actively worked on the case?
No. The Committee concluded (7-0) that it would violate Canon 6 for a district attorney to represent the State against defendants his former firm had been employed to defend, because he was their atto…
Can one lawyer represent both a deceased man's widow and his unremarried former wife (the mother of his minor children) in the same damages suit?
No. The Committee concluded (8-1) that because a potential conflict exists between the rights of the widow and those of the minor children, it would violate Canon 6 for one attorney to represent all t…
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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.