Utah State Bar Ethics Advisory Opinion Committee Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Utah State Bar Ethics Advisory Opinion Committee, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Can a private lawyer sue one government agency while representing another agency of the same government in an unrelated matter?
The opinion concludes that this simultaneous representation is not categorically prohibited; whether it creates a conflict turns on identifying the government client through a functional analysis and …
Can a lawyer interview a former control-group employee of an adverse corporation without opposing counsel's consent?
Yes, but with limits. The opinion concludes a lawyer may contact a former control-group employee of an adverse party under Rule 4.2, but may not ask about anything covered by the attorney-client privi…
Can a Utah lawyer represent a homeowners association against a property manager who refers business to the lawyer?
Representing an association in matters not adverse to the manager raises no conflict and needs no disclosure, but suing or negotiating against the manager creates a personal-interest conflict under Ru…
Can a lawyer serve on a legal-services organization's litigation advisory group when its clients have interests adverse to the lawyer's own clients?
Generally yes. The opinion concludes that under Rules 6.3 and 6.4, serving as a director, officer, or member of a legal-services or law-reform organization does not by itself create an attorney-client…
Can corporate counsel block opposing counsel from interviewing employee fact-witnesses by asserting that counsel represents all of them?
Only where counsel has actually formed an attorney-client relationship with each employee-witness in compliance with Rule 1.7 (informed consent to joint representation, with notice of possible withdra…
Can a lawyer contact a former employee of a represented corporate party without the company's lawyer's consent?
Yes. The opinion concludes Utah Rule 4.2 does not bar contacting an unrepresented former employee of a represented organization, because Rule 4.2(c) reaches only current control-group members and curr…
Can an employer's lawyer file an answer or take other action for a former employee co-defendant who has vanished and cannot be contacted?
Yes, narrowly. Even though the lawyer cannot communicate with the missing former employee as Rule 1.4 contemplates, the lawyer may undertake a brief transitional representation, such as filing an answ…
Can one lawyer represent both a county and a city within that county on civil matters, or is that a per se conflict of interest?
There is no blanket prohibition. A lawyer may represent both a county and a city on civil matters, but when the two entities are directly adverse on a matter the lawyer may not represent either (and p…
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Legal ethics opinions from the Utah State Bar Ethics Advisory Opinion 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.