West Virginia State Bar (Lawyer Disciplinary Board) Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the West Virginia State Bar (Lawyer Disciplinary Board), with full citations and source links on every page.
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Can a West Virginia lawyer use artificial intelligence, including generative AI, in a law practice?
Yes. Nothing in the West Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct prohibits using AI as a tool, but the lawyer's duties of competence, diligence, communication, confidentiality, and supervision still ap…
When a West Virginia lawyer or investigator comes into possession of physical evidence of a client's crime, what do the amended Rules of Professional Conduct require?
The opinion reaffirms L.E.I. 98-02 and concludes that, under the amended rules, applicable law (including obstruction and evidence-tampering statutes) may require a lawyer who takes possession of phys…
What ethics rules govern a West Virginia lawyer's use of social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) for client matters, friending, juror and judge research, reviews, and advertising?
L.E.O. 2015-02 answers twelve social media questions. West Virginia lawyers may advise clients about their posts, connect with clients, review jurors, and advertise online, but may not contact represe…
Can a West Virginia lawyer store client files electronically, including with an off-site or cloud provider, and what must the lawyer do to protect them?
Yes. The Board concludes electronic storage of client files is permissible under the Rules of Professional Conduct, provided the lawyer uses due diligence to protect the client's confidentiality, the …
Can a West Virginia lawyer refer a personal-injury client to a litigation-funding company that advances cash against the client's expected recovery, or release the client's case information to it?
Only with care, and never for the lawyer's benefit. The opinion concludes a lawyer may not refer a client to a funding plan the lawyer (or the firm or family) owns or that pays the lawyer for referral…
How long must a West Virginia lawyer keep a former client's closed file, and how can the lawyer destroy it without violating the duty to safeguard client property?
The file is the client's property. The opinion concludes a lawyer should either return a closed file to the client or keep it at least five years after the representation ends (longer for some matters…
Can an insurance defense lawyer send the insured's legal bills to the insurer's outside auditor or reviewer?
Only with the insured's informed consent. The opinion concluded that itemized legal bills are confidential under Rule 1.6, so a lawyer may release them to outside auditors only after consulting the in…
May an insurance company use salaried in-house lawyers practicing under a firm name to defend its insureds in West Virginia?
Yes, but only subject to conditions: the insured is the sole client, the file stays confidential, the lawyer keeps independent judgment, and the captive firm discloses its insurer affiliation because …
What must a criminal defense lawyer do when the client tells the lawyer about, or hands over, the fruits or instrumentalities of a crime?
The opinion gives a balancing framework, not a bright-line rule: a lawyer may not conceal, destroy, or alter physical evidence; what a client says about it is privileged, but the items themselves are …
Can a West Virginia lawyer refer a former client's overdue legal-fee account to a collection agency?
Yes. The opinion overruled the bar's earlier ban and held a lawyer may refer an overdue account to a collection agency, but only under eight guidelines, including exhausting other collection efforts, …
Can a legal services agency represent one party with a staff lawyer while the opposing party, screened by the same agency, is represented by a volunteer pro bono lawyer?
Yes, with safeguards. The opinion concluded that neither a staff-lawyer-versus-pro-bono-lawyer split nor a pro-bono-versus-pro-bono split is a prohibited conflict when intake is by nonlegal staff, the…
Can a West Virginia law firm turn its overdue client accounts over to a collection agency to collect unpaid fees?
LEI 80-1 answered no. Although DR 4-101(C)(4) lets a lawyer reveal the minimum client information needed to collect a fee, the Committee concluded that injecting a collection agency into the attorney-…
Can a court-appointed criminal defense lawyer decide on his own to stop post-conviction proceedings he thinks are against the client's interest, or does the client decide?
LEI 79-16 concluded the lawyer does not get to elect whether to continue; the client decides whether to pursue setting aside the plea. If the client insists after being fully advised of the consequenc…
What must a West Virginia lawyer do after learning that the clients committed fraud on a tribunal through false income testimony?
LEI 78-19 concluded the lawyer should promptly withdraw from the representation and, if the clients refuse to rectify the fraud, reveal it to the affected tribunal. The Committee held that any conflic…
If a third party (not the client) tries to bribe the complaining witness in a criminal case, must the appointed defense lawyer reveal it to the court?
LEI 78-15 concluded that a non-client third party's attempt to bribe the witness was not privileged information, and the lawyer, as an officer of the court, had to promptly reveal the resulting fraud …
Can a lawyer use a paralegal for criminal investigative work, including interviewing prisoners outside normal business hours?
LEI 76-7 concluded a lawyer may delegate non-ministerial tasks such as factual investigation, legal research, and document preparation to paralegals and other nonlawyer staff, provided the lawyer keep…
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Legal ethics opinions from the West Virginia State Bar (Lawyer Disciplinary Board) 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.