Legal Ethics Opinions
Free state and local bar legal ethics opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and source links on every page.
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Can a part-time Assistant State's Attorney defend criminal cases in a neighboring county?
The opinion concluded that a part-time Assistant State's Attorney who prosecutes in one county may not represent criminal defendants in a contiguous county where a conflict exists, absent appropriate …
Can a lawyer tell the opposing party's regular attorney about a settlement offer the insurer's defense lawyer ignored?
The opinion concluded that contacting the adverse party's regular lawyer about the status of the case does not violate Rule 4.2, because that rule bars contacting a represented party, not another lawy…
Can a lawyer tell the press that he reported another lawyer to the disciplinary commission and describe the alleged misconduct?
The opinion concluded that an attorney may tell the news media about reporting another lawyer to the ARDC and describe the alleged misconduct, so long as the statements do not pose a serious and immin…
Can a lawyer take landlord-tenant work referred through a real estate brokers' association?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may represent property owners (or their agent-managers) through a real estate brokers' association, provided the agents are authorized to employ counsel, there is n…
Can two assistant public defenders who share an office, secretary, and investigators represent the opposing parent and child in an abuse case?
The opinion concluded that it is improper for two assistant public defenders who share a common office, secretary, and investigators to be required to represent the directly opposed parent and child i…
Can a lawyer pay a withdrawn prior attorney's lien out of settlement funds when the client objects?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not pay settlement proceeds to the client's prior attorney over the client's objection; the disputed amount must be kept separate under Rule 1.15(c) until the d…
Can a law firm join a prepaid legal services plan where a third party pays the firm and markets the service to subscribers?
The opinion concluded that a law firm does not violate the Rules by joining a prepaid legal services program in which a third party pays the firm to give legal advice to subscribers and markets the se…
After a client dies, can the lawyer disclose the client's confidential statements to police investigating the death, or must the lawyer keep asserting the privilege?
The committee concluded the lawyer must continue to assert the deceased client's privilege until either a court-appointed personal representative makes an informed waiver after consultation, or a cour…
When a criminal defense lawyer has been relieved by successor appellate counsel, what must the former trial lawyer turn over and what must she discuss, including questions touching on potentially ineffective assistance?
Per California Formal Opinion 1992-127, trial counsel must turn over the entire client file (correspondence, pleadings, transcripts, exhibits, expert reports, and work product) and must volunteer info…
May California lawyers organize or participate in a temporary employment agency that places contract attorneys with law firms, and how should fees and screening be structured?
Per California Formal Opinion 1992-126, yes, lawyers may organize or participate in such an agency provided they monitor for and address breach of confidentiality, conflicts of interest, independence …
Can a lawyer arrange for real estate brokers to steer title-company closing work to the lawyer in exchange for the lawyer giving the brokers free legal advice?
The committee concluded the arrangement is not ethical, because giving the broker free services in exchange for directing closing work is paying for recommendations, and the lawyer cannot give buyer a…
Can a separate prepaid legal services company promote its plan to employers and list panel attorneys without violating the lawyer advertising rules?
The committee concluded the prepaid plan is a legal-fee insurance plan, not the practice of law, so its promotion, employer contacts, trade name, and panel lists do not violate RPC 7.1 through 7.5, an…
What rules apply when a lawyer also practices another profession, such as accounting, with the same clients?
The committee concluded a lawyer serving in a dual capacity, as a lawyer and in another discipline such as CPA, must comply with RPC 1.8 and Formal Opinion 187.
Can an estate's lawyer disclose that the deceased client appears to have hidden assets to obtain free hospital care?
The information is not the deceased client's confidence because the lawyer learned it after death; it is the personal representative's confidence, and RPC 1.6(c) permits disclosing a court-appointed f…
Can a lawyer advertise on an adoption agency's pamphlet and describe himself as an 'adoption attorney'?
The lawyer may place his name on the pamphlet if he pays only the reasonable advertising cost (RPC 7.2(c)), but 'adoption attorney' violates RPC 7.4 by implying he is a specialist unless used with an …
Can a lawyer run an ad headed 'public notice' that is brief on the details?
The committee concluded the advertisement violated RPC 7.1 because the 'public notice' caption implied an official or governmental notice, and its brevity omitted facts needed to keep it from being ma…
Under a screening setup, how must a firm handle the screened lawyer's fee share, and does the required notice to the former client violate the no-contact rule?
A screened associate may draw a regular salary but no case-based bonus; a screened partner must be kept out of the case income through documented accounting; and the RPC 1.10(b) notice does not violat…
After leaving government, can a lawyer use public information about an expert witness that the lawyer learned on the government job?
The committee concluded that nothing in the Rules of Professional Conduct prohibits a lawyer from using public information about an expert witness that the lawyer learned while employed by a governmen…
If a lawyer learns a client made false statements to a court, may the lawyer disclose them?
The committee concluded RPC 1.6 prohibits the lawyer from disclosing the client's false statements, but the lawyer may disclose what is necessary for self-defense if later accused of fraudulent conduc…
When a criminal defense client hands the lawyer possible physical evidence, must the lawyer open it and turn it over to the prosecutor?
The committee said it lacked enough facts to answer, but concluded the lawyer's conduct would be governed by RPC 3.4(a) and RPC 4.4 and directed the lawyer to those rules for guidance.
Can a prosecutor handle matters in a court where his spouse serves as judge, and what steps avoid a conflict?
The committee concluded the proposed steps were appropriate: the prosecutor's practice involved only search-warrant approvals, and his spouse would not review any warrants he had approved, with no und…
Can a person use the business-card title 'Japanese Legal Consultant' in Washington?
The committee concluded that, after the adoption of Admission to Practice Rule 14 on foreign law consultants, using 'Japanese Legal Consultant' would be misleading because it implies the person compli…
Can a lawyer directly contact the insurer of an adverse party who is represented by counsel?
The committee concluded a lawyer should treat the adverse party's insurer as a represented party for purposes of the RPC 4.2 communication rule.
Can a lawyer send direct-mail solicitations to elderly residents of residential health care facilities?
The committee concluded such direct mail is permitted by RPC 7.3 if it is not false or misleading (RPC 7.1), does not interfere with an existing lawyer-client relationship (RPC 4.2), and does not clai…
Can a lawyer join a credit bureau that requires reporting clients' unpaid fees?
The committee concluded that joining the credit bureau would not be directly related to collecting the fee, so RPC 1.6 prohibits disclosing the client information the membership would require.
Can a lawyer give client information to another lawyer hired to collect a delinquent fee?
The committee concluded RPC 1.6 permits disclosure of client information to a collection lawyer if the lawyer reasonably believes it necessary to establish or collect a claim against the client.
Can a lawyer run a law practice and a separate public-adjusting business at the same time, and what must the lawyer do to keep them proper?
The committee concluded the lawyer may maintain both businesses if they are kept separate enough not to appear related, and if RPC 7.2, 5.4, 5.5, and 1.6 are observed, including making clear when an a…
Can lawyers in a firm sue the city when one of the firm's lawyers serves on that city's council?
The committee concluded RPC 1.7(b) applies, but it lacked the facts to decide whether the conflict could be waived under RPC 1.7(b)(2), and on the limited facts was skeptical that it could.
Can a firm keep a named principal's name in the firm name when that lawyer practices law independently of the firm?
The committee concluded RPC 7.5(b) would not permit a firm to include in its name the name of a lawyer who practices law independent of the firm.
Can a law firm accept client referrals from a public-interest nonprofit that the firm supports with tax-deductible contributions?
The committee concluded that, assuming there is no direct tie between the contributions and the referrals, nothing in the Rules of Professional Conduct would prohibit the firm from accepting such refe…
Can a lawyer share offices with a living-trust marketer who steers buyers to the lawyer and is paid weekly based on how many trusts the lawyer reviews?
The committee concluded the arrangement would violate RPC 5.4(a) and (b) by sharing fees and forming a partnership with a nonlawyer, and RPC 7.2(c) by paying the marketer for recommending the lawyer's…
Must a judicial candidate resign a local elected post, and can the candidate take political positions during a judicial campaign?
The committee concluded Canon 7(A)(3) applies only to incumbent judges, so a candidate serving on a sewer commission or school board need not resign; a candidate should not express opinions on politic…
Can a lawyer also run a private investigation business, and what duties carry over from the lawyer role?
A lawyer may run a separate investigation business, but must tell investigation clients he is not acting as their lawyer and that confidentiality may not apply; RPC 1.8, 7.3, and conduct rules like 8.…
In a workers' compensation appeal, must the lawyer pursue new issues raised by an agreed medical examination that the appeal did not directly cover?
The committee concluded that whether the lawyer may pursue issues raised by the examining physician is primarily a question of law turning on the parties' agreement; a lawyer who acts in good faith to…
Can a lawyer take a will contest on a contingent fee and represent two clients in the same contest?
Nothing in the rules bars a contingent fee in a will contest, and a lawyer may represent two parties in the same contest absent a present conflict, but must advise the clients about potential future c…
If a lawyer notices a client has alcohol on his breath in court, may the lawyer tell the judge?
The committee concluded RPC 1.6 prohibits the lawyer from disclosing the client's apparent intoxication to the court, assuming no misrepresentations are otherwise being made to the court.
Can a law firm mail seminar invitations to non-clients and follow up by phone without violating the solicitation rule?
The firm may send written seminar invitations to clients and non-clients and may make follow-up calls to non-clients, but may not telephone non-clients or seminar attendees to solicit legal business u…
Can two lawyers who are not partners or shareholders practice under a joint firm name connecting their last names with 'and'?
The committee concluded that two lawyers who are neither partners nor shareholders cannot use a joint firm name connecting their last names with 'and'; doing so violates RPC 7.5(b).
If a lawyer promises a creditor to pay a client's debt out of settlement proceeds, must the lawyer honor that promise?
The committee concluded the lawyer was ethically obligated to pay the creditor's debt from the mother's settlement, given the lawyer's written promise to do so, based on RPC 4.3 and 4.4 and Formal Opi…
Can a lawyer consult for a living-trust marketing company and take client referrals from its nonlawyer agents?
The committee concluded the proposed arrangement might violate several rules: RPC 5.3(c), 5.4(a)-(c), 5.5(b), 7.2(c), and 7.3(a), covering supervision of nonlawyers, fee sharing and partnership with n…
Must a lawyer serving as an arbitrator recuse when the lawyer has a pending civil case against an attorney representing a party in the arbitration?
The committee concluded the Rules of Professional Conduct do not address this situation; because the lawyer is acting in a quasi-judicial capacity, the question belongs to the Judicial Ethics Advisory…
After dropping one spouse, can a lawyer keep representing the other spouse in a car-crash case where the spouses blame each other?
The committee concluded RPC 1.7 permits the lawyer to continue representing the wife, provided the lawyer has the written consent of both the husband and the wife.
Can a lawyer who changed firms represent a client against a party that the lawyer's former firm represents, if the lawyer never worked on that matter?
The committee concluded there is no rule violation where the lawyer holds no secrets or confidences of the former client, but the lawyer carries the burden of showing compliance if the former client c…
When partners fight over who gets the partnership's files, how does a lawyer decide whose files they are?
The committee declined to opine because the threshold question, who the client is, is a legal question it cannot answer; once the client is identified, WSBA Formal Opinion 181 resolves the file disput…
Can a Washington lawyer waive an absent juvenile client's speedy trial right when the client has never made contact?
The lawyer must consult the client if possible; if the client never made contact and is absent, the lawyer must ask the court whether the client received notice to appear, and if so may use best judgm…
Can a Washington lawyer share office space with a nonlawyer and accept client referrals from that nonlawyer?
The committee concluded a lawyer may share office space with a nonlawyer if the public is not misled into thinking they are partners, and may accept referrals if the lawyer keeps independent professio…
Can a Washington lawyer be hired by a credit-services company to help its customers challenge items on their credit reports?
The committee concluded that a lawyer doing this legal work for the company would involve the practice of law, the company would be practicing law by joining with the lawyer, and the arrangement would…
Can one Washington lawyer simultaneously serve in private practice, as a city attorney, as a coroner, and take indigent criminal appeals?
The committee concluded that holding all of those roles presents conflicts of interest and is allowed only if the lawyer can satisfy RPC 1.7(a), which it seriously doubted was possible under the circu…
Can a Washington lawyer employ a nonlawyer as a lobbyist, include the nonlawyer in a profit-sharing retirement plan, and let the nonlawyer hold stock in the law practice?
A lawyer may employ a nonlawyer lobbyist with proper supervision and include the nonlawyer in a profit-sharing retirement plan, but a nonlawyer may not own stock in a corporation that practices law.
Can a Washington lawyer publish a newspaper column that provides general legal information to the public?
The committee concluded that a general legal-information advertising column is permissible if it complies with the relevant portions of Title 7 of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
Can a part-time, hourly-paid lawyer be described as 'of counsel' to a law firm?
The committee concluded that, pursuant to WSBA Formal Opinion 178, 'of counsel' would be an appropriate term to describe the lawyer's part-time, hourly-paid relationship with the law firm.
If a public defender's spouse works for the City Attorney, can the public defender handle cases against the City, and is the whole office disqualified?
The committee concluded RPC 1.8(i) barred the lawyer from representing a party in a matter in which the spouse represented the City absent the client's consent after consultation about the relationshi…
If a lawyer is hired by a nonprofit to give its members basic legal advice, can the lawyer take on related matters for those members for a fee?
The committee concluded that nothing in the rules would prohibit the lawyer from undertaking such fee-paid representation of the members on related matters, provided the lawyer otherwise complied with…
Can a corporation's lawyer contact a government agency's regional administrator directly during a possible enforcement proceeding, or must it go through the agency's counsel?
The committee was of the opinion that RPC 4.2 authorizes contacting a government official even when represented by counsel where the contact is authorized by law, but the committee cannot opine on whe…
Can a prosecutor whose office also serves as county corporation counsel sue two county commissioners for holding incompatible offices?
Yes. The opinion concluded there is no conflict because the prosecutor's office represents the county as an entity, not the individual commissioners, so the prosecutor, and the whole office, may bring…
When a lawyer jointly represents doctors and their professional corporation in a malpractice case and learns one client may have done the wrongdoing, must the lawyer withdraw, and can the lawyer report it?
Once the clients' interests become directly adverse, the lawyer must withdraw from representing all of them, and may not report the doctors to medical regulators or prosecutors without client consent.
Can a lawyer who becomes a full-time administrative hearing officer keep a private law practice and stay on the firm letterhead?
The opinion concluded that, unlike a judge, a lawyer who becomes a full-time administrative hearing officer is not per se barred from private practice, subject to conflict and confidentiality rules, b…
Can a sole remaining lawyer keep using the old multi-name partnership name after the other partners die or leave?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer whose partners have all died, retired, or otherwise left is not precluded from continuing to use the former partnership name, absent reason to believe that clients …
Can a legal services lawyer let a funding agency inspect case logs that contain client confidences?
The opinion concluded that attorneys at a legal services support center had to refuse to let a funding agency's representatives inspect logs and notes containing clients' confidences and secrets, and …
Can a New York lawyer mail copies of newspaper articles about the lawyer directly to accident victims along with a letter offering legal services?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may send a targeted direct-mail letter enclosing newspaper articles about the lawyer to potential clients, provided the mailing comports with the advertising rules …
How these opinions are useful
- Understand the rules: Ethics opinions interpret how the rules of professional conduct apply to real fact patterns.
- Persuasive authority: Not binding like court discipline decisions, but state bar formal opinions carry substantial weight.
- Working guidance: The committee shows lawyers what the rule actually requires day to day (conflicts checks, fee letters, intake screens, withdrawal mechanics).
- Practice research: Cite ethics opinions in fee agreements, engagement letters, conflict waivers, and disqualification motions.