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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If an insured revokes his earlier consent to dismiss his counterclaim so the insurer can settle, can the defense lawyer dismiss it anyway?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer may not voluntarily dismiss the insured's counterclaim with prejudice once the insured has revoked authority to do so, even though the insured signed an advance a…
Can a lawyer let staff pick a court reporting service based on prizes the service awards employees who place the most business with it?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not permit the choice of a court reporting service to be influenced by prizes a service offers the lawyer's employees, because the prospect of prizes could comp…
Can a lawyer who sits on a hospital's advisory ethics committee sue that hospital or one of its staff doctors for another client?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who serves on a hospital's advisory ethics committee is not automatically disqualified from representing a client adverse to the hospital or a staff doctor, on a ma…
In a probate matter, does the lawyer represent the estate or the personal representative, and can the lawyer take the PR's side in a dispute with the heirs?
The opinion concluded the lawyer represents the personal representative, not the estate, and is not barred from representing the PR in disputes with heirs, but may not do so using confidential informa…
Can a lawyer for the opposing party contact former employees of a represented corporation without the corporation's counsel consenting?
The opinion reaffirmed Opinion 88-3: a lawyer may contact former employees of a represented corporation, including former control-group members, without corporate counsel's consent, as long as the for…
When an insured demands copies of defense counsel's case-assessment letters to the insurer, must the lawyer hand over that work product?
The opinion concluded that defense counsel representing both insured and insurer was not required to furnish the insured the lawyer's case-assessment correspondence sent to the insurer, but owed prima…
When an insured asks defense counsel to send a policy-limits demand to set up a bad-faith claim against the insurer, what can the lawyer do?
The opinion concluded that insurer-retained defense counsel, who represents both insured and insurer, could not counsel the insured about a bad-faith claim or send a settlement demand against the insu…
How long must a lawyer hold a missing client's trust funds before treating them as abandoned and paying them to the state escheat fund?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer must hold a known but unlocatable owner's trust funds and treat them as abandoned, payable to the state treasurer, only after a five-year period in which the princi…
Can a lawyer in one town be 'of counsel' to a law firm in another town while keeping his own separate practice?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may be designated 'of counsel' to a North Carolina firm in another town when the two share a close, regular, and personal relationship for the practice of law and t…
Can one firm jointly represent several claimants to a limited fund and help them divide the award?
The opinion concluded that, after full disclosure and consent, a firm may jointly represent several members of a claimant group competing for a limited fund, but it may not act as advocate for any of …
Can a corporation's lawyer keep representing the company in litigation against one of its own 50% shareholders?
The opinion concluded that a closely held corporation's lawyer, retained when the company was controlled by its two original shareholders, may continue to represent the corporation both in its suit ag…
What must insurance defense counsel do after learning facts that would defeat the insured's coverage?
The opinion concluded that counsel is impliedly authorized to disclose to the insurer only that a coverage question exists, with a request to appoint independent counsel for the insured; absent that l…
In Kentucky, may a lawyer limit help to an indigent pro se litigant to drafting the initial pleadings, and may a legal services group publish self-help handbooks with pleading forms?
Yes to both. A lawyer may limit representation to preparing initial pleadings, but substantial help such as drafting a non-form pleading must be disclosed to the court; publishing handbooks with pro s…
Can a lawyer join a business networking group or set up a booth at a business expo to attract clients?
The opinion concluded a lawyer could join a professional networking group and describe her services generally if the membership fee was not tied to referrals and she did not solicit members in person,…
Can an Arizona lawyer ghostwrite pleadings and give advice to a client who appears in court pro se?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may provide limited-scope help, preparing pleadings and giving advice without appearing, if the client consents and the scope does not force a rule violation. It decline…
If a lawyer learns the insurer is overpaying a client and the client says stay quiet, can the lawyer keep representing the client?
The opinion concluded the lawyer could not disclose the client's continuing acceptance of overpayments, but had to withdraw because letting the checks pass through the trust account assisted ongoing f…
When a client disappears, can the lawyer holding the client's documents release them to the opposing party's lawyer or destroy them?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer must make every reasonable effort to locate the client, must hold the documents with a fiduciary's care, may not destroy them until they are legally abandoned und…
Can a government lawyer contact a represented party without counsel's consent based on a Justice Department directive (the Thornburgh Memorandum)?
The opinion concluded that the answer to both questions is no. A Wisconsin-licensed government lawyer may not communicate about the subject of a representation with a party the lawyer knows to be repr…
Can a lawyer informally interview the opposing party's expert witnesses or treating physicians outside the presence of opposing counsel?
The opinion reaffirmed, with caveats, the committee's earlier Formal Opinion E-83-13 on contacting an opposing party's expert witnesses, but modified it to reflect Klieger v. Alby, which held that Wis…
If a public defender supervisor assigns a caseload above recognized standards and a staff lawyer declines new cases, can the supervisor discipline that lawyer?
The opinion reaffirmed earlier Formal Opinion E-84-11 and concluded that the committee cannot resolve the employment-relations question, but that exceeding recognized maximum caseload standards, or im…
Can I interview a former employee of the adverse corporation ex parte, without going through its counsel?
The panel concluded that the Rhode Island Rules of Professional Conduct do not prohibit attorneys and their agents from conducting ex parte interviews of former employees of an adverse corporate party…
Can a former prosecutor who handled a criminal battery case privately represent the victim in a civil suit over the same battery?
The committee concluded that DR 9-101(B) barred a former assistant district attorney from representing the battery victim civilly against the defendant he had been assigned to prosecute, because the c…
What must appointed counsel do when an indigent client gets money after filing an indigency statement to obtain free representation?
The committee concluded that appointed counsel who learns the indigent client received funds after claiming indigency must ask the client to rectify the fraud, and if the client refuses, must either r…
Can insurance-defense counsel give the carrier a settlement-value opinion when the claim exceeds policy limits but can be settled within them?
The committee concluded that once defense counsel makes a good-faith determination that an award could exceed the policy limits and knows the case can settle within them, the lawyer may not give the c…
Can I list my paralegal's name on the firm letterhead, the building directory, and a newspaper ad alongside the attorneys, and can the paralegal use a business card and desk plate?
The panel concluded that a non-attorney's name may not appear among the attorneys on the firm's stationery, in the building directory listing the firm's lawyers, or in a newspaper advertisement listin…
Must a criminal defense lawyer disclose that the client lied to a probation officer during the presentence investigation?
The committee concluded that if the client's effort to obtain a lighter sentence by lying to the probation officer is itself a crime, DR 7-102(B)(1) makes disclosure of the fraud on the court mandator…
When a lawyer properly represents both an injured plaintiff and the plaintiff's health insurer claiming subrogation, can the lawyer collect a fee from both?
The committee concluded that where dual representation of the plaintiff and the subrogated health insurer is itself permitted (under Opinion 91-25's conditions), there is no prohibition on collecting …
Can a lawyer who shares office space and a secretary with another lawyer sue that other lawyer's client?
The committee concluded that because the two lawyers are separate professional associations who do not hold themselves out as one firm (separate phone lines and letterhead), they are not a firm for im…
Can a lawyer take part in a living-trust program where a non-lawyer company gathers client information and drafts the documents, leaving the lawyer to review and execute?
The committee concluded the arrangement is improper: if the local attorney represents the trust customer, having no contact until execution and merely checking documents drafted by others violates Rul…
Can a lawyer donate legal services to be auctioned at a charity fundraiser?
The committee concluded that donating legal services for a charity auction does not violate the Rules, provided the lawyer makes express qualifications: defining the nature and scope of the donated se…
Can a lawyer who is a bankruptcy trustee in one division represent a creditor in other divisions, and what duties does a lawyer-trustee owe?
The committee concluded that a lawyer-trustee is not required to decline representing a creditor in other divisions of the Bankruptcy Court, provided he complies with Rule 1.7(b) and never represents …
Can a lawyer representing a wife in a divorce also represent a new client who turns out to be the husband's alleged paramour?
The committee concluded the lawyer cannot represent both, because the information that the second client is the husband's paramour creates a built-in conflict: revealing it would breach the second cli…
Can a lawyer work with a counterfeit-investigation company that locates infringers, recommends the lawyer, and takes a share of the recovery?
The committee concluded the arrangement is fraught with the potential for ethical violations but could be carried out without violating the Rules if the lawyer keeps the client informed, gets consent …
Can a lawyer advance money to a client to pay for a rental car before the client's insurance claim is settled?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may not advance money to a client for a rental car before settlement, because Rule 1.8(e) permits advancing only court costs and expenses of litigation, and a ren…
Can an attorney use powers of attorney from both the buyer and seller to sign the closing documents in a real estate transaction?
The committee concluded that if the attorney is employed merely to perform the ministerial act of signing the closing documents, the Rules are not implicated; but if he is expected to give legal advic…
Can a lawyer pay a fact witness, here a former employee of the client, for time spent preparing for and attending a deposition or trial?
The committee concluded that DR 7-109(C) bars paying ordinary fact witnesses beyond expenses and financial loss, but it read the rule not to reach a former employee of a client who must spend substant…
Is Georgia Formal Advisory Opinion 91-3 still in effect?
No. The State Bar of Georgia has replaced Formal Advisory Opinion 91-3, and its text is not published in the online handbook. The State Bar directs anyone seeking the replaced opinion to contact the B…
Can a former judicial law clerk represent a client on appeal in a case the clerk worked on while clerking for the trial judge?
The committee concluded that Rule 1.12(a) bars a former law clerk from representing a client in a matter in which he participated personally and substantially as a clerk unless all parties consent aft…
Must a lawyer-legislator warn clients up front that the lawyer's representation of them before state agencies will be publicly disclosed?
The committee concluded that no provision of the Rules requires a lawyer-legislator to tell a client that representation before a state agency will ultimately be made public, because such representati…
Can a lawyer advertise a 'Workers Compensation Legal Clinic' offering free assistance, and is that misleading?
The committee concluded that 'Workers Compensation Legal Clinic' is an improper trade name under Rules 7.2 and 7.5 because it implies a connection with the Workers' Compensation Commission and the ad …
Can an attorney who served as a minor's guardian ad litem then serve as the minor's counsel in a later commitment proceeding?
The committee concluded that under Rule 3.7 an attorney who is likely to be a witness as to his findings while serving as guardian ad litem is disqualified from serving as the minor's counsel during t…
Can a personal injury lawyer also represent the client's health insurer to recover its subrogated medical expenses from the same defendant?
The committee concluded that where the plaintiff is contractually obligated to reimburse the health insurer, a lawyer may represent both the plaintiff and the insurer to recover medical expenses from …
If a lawyer represents a partnership, is the general partner also a client for conflict purposes when the lawyer takes a case against a corporation that partner owns?
The committee concluded that whether the lawyer may take the second matter depends on whether his representation of the partnership might reasonably be perceived by the general partner as also represe…
Can a lawyer represent a co-defendant of a client represented by the lawyer's spouse, or by the spouse's office?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may represent a co-defendant of his spouse's client only after disclosing the marital relationship and obtaining the client's consent (Rule 1.8(i)), and may not p…
I was hired on a contingency fee and the client fired me before the case ended. What can I recover for the work I already did?
The panel noted that Rhode Island case law lets a client discharge an attorney at any time, with or without cause, and that the discharged attorney's proper measure of recovery is the reasonable value…
Can a law firm act as a title insurance agency under its own firm name, or must it form a separate entity?
The committee concluded the Rules do not require a law firm to set up a separate entity to act as a title insurance agency, so long as its method of operation does not otherwise violate the Rules; if …
Can a law firm's partnership agreement reduce or eliminate a departing partner's share of accounts receivable?
The committee concluded that a partnership amendment denying withdrawal compensation applied equally to all departing partners, regardless of whether they keep practicing, does not appear to violate R…
Can a law firm's lawyers volunteer as special prosecutors for a district attorney while other firm lawyers defend criminal cases in the same county?
The committee concluded a firm may take part in a volunteer-prosecutor program while the firm also does criminal defense in the same county only if strict screening, separate supervision, segregated f…
Can a part-time county public defender also represent criminal defendants in other counties?
The committee concluded there is no apparent conflict in a lawyer serving as public defender in one county while representing criminal defendants in other counties, provided the lawyer reasonably beli…
Can an in-house lawyer for a company send debt-collection letters on letterhead implying he is outside counsel, and what fee is reasonable?
The committee concluded that using letterhead implying the in-house attorney is independent outside counsel violates Rules 7.1 and 7.5; the collection-department employees' activities may violate Rule…
Can a former assistant solicitor, now counsel to the Foster Care Review Board, handle abuse/neglect matters he worked on as a prosecutor?
The committee concluded that under Rule 1.11(c)(1) the lawyer may not participate, on behalf of the Board, in any matter in which he participated personally and substantially as an assistant solicitor…
Can a lawyer who serves on county council, which sets magistrates' facilities and pay, practice before those magistrates, and can the lawyer's partner?
The committee concluded the Rules of Professional Conduct do not expressly prohibit a county council member from representing clients in the local magistrate's court, but State Ethics Commission opini…
Can lawyers refer clients who need to borrow money to a lender the lawyers helped set up, and pay the lender from the settlement?
The committee concluded that because the lawyers had no financial interest in the lender and merely represented it in setting up its business, the lender's acts are not attributed to them; so referrin…
Can a lawyer advise a divorce client to secretly tape-record the client's telephone conversations with the client's spouse?
The committee concluded that an attorney may not advise a client to tape-record the client's conversations with a spouse, because secretly recording a conversation without the consent or prior knowled…
Can a child-support agency lawyer pursue a defendant he once represented or whose confidential government information he holds, and can the agency be on both sides in unrelated cases?
The committee concluded that an OCSE lawyer may not pursue a defendant he personally represented in a prior OCSE child-support action (Rule 1.11(c)), nor pursue someone whose confidential government i…
Can a lawyer charge a contingent fee for non-litigation work like a securities registration, combine it with hourly fees, and advertise it?
The opinion concluded a contingent fee for non-litigation work such as securities registration is not improper if it meets Rule 1.5(c) and violates no other law, that combining hourly and contingent f…
Can a lawyer hire as a paralegal a former secretary of a corporation that is an adverse party in the lawyer's litigation?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may hire as a paralegal a former employee of an adverse corporate party, at least where the paralegal had no decision-making role, possesses no privileged informa…
Can a law firm's employment contract bar a departing lawyer from soliciting or serving the firm's clients for three years after leaving?
The opinion concluded the clause violates Rule 5.6(a), which bars employment agreements that restrict a lawyer's right to practice after leaving (outside retirement benefits or a settlement), and woul…
Will the ethics committee pre-clear a lawyer's proposed radio and newspaper ads, and what standards govern attorney advertising?
The committee concluded it would be inappropriate and impractical to pass on the texts and scripts of the many ads attorneys run each year; while the submitted ads did not appear facially improper, ea…
Can a lawyer who used to negotiate leases for a developer now represent a tenant negotiating a lease with that same former-client developer?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may not, without the former client's consent. Lease negotiation is a substantially related matter where confidences were likely shared, so Rule 1.9 bars the new repres…
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.