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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What should a Mississippi lawyer do with excess funds in a client trust account when the proper owner cannot be determined?
The opinion concluded that trust-account funds whose proper owner cannot be determined are presumed to belong to clients and must be disposed of under the Mississippi Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed …
Can a Mississippi lawyer provide legal research and writing services to other lawyers outside the firm, and must the arrangement be disclosed to the client?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may provide research and writing services to outside lawyers, but the engaging lawyer must disclose the arrangement and obtain the client's consent unless the client's i…
Can a discharged contingent-fee lawyer sue a former client to recover for the work done before being fired?
The opinion concluded a discharged contingent-fee attorney may assert the attorney's lien granted by law to secure fees and expenses and may seek appropriate legal relief for work done before terminat…
May a lawyer who expects to testify as a witness refer the case to other counsel and still take a share of the contingent fee?
The opinion concluded no; a lawyer likely to be called as a witness may not accept employment in the case, and taking a contingent fee while testifying makes the fee an improper payment to a witness c…
May a lawyer work with a judge on a law-related education program while the lawyer or the lawyer's firm has cases pending before that judge?
The opinion concluded that communicating with a judge about matters wholly unrelated to pending litigation, such as a law-related education program, is not a prohibited ex parte contact under ER 3.5; …
If a lawyer admitted in Arizona and the Navajo Nation accepts a Navajo court appointment that Arizona's conflict rules would bar, can Arizona discipline him?
The opinion concluded that, under choice-of-law principles read into the ER 8.5 Comment, the Navajo Nation's ethical rules govern, so a lawyer who complies with the Navajo Nation's rules and court dir…
Can a law firm that represents a workers' compensation carrier solicit and also represent the injured workers in third-party claims?
The opinion concluded the firm may solicit injured workers only in writing under ER 7.1-7.3 (not in person or by phone for pecuniary gain), and that dual representation of the carrier and the worker c…
Can a lawyer who is co-executor and co-trustee have his own firm represent the estate, and what happens if he must testify?
The committee concluded it is not per se improper for an attorney/fiduciary to engage his own firm to handle estate administration, but because he was also a co-fiduciary, the other co-fiduciaries had…
Can a Virginia lawyer note a board certification granted by another state's bar, like Florida's tax-law certification, on Virginia letterhead?
The committee concluded that noting a Florida Bar board certification in tax law on Virginia letterhead and business cards is not improper, provided the statement is not false or misleading, the certi…
If a board-of-adjustment member takes ad hoc legal work for the town, can he still represent private clients against the town?
The Committee concluded that a board-of-adjustment member who accepts ad hoc work as a special attorney for the town (including advising the mayor and council) becomes part of the municipality's 'offi…
Can a New York lawyer use actual client testimonials in radio or television advertising?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may advertise with client testimonials, declining to impose a per se ban, but a testimonial describing prior results must include a disclaimer that the result does …
If a lawyer once advised a married couple about child custody, can the lawyer later represent the wife in their divorce?
Not without the husband's written consent. The opinion concluded the earlier custody advice and the divorce are substantially related, so Rule 1.9 bars representing the wife unless the husband consent…
Can a law firm share office space and a reception area with a financial-planning business that is also its client?
The opinion concluded the arrangement is not improper, so long as the firm keeps its offices separately identified, preserves client confidences, and avoids improper solicitation or fee-sharing with t…
Can a lawyer who jointly represented a couple on their business and estate matters later represent one spouse in their divorce?
The opinion concluded no: dividing marital assets is materially adverse to the former joint client, the lawyer would misuse shared confidences, and the disqualification is imputed to his partners and …
Can a former judge represent a litigant in a matter the judge once ruled on, years after leaving the bench?
The opinion concluded the 1990 Rules let a former judge represent a party even on a matter he ruled on, but only if all parties consent after disclosure; representation in an unrelated matter is fine,…
Can one lawyer represent buyers and sellers on both ends of a linked chain of real estate deals?
The opinion concluded that multiple representation in a linked 'domino' real estate chain is permitted only with full disclosure to and consent from all parties, and the disclosure must continue throu…
Can a lawyer who is a director of and attorney for a bank insist that an estate-planning client name that bank as fiduciary?
The opinion concluded it was professionally improper to insist: choosing the fiduciary is the client's decision, so after disclosing his relationship the lawyer may recommend the bank but, lacking the…
May a law firm that runs a title company advertise in the yellow pages under the 'title companies' heading?
The opinion concluded yes; nothing in the Bar Rules bars the listing, which states a true fact and is not a prohibited designation of a specialty.
When may a lawyer who served on a state administrative agency board later represent clients before that board?
The opinion concluded the lawyer, and the lawyer's firm, are disqualified only from specific matters the board adjudicated on the merits during the lawyer's tenure, not from every party or matter that…
In Kentucky, may a lawyer on a contingent fee agree to advance litigation expenses that the client will never have to repay, win or lose?
No. Rule 1.8(e)(1) lets a lawyer advance litigation costs and make repayment contingent on the outcome, but it does not permit the lawyer to absorb the expenses entirely in every case regardless of re…
In Kentucky, may a lawyer delegate the task of taking a deposition to a non-admitted law school graduate or other lay assistant?
No. Such delegation is improper under the duties of competence, scope, and diligence (Rules 1.1, 1.2, 1.3) and constitutes the unauthorized practice of law under SCR 3.020, which is not limited to cou…
Can a county attorney sign a state contract that dictates the procedures he must use in child-support and paternity cases for the people he represents?
The opinion concluded that if the county attorney's client is the person needing the services, ER 5.4(c) bars him from signing a DES contract dictating procedures where doing so would prejudice the re…
May a lawyer decline to approve a proposed form of judgment to delay its entry, and may he object to a form he concedes is proper?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may decline to approve the proposed judgment as to form so that the client need not act prematurely, since ER 3.2 and the civil rules give the opponent another route t…
Can a Michigan judge appoint a private domestic-relations lawyer as a part-time referee and government liaison attorney, and must the judge then recuse from that lawyer's cases?
The judge may make the appointments, and the same lawyer may hold both roles, if the practitioner observes the conflict and screening limits of the referee and government-lawyer rules; the appointing …
Can a Michigan lawyer join a for-profit lawyer referral service that charges per-referral fees and advertises its lawyers as screened and associated?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not participate in a for-profit referral service to which the lawyer pays a referral fee, nor in one whose advertising falsely implies that participating lawyer…
After litigation, could a private personal-injury lawyer network operate in Tennessee as a joint advertising cooperative rather than a barred referral service?
Formal Ethics Opinion 90-F-122(a) amended 90-F-122 after PITLA sued the Board (alleging First Amendment and antitrust violations) and the parties settled. Under the settlement, PITLA and its Tennessee…
Can a West Virginia lawyer join a for-profit company that screens injury callers and refers them to paying attorneys on a rotation basis?
No, as structured. The opinion concluded a lawyer cannot participate in a for-profit referral program (PITLA) that screens calls, because it is an impermissible for-profit referral service and its ads…
Does a lawyer have to report another lawyer for filing an attorneys'-fee motion that the other side says a settlement waived, when the parties dispute what the settlement covered?
The committee declined to decide whether the fee motion was an unwarranted claim because the parties disputed what the settlement covered, and a committee cannot resolve a factual dispute. With no fac…
When does a lawyer have a 'prior professional relationship' that allows in-person solicitation, and when must a firm's mailing be labeled an advertisement?
The opinion concluded a 'prior professional relationship' means an actual personal attorney-client relationship, so a lawyer could solicit clients he personally served but not clients served only by h…
Can a lawyer for a condominium association sue one of the association's own members for the association?
Yes. The opinion concluded that a lawyer for a condominium association represents the entity itself, not its individual members, so the lawyer may sue a member on the association's behalf without a co…
Can North Carolina lawyers in an interstate firm let client funds be deposited in the firm's out-of-state trust account without the client's consent?
No. The opinion concluded that North Carolina lawyers could not allow client funds to be deposited in a trust account maintained outside North Carolina without the client's written direction, because …
Can a lawyer who serves as trustee on a deed of trust switch sides and represent the lender in the foreclosure, bankruptcy, or a loan workout?
The opinion concluded a lawyer could resign as trustee and then represent the lender in a contested foreclosure or related bankruptcy, but could not, while still serving as trustee, act as the lender'…
Can a lawyer talk to someone who already has a lawyer about taking over the representation?
The opinion concluded that neither the former Code's DR 7-104(A)(1) nor Rule 4.2(a) prohibits a lawyer from communicating with a person currently represented by counsel to determine whether that perso…
Can a lawyer who advises a trust grantor be paid part of his fee directly by the bank serving as trustee?
The Board concluded that a lawyer may represent a trust grantor and receive a portion of his fee from the third-party trustee bank only after the client knows the entire arrangement and consents, with…
Can an Ohio lawyer send targeted direct mail letters soliciting people known to need legal services, such as those charged with a crime?
The Board concluded that, in light of Shapero v. Kentucky Bar Association, a lawyer may use a targeted direct mail campaign to solicit clients known to need legal services, provided the letters are tr…
May one lawyer represent a group of potentially responsible parties jointly in Superfund cost-allocation negotiations?
The opinion concluded yes; the lawyer's client is the group, and representing it poses no inherent conflict, but representing an individual member at the same time triggers the multiple-representation…
Can a New Jersey lawyer charge a nonrefundable retainer?
The Committee held that a nonrefundable retainer is not unethical per se, provided the fee arrangement is fair and reasonable under RPC 1.5; even so, the unused portion should be returned if later eve…
Can the law partners of a lawyer who serves as mayor represent clients before, or in litigation against, the city?
The opinion concluded the firm may appear freely before city bodies the mayor does not sit on, may appear before bodies he sits on only with on-record disclosure under the vicarious-disqualification r…
If a lawyer negligently lets a claim be dismissed on the statute of limitations, does his own malpractice exposure create a conflict requiring withdrawal?
The opinion concluded it could not answer yes or no without more facts, but held that where the lawyer's fault is clear and a malpractice claim is likely, the representation may be materially limited …
Can a law firm pay a nonlawyer marketing director a base salary plus bonuses tied to a percentage of the firm's increased revenues?
The opinion concluded (over three dissents) that paying a nonlawyer incentive compensation measured by a percentage of increased firm revenues does not violate ER 5.4, so long as the nonlawyer does no…
Must an Arizona lawyer report another lawyer's misconduct to bar counsel, and does client confidentiality limit that duty?
The opinion concluded that ER 8.3 requires reporting only violations that raise a substantial question as to a lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness, and only where the reporting lawyer has ac…
Can a lawyer who suspects an elderly client is being manipulated disclose confidences to a diagnostician and seek a guardian without conflicting with other firm clients?
The opinion concluded that under ER 1.14 a lawyer may take reasonable steps to assess a client he reasonably believes cannot act in her own interest, including disclosing confidences to a diagnosticia…
When a lawyer holds a recorded judgment but cannot locate the client, may he decline funds the judgment debtor tenders to satisfy it?
The opinion concluded that if the lawyer has exhausted all reasonable methods of contacting the missing client, he may ethically decline the funds and withdraw under ER 1.16(b)(5); but withdrawal is p…
Can a New York lawyer prepare pleadings for an indigent litigant to file pro se without entering an appearance, and what must be disclosed?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may advise a pro se litigant and prepare pleadings for the litigant to sign and file, but because drafting a pleading is active and substantial assistance, the lawy…
When a lawyer is named as a witness or party, may another lawyer in her firm continue to handle the case?
The opinion concluded the firm may continue, even though the lawyer is disqualified as an advocate once she is likely to be a witness, as long as a non-witness lawyer in the firm controls the litigati…
I represent a two-partner real estate partnership, and also one partner individually. The partners are now feuding and giving me opposite instructions through their separate lawyers. Can I keep doing partnership work at one partner's direction, and what do I do with the partnership files?
The panel held that because the partners explicitly refused to agree on the legal work, Rule 1.7(a) cannot be satisfied, so the lawyer may neither perform nor assist another attorney in performing par…
I rent office space from Lawyer A and agreed to represent his former client before a zoning board where Lawyer A was a witness. The client now hints at a malpractice claim against Lawyer A. Can I condition my continued representation on the client releasing Lawyer A?
No. The panel held that a lawyer may not condition continued representation on the client releasing another lawyer from malpractice liability, because doing so would impermissibly circumscribe the cli…
I'm a part-time assistant city solicitor who also has a private practice with my firm. Which matters can I and my firm handle without a conflict, and does my role disqualify the whole firm from cases against the city?
The panel held that the attorney may serve as a part-time assistant city solicitor only if she does not represent private clients adverse to the city, that zoning-board and municipal-court matters (an…
Must a law firm withhold a client's name from the IRS on a Form 8300 cash-payment report when the client asks it to?
The opinion concluded that a firm that filed a redacted IRS Form 8300 at its client's request must resist an IRS summons for the client's name, because the client's identity was a protected secret whe…
When a government attorney provides Title IV-D child support enforcement services, does the attorney have an attorney-client relationship with the parent receiving those services, and can the same attorney later act against that parent?
The opinion concluded that attorneys employed in DHS's Title IV-D child support programs represent the State only; under T.C.A. Section 71-3-124 and the Board's prior Opinion 83-F-55, there is no atto…
Is information a would-be client shares during an initial consultation protected even if the lawyer never takes the case, and can it disqualify the lawyer or firm from representing someone else in the same matter?
The opinion concluded that information imparted by a would-be client seeking representation is protected from revelation or use under Model Rule 1.6 even though the lawyer never undertakes the represe…
Can a former government lawyer who worked on an early version of an agency rule later represent a private party challenging the final rule?
On reconsideration of clarified facts, the committee concluded the lawyer's substantial responsibility ended when the agency adopted a later draft he had no part in, so representing a private party ch…
What should a lawyer do with money held in trust for a former client the lawyer can no longer locate?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may, after exhausting reasonable efforts to find the client, hold the funds in trust for the required period and then dispose of them as abandoned property under Alask…
Can a sitting town, village, or city justice use the title 'judge' or 'justice' in campaign materials when running for a higher judicial office?
The opinion concluded that an incumbent lower-court judge may use the title 'judge' or 'justice' in a campaign for higher judicial office, but the materials should specify the present judicial office …
If someone pays a cash retainer but the lawyer never meets them and cannot reach them, what must the lawyer do with the money?
The opinion concluded the lawyer must keep the retainer in the trust account and make reasonable efforts to locate the person; if those efforts fail, the funds escheat to the state under the unclaimed…
Can a lawyer form a title insurance company, sell an interest to someone tied to a mortgage company, and share title-policy profits in exchange for the mortgage company channeling closings to the lawyer?
No. The opinion concluded the arrangement is little more than a lawyer buying legal work, which the rules forbid (giving anything of value for recommending the lawyer's services); only the requirement…
Must a public defender decline new cases, and must individual defenders withdraw, when caseloads are too high to represent clients competently?
The opinion concluded that both questions are 'yes.' A public defender whose office cannot competently and diligently handle its assigned cases must seek to decline or withdraw from appointments, and …
Must a lawyer tell the court and opposing counsel when physical evidence was altered while in the lawyer's possession during discovery?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer must affirmatively disclose to the tribunal, opposing counsel, and the lawyer's own client that evidence tendered in discovery was altered, and may not let an exper…
Does a law firm partnership agreement that makes retirement payments contingent on whether a departing member keeps practicing law violate California's rule against agreements restricting the right to practice?
The committee concluded that such an agreement does not violate former Rule 1-500(A), because tying retirement payments to a member's retirement from practice falls within the Rule 1-500(B)(2) excepti…
When can a lawyer suing a corporation interview the company's current and former employees without going through the company's lawyer?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer adverse to a corporation must notify opposing counsel before interviewing managerial employees, employees who can bind the corporation, and employees whose conduct …
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.