Legal Ethics Opinions
Free state and local bar legal ethics opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and source links on every page.
No opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Can a lawyer use 'and associates' in a firm name when the other lawyers are not actually firm associates?
No. The committee concluded that, on the facts presented, RPC 7.5(d) and 7.1 prohibit using 'and associates' in the firm name because the other lawyers are not in fact associates of the firm. It added…
Can a lawyer buy a struggling client's property and lease it back to them while representing them?
No. The committee concluded that RPC 1.8(e) prohibits the proposed financial assistance: buying property from clients who cannot meet their mortgage payments and leasing it back to them with an option…
Can a lawyer guarantee a loan to a client to help them avoid foreclosure and keep up their litigation?
No. The committee concluded that RPC 1.8 prohibits a lawyer or law firm from guaranteeing a loan to a client to let the client forestall a deed-of-trust foreclosure, where the point was to help the cl…
Can a lawyer be hired by another firm to attend a medical examination and later testify as a witness about it?
Yes. The committee concluded that RPC 3.7 would not prohibit a lawyer from being employed by a law firm to attend a medical examination and later testify as a witness about it, because the lawyer is n…
Can a lawyer charge a contingent fee and also bill the client hourly for legal support staff as a cost?
Yes, with conditions. The committee concluded that a contingent fee plus separately billed hourly rates for legal support staff as costs is permissible if the client receives the information needed fo…
Can a lawyer sue a former client for slander about the representation and reveal client confidences to prove the case?
Yes. The committee concluded that a lawyer may take legal action against a former client for slanderous statements about the lawyer's prior representation, because RPC 1.6 permits revealing confidence…
Can a lawyer promise a client's medical provider that settlement funds will be used to pay the provider's bill?
Not without the client's informed consent. The committee concluded that settlement or judgment funds are the client's, so a lawyer could not guarantee paying a chiropractor's bill out of them without …
When it is unclear who a lawyer's client is, what does the lawyer have to do about the relationship?
The committee concluded that whether a lawyer-client relationship exists, and with whom, is a legal question it could not answer, and is something the lawyer should resolve with the client; but RPC 4.…
Can one lawyer represent both a husband and wife in separate criminal domestic violence cases they have against each other?
No. The committee was of the opinion that one lawyer representing both spouses in separate criminal domestic-violence cases against each other is a conflict of interest, because the lawyer would have …
If a lawyer's own client turns out to be the opposing party's expert witness in another case the lawyer is defending, can the lawyer keep handling that case?
No. The committee agreed that when a lawyer's client would appear as the opposing party's expert witness in a second case the lawyer was defending, putting the lawyer in the position of deposing and c…
Is a lawyer who subpoenas an expert witness personally responsible for paying the expert's fee?
Yes, unless the lawyer shifts responsibility. The committee was of the opinion that a lawyer issues a subpoena as an officer of the court, so failing to pay requested witness fees violates RPC 8.4(d);…
If a lawyer distributes a computer program that generates legal documents for other lawyers to use, what ethics duties apply?
The committee declined to give a general opinion for lack of information, but cautioned that the program's assumptions and limitations should be provided to each user-attorney, that the user-attorney'…
If a lawyer who was a child's guardian ad litem joins the firm representing the parent accused of injuring the child, can the firm keep representing the parent?
The committee concluded that under RPC 1.7(b) the firm could continue representing the mother only after disclosing the lawyer's prior role as the child's guardian ad litem to the child's current guar…
Must a lawyer pay an expert witness's fees when the lawyer subpoenaed the expert at the client's request?
The committee concluded that, because a lawyer issues subpoenas over the lawyer's signature as an officer of the court, failing to pay witness fees when requested, or requiring a witness to spend an u…
Can a lawyer present a proposed order to a judge ex parte, without notice to opposing counsel?
The committee concluded that presenting an order to a judge ex parte, without notice to opposing counsel, is permitted under RPC 3.5 only if the communication is otherwise permitted by law. It decline…
Can a lawyer guarantee a personal injury client's out-of-pocket medical bills to relieve pressure from providers?
The committee concluded that RPC 1.8(e) prohibits a lawyer from advancing or guaranteeing financial assistance to a client except that the lawyer may guarantee the expenses of litigation. Guaranteeing…
Can a sole practitioner put 'associates' on the letterhead because he regularly works with other independent lawyers?
The committee unanimously concluded that a sole practitioner's use of 'associates' on the letterhead would be misleading, because the public would be led to believe the lawyer employs other lawyers in…
Can a lawyer send a solicitation letter and brochure to a purchased mailing list of CPAs in several states?
Yes. The committee was of the opinion that RPC 7.2(a) permits a lawyer to mail a solicitation letter and brochure to a purchased list of all certified public accountants in Washington, Alaska, Oregon,…
Can a lawyer run personal or a spouse's real estate and business transactions through the law office trust account?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may not collect his own vendor's interest in a real estate contract through the trust account, because RPC 1.14(a) bars depositing a lawyer's or firm's own funds …
Can a lawyer work through a placement service that places attorneys with firms as independent contractors?
The committee concluded that nothing in the conduct of the described placement service violates RPC 5.4(d). The service did not engage in the practice of law; its sole purpose was to place attorneys a…
Can two lawyers who are not partners share a letterhead that lists both of their names?
On split votes, the committee concluded that a letterhead listing two lawyers, each separately identified as 'attorney at law' with their names stacked and a line between them, did not falsely lead th…
Can a Washington lawyer report suspected abuse of a vulnerable adult when the information is a client confidence?
The committee concluded that reporting under RCW 74.34 is constrained by RPC 1.6: where the information is a client confidence, the lawyer may disclose only if a Rule 1.6 exception applies, such as th…
Can a lawyer let a collection agency send debt letters over the lawyer's printed name from an office the agency staffs and runs?
No. The committee concluded that authorizing a collection agency to send debt letters over the lawyer's printed name, from an office run by agency employees and held out as the lawyer's law office, wo…
Do Washington's industrial-insurance statutes waive the physician-patient privilege for purposes of the ethics rules?
The committee declined to decide. It treated whether RCW 51.04.050 and 51.36.060 waive the physician-patient privilege as a legal question it cannot answer, and said only that Formal Opinion 180 must …
Can a lawyer sue a defendant whom the lawyer's partner once represented in an unrelated dissolution and will?
Yes. The committee concluded RPC 1.9 did not prohibit the representation because the auto-accident case was not substantially related to the partner's earlier dissolution and will work for the defenda…
How does Washington treat firm names, letterhead, and a Washington firm's association with law firms in other states?
The committee did not write its own analysis; it became aware of ABA Formal Opinion 84-351, on firm names, letterhead, and association with law firms in other states, and adopted that opinion.
Can a lawyer advertise as 'certified,' a 'diplomate,' or a 'specialist' based on a National Board of Trial Advocacy certification?
The committee concluded that a lawyer could advertise being 'certified as a criminal trial advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy,' but that 'diplomate' might be misleading because it did no…
Can a lawyer charge a contingent fee to dissolve a non-marital domestic partnership where there are no children?
Yes. The committee was of the opinion that nothing in the Rules of Professional Conduct prohibits a contingent fee for representing a client in a non-marital domestic partnership breakup in which ther…
Is a judge's law clerk who worked on asbestos cases barred from later representing parties in other asbestos cases with the same defendants?
No. The committee concluded that RPC 1.12(a) disqualifies a former law clerk only from the same matter the clerk worked on, not from other cases involving parties who happened to appear in that matter…
Can a lawyer pay a referral fee to another lawyer who refers a case but does no work on it?
Yes. Under RPC 1.5(e)(2) a fee may be divided with a referring lawyer who does no other work if there is a written agreement with the client, each lawyer assumes joint responsibility for the represent…
Can a lawyer pay to participate in a referral service that advertises its referrals as 'personal referrals'?
No. The committee concluded that RPC 7.2 and 7.3 prohibit a lawyer from participating in the proposed referral service because its advertisement states that it is a 'personal referral' for which the l…
Can a lawyer advise a client to make interspousal transfers of property to protect assets without engaging in fraudulent conduct?
The committee concluded that because Washington law expressly allows interspousal transfers without affecting the right to receive Medicare benefits, advising a client to make such transfers would not…
If a competent client instructs the lawyer to dismiss her own lawsuit and the lawyer thinks she is acting against her interests, what can the lawyer do?
The committee concluded that where the client has been found not so incapacitated as to allow a guardian ad litem and the lawyer's efforts to dissuade her have failed, the lawyer must follow her instr…
Can a lawyer own a counseling business, serve as its director and general counsel, and accept client referrals from it?
The committee said nothing barred owning the business or serving as both director and general counsel, but RPC 1.7 requires checking whether the dual role would compromise independent judgment, paying…
Can a lawyer threaten to sue opposing counsel for calling a witness who signed a settlement confidentiality clause, and is that clause even valid?
Per the opinion, a settlement clause that would limit a lawyer's right to call a witness in future litigation would appear to violate RPC 5.6(b); a genuine warning of suit over a believed-enforceable …
Can a client waive the rule that a lawyer's trust funds be kept in a 'qualified' account?
No. The committee continued its opinion that RPC 1.14(c)'s requirement to deposit client trust funds in qualified accounts is mandatory and may not be waived by the client, though the lawyer may distr…
What titles can a non-admitted law school graduate use, and can the title appear on business cards and letterhead?
Per the opinion, 'legal intern' may be used only if the employee complies with Rule 9 of the Admission to Practice Rules, while 'law clerk,' 'paralegal,' or 'legal assistant' may be used if not mislea…
Can a lawyer who left a federal agency join a firm that sues the agency, and can the firm screen the lawyer from cases he worked on?
Per the opinion, the lawyer may work on matters adverse to the former agency in which he had no involvement; for cases he participated in 'personally and substantially,' RPC 1.11 bars his involvement …
Can a lawyer ask other lawyers to refer criminal cases to him?
Per the opinion, yes; the committee was of the opinion that nothing in the Rules of Professional Conduct prohibits soliciting criminal referrals from other lawyers, as proposed.
Must a firm withdraw from a case against a party who earlier delivered documents to the firm when it was consulted on a different matter?
Per the opinion, no; assuming an attorney-client relationship existed when the now-adverse party delivered documents, RPC 1.9 did not compel withdrawal because the pending proceeding was not substanti…
Can a Washington lawyer join a referral service where non-lawyers screen calls and refer consumers, and does that aid the unauthorized practice of law?
Per the opinion, a Washington lawyer may participate in the referral service described, and the non-lawyers' screening and referral of consumers is not the unauthorized practice of law, so participati…
Can a lawyer take a contingent fee to defend a client's property in a civil forfeiture case while also representing that client on the related criminal charges?
Yes. The committee concluded that RPC 1.5(d)(2)'s bar on criminal contingent fees does not reach a civil forfeiture proceeding, which is not criminal, but any such agreement must comply with RPC 1.5(a…
If a parent hires and pays a lawyer to represent their child in a dependency case, can that lawyer contact the child directly when the court has appointed a guardian ad litem?
The committee concluded there is no inherent conflict merely because a third party pays the lawyer, but that under RPC 1.8(f) the guardian ad litem, who stands in for the child, must consent before th…
Can a legal aid lawyer represent clients against a party who is represented by the lawyer's own spouse?
The committee concluded it is improper for a legal aid attorney to represent the organization's clients in an action against a party represented by the attorney's spouse, though the spouse's firm may …
Can a law firm suing a former client for unpaid fees reveal what the client told it in confidence?
The opinion concluded that a firm suing a former client for fees may disclose the client's confidences and secrets only to the extent strictly and clearly necessary to establish or collect the fee or …
When a prosecutor threatens a lawyer with indictment, can the lawyer reveal a former client's confidences to clear himself?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer accused of wrongful conduct may disclose a former client's confidences and secrets under the self-defense exception even before any formal charge, but only to the e…
Can a New Jersey lawyer threaten criminal charges in a collection letter to gain an advantage in a civil matter?
No. The Committee held that the principle of former DR 7-105, barring a lawyer from threatening criminal charges to obtain an improper advantage in a civil matter, remains in effect in New Jersey even…
Must a criminal defense lawyer disclose a client's prior convictions at sentencing if the prosecutor and court are unaware of them?
The opinion concluded that defense counsel has no duty to disclose a client's record of prior convictions to correct an incomplete sentencing record, provided that neither the lawyer nor the client af…
Can a lawyer refuse court appointments to defend indigent criminal defendants, and does declining violate the ethics rules?
The opinion concluded that accepting criminal appointments is one way to meet the aspirational public-interest-service rule, but because that rule says lawyers 'should' (not 'shall') serve, refusing c…
Must a lawyer who perfected a criminal appeal as a public defender finish prosecuting that appeal after leaving the office, even without pay?
Yes. The opinion concludes that once an attorney perfects an appeal he must prosecute it, with or without compensation, unless a court of competent jurisdiction permits him to withdraw or substitutes …
Can a state-employed lawyer belong to a union with non-lawyer members, and can a lawyer-union-member prosecute disciplinary cases against other state employees in the same union?
The opinion concluded that a state-employed lawyer may belong to a union that includes non-lawyers so long as no Disciplinary Rule is violated, but a lawyer who is a union member may not represent the…
Can a lawyer agree to be paid only if the client's marital asset is sold at the end of a divorce case?
The opinion concluded a fee payable only upon the successful sale of a marital asset in a divorce is a contingent fee, which Rule 8(c) prohibits in divorce, annulment, and legal-separation cases.
After suing to collect on a bounced check, can the lawyer refer it to the prosecutor or threaten criminal charges to pressure the debtor into paying?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may return the check and tell the client of the client's own right to file a criminal complaint, but may not present or participate in presenting criminal charges to g…
Can a collection lawyer have the client or its billing vendor type a demand letter on the lawyer's letterhead, where the lawyer writes, reviews, and personally signs it?
The opinion concluded there is no per se impropriety; because the lawyer writes the letter, checks it for accuracy, and personally signs it, having the client or a vendor type it on the letterhead is …
Can a law firm keep a former partner's name in the firm name or on its letterhead after that lawyer takes public office?
No. The opinion concluded that under Rule 7.5(c) a lawyer holding public office may not have their name used in the firm name or its communications during any substantial period in which the lawyer is…
Can a Virginia lawyer charge a contingent fee to collect overdue child support arrearages?
The committee concluded a contingent fee to recover child support arrearages is permissible only where the prior three-part LE Op. 667 test is met, and on these facts the arrangement was not improper.…
Must a public defender withdraw from a case in which the defender is likely to be called as a witness?
The opinion concluded the agency must withdraw from the cases in which its attorneys will or are likely to be called as witnesses, because the testimony would be potentially prejudicial to the client …
What must a lawyer do when a third party claims part of the client's settlement funds and the client says pay only me?
The opinion concluded that when a dispute arises over a third party's rights to client funds, the lawyer must segregate the disputed amount until it is resolved, and if it cannot be resolved amicably …
Can a lawyer serve as both attorney and guardian ad litem for a minor in a dependency case?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may serve as both attorney and guardian ad litem for a minor in dependency proceedings if no conflict arises, with the lawyer's first obligation owed to the child a…
Can salaried employees or in-house insurance defense lawyers, who are not partners, have their names appear in a law firm's name on the letterhead?
No. The Committee held that listing employees' or salaried in-house lawyers' names in a firm name implies a partnership; under RPC 7.5 lawyers who are not in fact partners may not hold themselves out …
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.