Legal Ethics Opinions
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When a firm hired by an insurer to defend its insured under a reservation of rights also represents the insurer, what can it reveal to the insured about that relationship?
The committee concluded the firm must disclose to the insured any facts about its representation of the insurer that could cause a conflict, but it could make only a general disclosure of that represe…
If a bankruptcy client hides an inheritance and refuses to disclose it, must the lawyer reveal it to the court?
The committee concluded that RPC 1.6 makes the inheritance a client confidence, so under RPC 3.3(a)(2) the lawyer could not disclose it to the court where RPC 1.6 prohibits disclosure; but if the clie…
When lawyers in different firms split a fee in Washington, must they satisfy every requirement of RPC 1.5(e)(2)?
The committee read the semicolons in RPC 1.5(e)(2) to mean that compliance with all of the independent phrases is required when dividing fees between lawyers who are not in the same law firm.
Can a lawyer contact the former spouse of an opposing party for information when the marital privilege may cover their communications?
The committee concluded that because RCW 5.60.060 makes confidential spousal communications privileged even after a divorce, a lawyer's ethical obligations in contacting the former spouse are the same…
Can a lawyer own an escrow company with a non-lawyer, share office space with it, and let it refer customers to the law practice for related legal work?
The committee concluded that owning the escrow company and sharing space with the law office is proper, but that the escrow company may not refer its customers to the lawyer for related legal business…
If a lawyer's law partner is a part-time court commissioner who signed a dissolution decree, is a later enforcement or modification the same 'matter' under RPC 1.12?
The committee concluded that a part-time court commissioner's signing of a default or agreed dissolution decree is substantial participation in the matter as a judge, and that any post-decree action i…
When asserting an attorney's lien, can a Washington lawyer hold on to a client's papers if it would hurt the client's case?
No. The committee concluded that, even while asserting an attorney's lien, a lawyer may not retain a client's papers if doing so would prejudice the client's rights, because RPC 1.15(d) requires the l…
Can a law firm sell simple wills from a county-fair booth, and where can someone complain about how it was done?
The committee repeated its earlier conclusion (Informal Opinion 914) that nothing in the Code of Professional Responsibility or the Rules of Professional Conduct prohibits a law firm from selling simp…
Can an in-house lawyer who represents the company in a lawsuit also testify as a witness in that case?
The committee concluded that a corporation's house counsel who represents the corporation in litigation may not also testify as a witness in that litigation, which RPC 3.7 prohibits; a lawyer appearin…
If an insurer asks a lawyer to defend an employee who never contacted the lawyer, can the lawyer act for that employee?
The committee concluded that because the employee had had no contact with the lawyer and no attorney-client relationship had formed, the lawyer had no authority to act as the employee's lawyer and sho…
Can a law firm's shareholder agreement pay a departing lawyer less for their stock if they refuse to sign a non-compete?
The committee concluded that a proposed agreement making the buyout price of a departing shareholder's stock depend on signing a covenant not to compete is a restriction on the lawyer's right to pract…
If the lawyer probating an estate teams up with a lawyer who earlier represented a beneficiary, can either keep working on the estate?
On the limited facts, the committee concluded that where the attorney probating an estate became associated with a second attorney who had previously represented one of the adult beneficiaries in prot…
Can lawyers from different firms form an advertising association with a shared phone number that refers callers to its members for a fee?
The committee concluded that the proposed plan would violate RPC 7.2(c) because the member lawyers would be paying the association for recommending their services, and the association would not qualif…
Can a lawyer say 'escrow and real estate matters' on the letterhead, and can a two-lawyer firm call itself 'Doe and Associates'?
The committee concluded that putting 'escrow and real matters' on the sign, letterhead, and cards would imply the lawyer was a specialist and is prohibited by RPC 7.4, though the lawyer may state whet…
Can a lawyer advertise 'no recovery, no fee' or call the practice 'the firm that gets results'?
The committee found nothing improper in mailing a lawyer's advertisement with cable TV statements, but concluded 7-1 that 'no recovery -- no fee' is misleading, and 7-1 that 'the firm that gets result…
If a client disappears owing fees and the lawyer holds the client's money in trust, can the lawyer pay the fees from those funds?
The committee said the lawyer must make reasonable efforts to notify the missing client of the fee claim and of the intent to pay the fees from the client's trust funds, including trying to reach the …
Can a prosecutor's office collecting child support represent two parents seeking support from the same parent when there may not be enough money for both?
By a 9-0 vote, the committee concluded that the prosecutor's office could represent both claimants only if it reasonably believed the joint representation would not adversely affect either client and …
Can a lawyer tell the jury about a personal conviction that the lawyer's client should win?
The committee concluded that a lawyer cannot do indirectly what he may not do directly, and that RPC 3.4(f), effective September 1, 1985, prohibits a lawyer from conveying to the jury a personal convi…
Can a law firm run a booth at a county fair to sell simple wills?
The committee concluded that nothing in the Code of Professional Responsibility or the Rules of Professional Conduct prohibits a law firm from setting up a booth at a county fair for the purpose of se…
Can lawyers who only share office space list all their names together on a shared door sign and letterhead?
The committee concluded that office-sharing lawyers could list their names in a vertical list with dividing lines on the door sign, but that the same format on a shared letterhead would violate RPC 7.…
If a lawyer's nonlawyer employee steals from the trust account and the lawyer restores the funds, must the lawyer report it to clients or the bar?
The committee unanimously concluded that a lawyer who discovered an employee had misappropriated client trust funds, immediately contacted the bank, and had the missing funds replaced in the trust acc…
If a lawyer leaves a firm to work as a contract attorney for several firms, can the new firms take cases against the old firm?
On the facts presented, the committee found no ethical impropriety in a departing contract lawyer associating with firms adverse to the former firm's clients, as long as the lawyer was not involved in…
Can a lawyer keep a former client's files and property under an attorney's lien until the lawyer is paid?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may assert a statutory attorney's lien over a former client's files and property in the lawyer's possession, as long as doing so does not prejudice the client; wh…
If a client is collecting workers' compensation and disability benefits that would be reduced if disclosed, must the lawyer reveal it to the agency?
The committee said the lawyer must first direct the client to disclose the benefits to the workers' compensation agency; under the old Code the lawyer had to reveal the fraud if the client refused, wh…
Can a law firm list nonlawyers like a Rule 9 intern or office manager on its office sign or letterhead?
The committee concluded that although the old Code (DR 1-102) prohibited listing nonlawyers on office signs, the Rules of Professional Conduct effective September 1, 1985 contain no such prohibition, …
If a lawyer and their spouse are on opposite sides of a case, one defending and one prosecuting, can both keep working on it?
When the two spouses are personally on opposite sides of the same case, DR 5-101 and RPC 1.8 require full disclosure to both clients and the clients' consent to continued representation; when only the…
Can a legal services funding contract require a lawyer to report information that reveals individual clients' identities and the time spent on their cases?
The committee concluded that a legal services contract requiring disclosure of information from which specific clients' identities and the time spent on their cases could be determined is improper and…
Can a lawyer-mediator mail brochures to people who recently filed for divorce to offer mediation services?
By a 5-4 vote, the committee treated a lawyer's work mediating dissolutions as 'professional employment' subject to the solicitation rule RPC 7.3, and concluded the lawyer may mail a non-personalized …
If a lawyer represents a married couple jointly and they then file for divorce, can the lawyer keep representing them in their other lawsuit?
The committee unanimously advised that the spouses' dissolution filing creates a conflict in the joint contract suit; the lawyer must disclose the conflict, tell the clients to discuss it with their o…
Can a Washington sole practitioner advertise an affiliation with an out-of-state firm, or have the office phone answered 'attorneys at law'?
The committee concluded that a Washington lawyer who was neither a partner nor an employee of an out-of-state firm could not advertise an affiliation with non-Washington lawyers, and that a sole pract…
Can a lawyer rent office space from a nonlawyer-owned business that uses a law-related name and may be practicing law without a license?
On the limited facts, the committee said the nonlawyer entity might be engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, and that if the lawyer were aiding that practice, the lawyer's conduct would violate…
Is a written 'fee agreement' that only lists factors affecting the fee, without stating the actual fee, a valid fee agreement?
The committee unanimously concluded that a document listing only general factors that could determine a fee, with no specific fee information for the client, is not really a fee agreement; a fee agree…
Can a lawyer represent the opposing lawyer in an unrelated matter while the two are on opposite sides of a pending case?
The committee concluded that a lawyer can take on the opposing lawyer as a client in an unrelated matter if the lawyers reasonably believe it will not adversely affect their other responsibilities and…
Can two lawyers run an independent law firm out of the offices of a non-law business like a management consulting firm?
On the facts described, the committee unanimously found no ethical impropriety in two lawyers operating an independent law partnership from a management consulting firm's offices, where the law firm k…
In a contingent fee case, which litigation costs must the client pay, and can the lawyer bill the client for an in-house investigator?
The committee concluded that under SJC Rule 3:05 a contingent fee client must be charged for out-of-pocket 'expenses and disbursements,' while other costs (overhead) may be charged only by a specific …
Can a lawyer act as a divorce mediator, draft the separation agreement, and team up with a non-lawyer counselor?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may serve as a divorce mediator (alone or with a lay counselor) if he explains that he represents neither party, warns of the risks of proceeding without independ…
Can lawyers who only share office space call themselves 'A, B, C & D, a Professional Association'?
The committee declined to advise that using 'a Professional Association' after a partnership-style name for lawyers who share office space but are not partners is deceptive, given the term's past use …
Can a lawyer who sues an insurer's policyholders for personal injury clients also take real estate work from that insurer's mortgage department?
The committee concluded that a lawyer representing personal injury plaintiffs against an insurer's insureds may not also do mortgage-department work for that insurer unless all parties consent after f…
Can a lawyer use direct-mail advertising and offer free seminars to a retirement community to attract clients?
The committee concluded that direct-mail advertising is permitted if it is not misleading or deceptive; it split 6 to 4 on a proposed free seminar for a retirement community, the majority allowing the…
Who is entitled to the interest earned on money a lawyer holds in a trust account, the lawyer or the client?
The committee advised that interest on a trust account belongs to whoever owns the funds; it said it could not resolve the underlying legal question of when ownership of disputed funds vests in the la…
Can a legal services office tell anyone whether a person qualifies for free legal help without that person's consent?
The committee concluded that revealing information about a client's eligibility for representation would violate DR 4-101's duty to protect client confidences and secrets, and that such information ca…
If a lawyer's client is a financial planner, can the lawyer also give legal advice to the planner's customers about products the planner sells, such as living trusts?
On the limited facts given, the committee could not issue a full opinion and asked for more information; it stated that if the lawyer's client is the financial planner, the lawyer could not give legal…
Must an interstate law firm list all of its partners, including those not licensed in New Jersey, in the firm name on its New Jersey letterhead?
No. On remand, the Committee held that a firm name listing the resident New Jersey partners licensed in New Jersey complies with RPC 7.5(b), and the firm need not list partners who are not licensed in…
Can a lawyer who also serves as a part-time city judge defend someone accused of a crime when the city's police may testify in the case?
The Committee concluded that a part-time associate city judge should not represent a criminal defendant where the city's police are or may be potential witnesses, because his independent professional …
Can a lawyer list up to three fields of law in a legal directory like Martindale-Hubbell without a board-certification disclaimer?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer may list in Martindale-Hubbell the fields of law to which the lawyer devotes considerable time, whether or not the lawyer is board certified in those fields, and …
Can a Texas lawyer pay a company to print the firm's name under a 'Lawyers' heading on plastic phone book covers and city maps mailed to new residents?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer may pay for such a listing only if recipients readily perceive it as paid advertising by the lawyer rather than a disinterested recommendation or an exclusive lis…
Can a Texas law firm put a non-lawyer private investigator's name, labeled 'investigator,' on its outdoor office sign alongside the firm name and the lawyers' names?
The Committee concluded that a firm may not include a non-lawyer independent-contractor investigator's name on its outdoor sign, because doing so would mislead readers into thinking the investigator w…
Can a Texas lawyer write an educational newspaper column on taxation that carries a board-certification disclaimer and gives no individual advice?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer may write such an educational newspaper column, with proper disclosure of the lawyer's name and a disclaimer of expert status, and that this activity is permitted…
Can a Texas lawyer advertise that he was formerly a military attorney, and does that claim require a board-certification disclaimer?
The Committee concluded that a former military-attorney job title related to legal experience may be included in advertising, but because it conveys the impression of expertise in an area of law not r…
Can a New Mexico lawyer send a direct-mail letter to loan agencies and lenders advertising his student loan collection services and fees?
The opinion concluded that if the statements in the proposed advertising letter are true and correct, it is appropriate for the attorney to send it to prospective clients, relying on the U.S. Supreme …
Can a lawyer who won a damages judgment against a man for one client take on that man's wife as a client in her divorce, where both are pursuing the husband's property?
The opinion concluded that whether a conflict existed turned on whether the judgment against the husband was a community or separate debt, and that even a possible conflict did not automatically precl…
Can attorneys who regularly practice before a state agency also serve under contract as the agency's part-time hearing officers?
The opinion concluded the proposal created an appearance of impropriety, because attorneys who both advocate before and adjudicate in the same forum create an unavoidable impression of potential influ…
If a client tried to defraud an insurer with a falsified report and the fraud was discovered, must the lawyer report it to the district attorney, and may the lawyer help the insurer prosecute the former client?
The opinion concluded the firm had no obligation to report the attempted fraud to the district attorney, because the client only attempted rather than perpetrated the fraud and the insurer (the intend…
In settling a case, can a plaintiff's lawyer agree to keep the terms secret, hand over and seal her entire file, and promise never to take other cases against the same defendants?
The opinion concluded the lawyer could agree to keep the settlement terms confidential (a client secret) and that whether to surrender and seal the file was the client's decision since the file is the…
When an attorney leaves a firm in the middle of a contingent-fee case, can the firm hold the client's files as a retaining lien to force a fee-split agreement with the departing lawyer?
The opinion concluded the firm could not use a retaining lien, or the threat of one, on the client's files to compel a separation agreement with the departing attorney, because until the client is giv…
In a federal civil rights case, may a defendant offer and a plaintiff accept a single lump-sum settlement that bundles damages, costs, and the plaintiff's statutory attorney's fees?
The opinion concluded that in cases involving only damages it is not ethically improper for a defendant to offer, or a plaintiff to accept, a lump-sum settlement covering damages, costs, and attorney'…
When federal investigators want to open a lawyer's intercepted letter to a client and want help locating a client who used an alias for fraud, what can the lawyer disclose?
The opinion concluded the lawyer should not permit the FBI to open the intercepted letter and that only the client could waive the attorney-client privilege, even though the client had used an alias, …
Can a law partnership keep paying a former partner a percentage of its gross fees under a buy-out agreement if that former partner resigns, is suspended, or is disbarred and becomes a nonlawyer?
The opinion concluded the buy-out payments were permissible under Rules 2-107 and 3-102, even if the former partner later resigned, was suspended, or was disbarred, because they were deferred payment …
Can a lawyer represent an employer both in a tort suit (where the injured employee is an involuntary counterclaimant) and in defending against that same employee's workers' compensation claim?
The opinion concluded that no conflict presently existed and that neither the Code nor the Model Rules required the lawyer to withdraw from representing the employer in either suit, but cautioned that…
Can a full-time assistant district attorney in one district volunteer, without pay, as a village prosecutor handling municipal traffic cases in a second district?
The opinion concluded the assistant district attorney was not directly violating any ethical standard by serving without pay as a village prosecutor in a second district, but cautioned that a statutor…
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.