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 New Jersey city attorney sue a former member of the governing body, on the city's behalf, to recover money received under color of office?
Yes. A municipal attorney represents the entire municipality, so there is no impropriety in suing a former official to recover money allegedly due the city, even though the attorney was appointed whil…
May a lawyer communicate directly with employees of an adverse corporation in litigation without going through the corporation's counsel?
The committee concluded a lawyer may communicate with employees of an adverse corporation so long as the employee is not in a position to commit the corporation to a course of action, that is, is not …
Must a New Jersey lawyer (including a municipal attorney) disclose a client's zoning or building-code violations discovered during a real estate sale?
No. Both the seller's and buyer's attorneys are barred from disclosing the violations learned in the representation, because no exception to the confidentiality rule applies; but the seller's attorney…
Can a New Jersey lawyer who serves on a municipal charter study commission also represent private clients before that municipality's boards?
Yes. A municipal charter study commission is an elected, autonomous body that is not part of the municipal 'official family,' so a commissioner-lawyer may appear for property owners opposing a varianc…
Can two New Jersey lawyers form a partnership while one serves as mayor and the other as borough attorney in the same municipality?
No. A statute bars a sitting governing-body member from such an appointment, and because the mayor would share partnership income that includes the municipal attorney's fees, the arrangement creates a…
May an attorney for an estate purchase an asset of that estate?
The committee concluded an attorney acting for an estate may purchase an estate asset if there is full and complete disclosure to all interested parties and all of them consent. Decided under Virginia…
Can a lawyer hired by a bank to examine a title certify responsibility to both the bank and the borrower paying for the examination?
Yes. Because the bank's and the customer's interests in a title examination are in unison rather than adverse, the committee found no conflict that would bar the lawyer from certifying responsibility …
Can a Kentucky lawyer form a 'partnership' with an out-of-state firm just to handle forwarded collection accounts and pay it a fixed cut of collections?
No. The committee found the arrangement a partnership in form only: the lawyers were not real partners, so holding out as such violated the firm-name rule, and the fixed fee split was an improper refe…
Can a law firm employ an accountant to provide accounting services to the firm and to its clients?
The opinion concluded a law firm may employ an accountant on salary (not as a partner and without fee splitting) to advise and assist its attorneys and to provide accounting services arising from the …
Could a Minnesota lawyer assert a retaining lien on a client's files?
No, under this now-repealed opinion: it was professional misconduct to assert a retaining lien on a client's files and papers, and the prohibition reached all retaining liens, whether statutory, commo…
If a prosecutor or an assistant DA is likely to be a witness in a case, must the whole District Attorney's office step aside from prosecuting it?
The opinion concluded yes. Under Maine Court Rule 3.5(b)(1), the entire District Attorney's office should be recused for trial when either the District Attorney or any of his assistants is likely to b…
Can a lawyer who served as guardian ad litem in a conservatorship proceeding then be hired as counsel to the conservator?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who served as guardian ad litem in a conservatorship proceeding may not, shortly afterward, accept employment as counsel to the conservator, because the prospect of…
Can a lawyer who is also a marriage and family counselor use the title 'doctor,' combine the two practices on one letterhead, and coin a new name like 'juropsychotherapist'?
The opinion concluded that the attorney may not call himself 'doctor' on the basis of a J.D. or a master's in counseling, because 32 M.R.S.A. section 3270 controls the title and a lay person would ass…
Can a lawyer keep handling a case against a town after his law partner becomes the town's counsel, and is he required to stay in the case if he can?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer was in 'multiple employment' under Rule 3.4(c) because his partner now represented the town on an ongoing basis. He could continue the appeal only if, under Rule …
When two lawyers on opposite sides of a matter are spouses, partners, siblings, or other relatives, what must they and their firms do about the conflict?
The opinion concluded that Rule 3.4(a) requires disclosure to both clients in every such situation whenever the two lawyers have one of the listed relationships. Whether written consent is also requir…
Can a lawyer's firm sue a former client in a matter that may overlap with the firm's earlier representation of that client?
The opinion concluded that the Commission could not resolve, in an advisory opinion, the disputed factual question of whether the new suit shared subject matter with the firm's earlier representation …
Can a court-appointed criminal defense lawyer decide on his own to stop post-conviction proceedings he thinks are against the client's interest, or does the client decide?
LEI 79-16 concluded the lawyer does not get to elect whether to continue; the client decides whether to pursue setting aside the plea. If the client insists after being fully advised of the consequenc…
Can a West Virginia lawyer keep representing a criminal defendant when partners in the firm previously did civil work for the corporation that is the alleged victim?
LEI 79-13 concluded there would be no conflict of interest so long as the lawyer fully informs the client that his partners had previously represented the alleged-victim corporation and the client sti…
Can a New Jersey lawyer practice under a trade name like 'The Budget Barrister' or 'The Legal Clinic of John Doe, Esq.'?
A professional corporation's name must contain only the shareholders' names, so the proposed trade names fail; for a non-corporate practice, 'The Legal Clinic of John Doe, Esq.' is permissible but 'Th…
If a lawyer sits on a city council or county commission, are the lawyer's partners and associates disqualified from cases in which a police officer of that government unit will testify?
The opinion concluded that the partners and associates are not automatically disqualified when the governing board is not directly involved in hiring, firing, or setting salaries of the police officer…
Can a Florida attorney practicing as a professional association be a partner, through the corporation, in a partnership of attorneys?
The opinion concluded that an attorney practicing as a professional association may participate, in the form of his corporation, as a partner in a partnership of attorneys, as long as the professional…
Can a part-time city attorney with prosecutorial duties stay in the role when his law partner becomes chair of a local political committee?
The opinion concluded that a part-time city attorney with prosecutorial duties may not continue in that role once his law partner becomes chairman of a local political committee, because the committee…
Can a lawyer or the lawyer's investigator take documents from the trash discarded by opposing counsel's office?
The opinion concluded that it is improper for an attorney or the attorney's agent to remove discarded trash containing documents (such as pleadings and correspondence) from the receptacle used by oppo…
If a New Jersey lawyer is married to an assistant prosecutor, can the lawyers in that spouse's firm still handle criminal defense in the same county?
Yes, with safeguards. The disqualification of the prosecutor's attorney-spouse is not imputed to the firm, so the other lawyers may practice criminal law in the county if the spouse does no criminal w…
What letterhead and office-sharing arrangements may a New Jersey lawyer use: an accountant's name on a shared door, a sign at a realtor's office, an out-of-state bar admission, or an out-of-state P.O.-box 'branch'?
An accountant's name may share a door if it creates no appearance of partnership, and an out-of-state bar admission may be noted if not deceptive; but a lawyer's sign at a realtor's premises risks an …
When a New Jersey lawyer applies for a casino license, can the lawyer let regulators examine the law firm's books and client accounts?
No, not without client consent. The lawyer and firm must refuse to disclose records containing privileged information or clients' confidences and secrets unless a confidentiality exception applies; if…
Can a Michigan lawyer advertise legal services by direct mail without it being improper solicitation?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may advertise legal services by mail, and that such advertising is not impermissible solicitation as long as it is general in nature and is not directed to or inten…
What should a lawyer do with a soon-to-expire redeemable airline ticket belonging to a client who has been involuntarily committed to a mental institution?
The committee concluded the attorney should redeem the expiring ticket, deposit the proceeds in a trust account, and promptly advise the court of the funds. Decided under Virginia's former Code.
Can a lawyer also work as an insurance salesman, sell insurance to his legal clients, and prepare wills for his insurance customers?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may both practice law and sell insurance, but may not sell life insurance to a client for whom he is preparing a will, trust, or estate plan, and may prepare wills …
Can the law partner of a New Jersey municipal attorney serve as a citizen member of the same municipality's planning board?
No. The governing body the municipal attorney advises reviews the planning board's work, so the interplay is too active; even as a lay board member the partner creates an appearance of conflict, and t…
If a lawyer represents two co-executors who fall out, can the lawyer take one executor's side against the other?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who represents two co-executors may not bring a proceeding to compel an accounting or otherwise represent one executor against the other; the lawyer should press th…
How long must a former New Jersey board of adjustment attorney wait before representing private clients before that board on new matters?
There is no fixed period. A former public attorney should normally let some reasonable time pass before appearing before his former governmental employer, but the Committee cannot prescribe a set numb…
If a New Jersey lawyer defends municipalities and police through a liability insurer, can the lawyer also represent private clients before that town's boards and municipal court?
Yes, in unrelated matters. Because the lawyer is chosen by the insurer and is not the appointed municipal attorney, the public is unlikely to associate him with the municipal government, so unrelated …
Can a prosecutor get sworn statements from jurors about how they felt on the defendant's penalty, to use at sentencing?
No. The committee concluded a prosecutor may not obtain juror affidavits probing the jury's feelings about the penalty for use at sentencing, because the bench and bar must protect jurors' freedom to …
Can a law firm operate a 'legal clinic' under a geographic trade name that does not include any firm member's name?
No. A trade name like 'The Louisville Law Clinic' is barred as a misleading trade name that does not consist of the names of lawyers in the firm, and the geographic label could falsely suggest a conne…
Can a city's police legal advisor move into the city corporation counsel's office without creating a conflict of interest with the police officers he previously advised?
The opinion concluded yes. The Commission found the police legal advisor's client had always been the city itself, not the individual officers, so the transfer into the corporation counsel's office cr…
Can a New Jersey municipal prosecutor (or another lawyer in the city law department) prosecute city employees, including police, at departmental disciplinary hearings and appeals?
No. Because the public sees the municipal prosecutor and city employees as on the same team, the appearance of conflict bars the prosecutor, and every other member of the municipal law department, fro…
Can a lawyer charge interest on the unpaid portion of a client's legal bill?
The opinion concluded that no provision of the Code of Professional Responsibility prohibits an attorney from charging interest on unpaid billings, noting a liberalizing trend in ABA opinions; if the …
When a firm's associate leaves to start a practice and keeps a former firm client, may the firm withhold that client's files to collect an unpaid fee?
The committee concluded it is improper for the firm to withhold the client's files in an attempt to collect a past fee. Decided under Virginia's former Code.
Can a New Jersey firm keep suing a county for compensation claimants when a county freeholder, a former associate, rents space and shares its entrance and waiting room?
No. By sharing a common entrance and waiting room (and continuing to do work for the firm), the freeholder becomes an 'office associate,' so the firm's continued suits against the county create a conf…
Can a lawyer who serves as estate attorney or executor buy property from the estate, and can a lawyer take a property interest as a fee instead of cash?
No to buying estate property (absent the will's authorization and steps to protect beneficiaries), because of the conflict and appearance of self-dealing. Yes, qualified, to taking a property interest…
Can a lawyer charge interest and service fees on litigation advances and unpaid bills, co-sign a client's litigation loan, and deduct phone, postage, and copying costs from a contingent fee?
Yes to each, with conditions. With disclosure and consent a lawyer may charge interest and service fees on advances and on delinquent fees, may co-sign a client's litigation note if not without recour…
Can a part-time assistant county attorney defend someone in a civil action to collect delinquent child-support payments?
No. Because the county attorney has a potential public duty adverse to a nonsupport defendant (criminal prosecution and URESA enforcement of support), representing the defendant would impair the lawye…
Can a lawyer who once represented a judge appear before that judge in later, unrelated cases?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who represented a judge, and the lawyer's partners and associates, should not appear before that judge; the cleaner solution in most cases is for the judge to disqu…
When one attorney buys another's law practice, may the buyer purchase the client files and pending cases as accounts receivable and keep the seller's name on the letterhead?
The committee concluded the selling attorney should notify all current clients of the practice's termination and let them choose new counsel, and that it is improper for the buyer to purchase client f…
Can a deputy town supervisor represent private clients in tax or other litigation against the town?
The opinion concluded that a deputy town supervisor may not represent private clients in tax certiorari or other litigation against the town, because his role gives him influence over the town's affai…
When a foreclosure that started uncontested becomes contested at the hearing, what must the lawyer-trustee do, and can his firm or staff take a side?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer-trustee must act as a neutral fiduciary for both parties; while he is trustee no member of his firm may represent the petitioning party, and a lawyer whose firm s…
Can a professional corporation be a partner in a law firm?
The opinion concluded that, where state law permits it, a professional corporation may be a partner in a law firm, so long as the corporation's status and participation are clearly noted on letterhead…
Can a legal-aid employee refer clients it cannot serve to individual local lawyers instead of to the bar's statewide referral service?
The opinion concluded that no Disciplinary Rule is necessarily violated when employees of Alaska Legal Services refer ineligible clients and fee-generating cases to individual local lawyers rather tha…
Can a New York law firm organize and promote a legal seminar for nonlawyers by direct mail?
The opinion concluded that, absent a judicial holding to the contrary, a law firm may organize and promote a legal seminar designed for nonlawyers by direct mail; after Bates the old sponsorship requi…
Can a New York lawyer mail an advertisement to corporate executives he has no relationship with, and what may it say?
The opinion concluded that an advertisement meeting DR 2-101 may be mailed to strangers absent a court ruling that it violates Judiciary Law section 479; it may name practice areas and a public office…
When a client asks for their file after the representation ends, what must the lawyer hand over, and who pays the copying cost?
Where no fee is in dispute, the committee concluded the lawyer must return everything the client supplied and the materials the client paid for that benefit the client, but not work created for the la…
If a West Virginia lawyer becomes a part-time municipal judge, can the other lawyers in his firm still practice criminal law in circuit court and elsewhere?
LEI 79-3 concluded the municipal judge himself may not try criminal cases in any court, represent civil litigants against the city, or appear in municipal court, and that DR 5-105(D) imputes a narrowe…
When a New Jersey lawyer realizes he ought to be a witness, must he withdraw from the case right away, or can he continue through discovery?
He need not withdraw immediately in every case. The rule speaks of withdrawal from the conduct of the trial, so a lawyer who learns he ought to be a witness may handle the matter through discovery, bu…
When a New Jersey lawyer leaves a professional corporation, can the firm and the departing lawyer split fees by fixed percentages on the pending and future files?
For files that originated while the lawyer was a member, a separation-agreement percentage split is permitted; but for entirely new files that come to him only after he leaves, the rule against splitt…
Can a firm take a workers' compensation case against a law firm where one of the firm's current partners used to be an associate?
The opinion held that, assuming no dispute and no reasonable possibility of a dispute over whether the accident was compensable (so the former associate would not be a witness), employment of the new …
Can a New Jersey lawyer appear in a municipal court where his or her spouse is the court clerk or deputy court clerk?
No. Because a municipal court clerk performs important non-ministerial functions and influences the court, the opinion held that the appearance of impropriety bars an attorney from appearing in a muni…
What can a part-time lawyer trial commissioner, and his law partners, do in private and government practice?
A trial commissioner may practice before the appointing judge but not in matters he acted on; his partners may not appear before him; he may not also be an assistant prosecutor (nor may his partner), …
Can a lawyer suing a corporation or government entity contact its employees directly without the entity's lawyer's consent?
It depends on the employee. The lawyer may not contact officers, directors, or any management employee with access to privileged or confidential information without consent, but may contact employees …
After leaving a government agency, can a lawyer take private work on a matter pending at that agency?
It depends on involvement. The lawyer may take the matter if he gained no substantial knowledge of it in government service, but not if he gained substantial knowledge of it or performed any act on it…
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.