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 opposing counsel won't relay a settlement offer, can a lawyer send a joint letter to that counsel and the opposing client about a possible compromise?
No. The Committee held (9-0) that sending a joint letter to the adverse attorney and his client about a possible compromise directly violates Canon 9's bar on communicating with a represented party, e…
Can a tax lawyer mail regular clients a monthly tax newsletter covering Treasury and court developments?
Yes, with limits. The Committee held (5-4) that a tax-specializing lawyer may send monthly tax letters in his own envelopes to regular clients, provided distribution is limited to regular clients and …
May a lawyer practice in a court where his law partner sits as the part-time judge (justice of the peace or police judge)?
No, as to that court. The committee concluded the partnership itself was proper since the part-time judge could practice in other courts, but the partner could not practice in the court over which the…
Is a lawyer disqualified from representing a surviving partner in litigation, and what happens if the lawyer may be a witness?
On the facts given, the committee found no apparent conflict under Canon 6, so the lawyer was not disqualified from representing the surviving partner; it cautioned that if the lawyer became a necessa…
May a lawyer take over a case from the client's prior lawyer, and who decides the prior lawyer's fee?
Yes. The committee concluded a client has the absolute right to discharge counsel and substitute another, so a lawyer who did not solicit the matter does nothing unethical by accepting it; the dischar…
May a lawyer send a debtor a letter dressed up to look like court process to pressure payment before any suit is filed?
No. The committee concluded it is improper to mail a debtor an instrument resembling process before suit, because its purpose is to create the false impression that judicial proceedings have begun, co…
May a lawyer running for public office state on campaign cards that he is a lawyer and describe his qualifications for the office?
Yes. The committee concluded campaign cards setting forth a candidate's qualifications, including legal training, are not unethical, on the presumption that the candidate genuinely seeks the office, p…
May a law firm's letterhead advertise that its members are former public officials, such as an ex-judge or ex-U.S. Commissioner?
No. The committee concluded that a letterhead calling attention to members being ex-officeholders was self-laudation and indirect advertising that violated Canon 27.
May a county attorney (prosecutor) use the threat of criminal charges to collect a private debt, such as a bad check?
No. The committee concluded that an assistant county attorney who used his office to compel payment of a private bad-check debt by threatening criminal prosecution acted unethically and was subject to…
Can the lawyer who drafted an incompetent client's earlier will reveal its contents and the client's mental state to the client's son and guardian?
No. The Committee held (8-1) that the lawyer may not disclose the contents and circumstances of the first will or his opinion of the testator's mental condition, because Canon 34's duty to preserve co…
Can a lawyer print a slogan like 'see an attorney first, and save' across the top of his professional card?
No. The Committee held (9-0) that printing 'If a deal is to be made where legal advice is needed see an attorney first, and save' in bold letters atop a professional card is unethical and violates Can…
Can a lawyer's power of attorney include a clause where the lawyer agrees to bear all costs and expenses of any investigation and litigation?
No. The Committee held (8-1) that a power of attorney in which the lawyer assumes full responsibility and liability for all costs and expenses of any necessary investigation and litigation violates th…
Can a tax lawyer put 'tax service' on his letterhead, in a newspaper's professional directory, or elsewhere in a newspaper?
The Committee held (9-0 on each part) that 'tax service' may appear on a lawyer's letterhead and in a newspaper's professional directory, but that a tax-service card placed in any other portion of a n…
Can a lawyer list his name, phone number, and address in the classified directory of a newspaper?
No. The Committee held unanimously (9-0) that inserting an attorney's name, phone number, and address in the classified directory of a newspaper violates Canon 24.
Can a firm list on its letterhead, as an associate, a lawyer licensed elsewhere but not yet admitted to practice in Texas?
No. The Committee held unanimously (9-0) that a firm may not carry on its letterhead, as an associate, a person licensed in another jurisdiction and before the U.S. Patent Office but not yet admitted …
Can a city attorney also represent criminal defendants in courts other than the city's corporation court?
The Committee concluded (8-1) that a city attorney's practice of criminal law in courts other than the corporation court is permissible, and that representing defendants in cases where city police tes…
May a salaried county attorney also accept private civil clients who consult his office?
The Committee held (8-0) that a county attorney may not accept civil employment from someone who consulted him in his official capacity rather than for his private skill, and may not take civil cases …
When is a lawyer disqualified by conflicting interests among an executor, a note's maker, and defendant legatees in a suit to interpret a will?
The Committee found multiple disqualifying conflicts (all 9-0): the executor's chief counsel, who also represents the note's maker, must recuse; a firm member is no better positioned; counsel for thos…
Can a lawyer sign as surety on a bail bond for a felony defendant, whether a client or a friend?
The Committee held (6-1) that a lawyer becoming surety for individuals indicted for felonies, whether for his own clients or as a friend, was not a violation of the law or any Canon. The opinion is ov…
May a county judge who is also a lawyer represent clients in justice and county courts in other counties?
The Committee held (8-1) that it is not unethical for a county judge to represent clients and friends in justice and county courts in counties outside his own county.
Can a law firm put large neon signs with the lawyers' names on the outside of its office building?
The Committee held unanimously (9-0) that two neon signs on a downtown corner building, with two-foot lettering extending 10 to 12 feet along the side, constituted commercial advertising in violation …
Is it a breach of legal ethics for a lawyer to run a professional card in a newspaper announcing the lawyer's name, practice, and office hours?
The committee concluded yes. A professional card placed in a newspaper and paid for by the lawyer was treated as solicitation of business by advertising, condemned under the Canons of Professional Eth…
May a lawyer represent a claimant against a former employer when, before admission to the bar, the lawyer investigated and handled that same claim as the employer's lay claim agent?
The committee concluded no, without the former employer's consent. A claim agent who investigated a claim acquires confidential information so nearly like that of a lawyer that Canon 6's bar on repres…
May a lawyer provide legal services to members of an automobile club under a membership plan where the club pays for and limits the fee?
The committee concluded a lawyer may serve a club on matters common to all members, but furnishing legal services to individual members on their own affairs through the club ran afoul of Canon 35's ba…
Can one lawyer defend both drivers charged after a collision, even if they have settled their dispute with each other?
The Committee held (9-1) that one attorney may not defend both drivers charged with negligent collision, even after the drivers amicably settled, because their positions necessarily conflict, violatin…
Can a lawyer share office space with an abstract and title company and do all of the company's legal work?
The Committee held (7-2) that, on the sparse facts presented, a lawyer may share quarters with an abstract and title company, show his name on the window and in the directory at the company's address,…
Can a lawyer serving as a union's regional legal-aid counsel take case intake forms from the union and write injured members offering to take their cases?
The Committee held unanimously (10-0) that the arrangement was improper: receiving union-supplied accident intake forms made the lawyer party to lay case-funneling, his letter offering assistance soli…
Can a lawyer run a newspaper classified ad offering income-tax return preparation and claiming to be a tax specialist?
The Committee held unanimously (10-0) that a newspaper classified ad reading 'Income Taxes / Be Safe, have your report made by a lawyer / Specialist income tax laws,' with the lawyer's address and pho…
Can a lawyer set up a sham conveyance and reconveyance to put a lien or mortgage on property he knows is a homestead?
The Committee held unanimously (10-0) that a lawyer who knows property is a homestead may not arrange the regular device of conveying it to a third party who reconveys to the owner retaining a vendor'…
Can a lawyer put a modest neon sign with his name and phone number over the entrance to his suburban office?
The Committee held by a divided vote (6-4) that a neon sign about 5 feet long and 2 feet high, showing the attorney's name and telephone number over the entrance to his office in a suburban shopping c…
Can the law partner of a county attorney defend criminal cases in the district court of that same county?
The Committee held (7-3) that the law partner of a county attorney may not practice criminal law in the district court of the county where his partner is county attorney, even if limited to cases the …
Can a lawyer who represented one heir in a will contest later represent the administrator of the estate's residue?
The Committee held unanimously (10-0) that a lawyer who represented one of sixteen heirs in a will contest should not accept employment by the administrator of the residue estate where the administrat…
Must a judge recuse from a civil case just because his son, a former law partner, represents one of the parties?
The Committee held unanimously (10-0) that the father-son relationship alone does not disqualify a judge from trying a civil case, but that the judge should recuse if the case came in while he and his…
Can a lawyer demanding damages from the other driver also send her, under his son's name, an undisclosed solicitation to buy insurance from the son's agency?
The Committee split evenly (5-5) on whether the conduct violated Canon 6: half thought demanding damages from the other party and then signing the lawyer's son's name to an undisclosed insurance solic…
Must a lawyer tell the court a divorcing wife is pregnant when a statute requires disclosing children for custody and support?
The Committee held unanimously (10-0) that the information must be disclosed; a lawyer may not knowingly withhold from the court in a divorce case his knowledge that the wife is pregnant, with a major…
May a surviving partner keep using a firm name that includes a deceased partner's name?
The Committee concluded the continued use is not unethical in itself where local custom permits it, but it is improper where the firm name would mislead by representing that the deceased is still a me…
May a newly elected county judge finish his unfinished private law practice while also performing his judicial duties?
The Committee thought the proposal of doubtful propriety, but declined to render an actual opinion because the Bar Association's authority to speak in such circumstances was highly doubtful.
May a lawyer pay to publish his photograph, identified with his name and profession, in a newspaper or magazine?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer's paying, in whole or part, to publish his photograph identified with his name and vocation is solicitation by advertising and is condemned under the Canons.
Is whether a lawyer's courtroom testimony was a violation of the Canons a question the ethics committee will answer?
The Committee declined to answer, concluding the question turned on the admissibility of evidence, a matter for the courts rather than the ethics committee.
May a tax lawyer mail his regular clients letters or cards setting appointment dates to gather information for their income-tax returns?
The Committee concluded there is no impropriety so long as the notices go only to clients he already regularly serves, observe the rule against solicitation, and are sent in a sealed letter rather tha…
May a practicing attorney also run an insurance agency, and how must he advertise it?
The Committee concluded he may, provided the two businesses are kept separate so neither is used to procure business for the other, and he does not advertise himself as an attorney in connection with …
May a practicing lawyer who also works as an insurance claims adjuster advertise his adjuster services by pamphlet to insurance companies?
By majority, the Committee concluded the advertising would not be proper, because the two callings are so closely affiliated that soliciting adjuster business could readily become solicitation of law …
May a practicing lawyer also run an abstract business in the same county and share office quarters with the abstract company?
The Committee found no rule flatly forbidding it, but concluded the abstract business is so interrelated with law practice that doing both ethically would be most difficult, and it did not approve the…
When a firm represented several aligned parties but only the lead client paid, what does the firm owe the others once that client sells out and drops the appeal?
The Committee concluded the firm must notify every party who relied on its representation that the lead client has withdrawn, that the firm will not resist the appeal unless separately employed and pa…
May a law firm let its name appear on an automobile association's law list of recommended attorneys for the association's insureds to use in litigation?
The Committee concluded the listing would not be proper. Canon 27 precluded it, the ABA had not approved the particular law list, and prior Oklahoma opinions had decided similar questions the same way…
Can a criminal district attorney prosecute a case against his own relative?
The Committee held unanimously (10-0) that a criminal district attorney may not prosecute a relative, because doing so offends the spirit of Canon 6 on adverse influences and conflicting interests; he…
Can a lawyer list deceased lawyer relatives and a 'lawyers since 1840' family lineage on his letterhead?
The Committee held (7-3) that listing deceased relatives, with dates and nicknames, on a letterhead violates the spirit of ABA Canon 27 (self-laudation) and Canon 29 (dignity of the profession); membe…
Can a lawyer list his name and phone number in the yellow-pages 'Attorneys' section, including in nearby towns that have no lawyers?
The Committee held unanimously (10-0) that listing an attorney's name and telephone number under 'Attorneys' or 'Lawyers' in the classified (yellow-page) telephone directory is proper, and that the sa…
Can a lawyer publish a name-address-phone listing in a newspaper's 'professional directory' classified column?
The Committee held by majority (9-1) that publishing a bare name, address, and telephone listing (for lawyers other than patent, copyright, and admiralty practitioners) in a newspaper's 'professional …
Does a lawyer's name and 'Attorney at Law' in a dog-show catalogue stud-fee ad violate the advertising Canons?
The Committee held (9-1) that a dog-show catalogue ad soliciting stud fees that included the owner's name with 'Attorney at Law' did not violate the Canons, though it would have been better form and m…
Can a lawyer use a written prepaid retainer agreement for ongoing consultation and advice, with defined limits on the services covered?
The Committee held unanimously (9-0) that an attorney may use a written retainer agreement employing him for a stipulated advance fee to consult and advise a client, where the agreement defines which …
Can the winning lawyer write the jurors after a verdict telling them no misconduct occurred and to refuse to talk to the other side's investigator?
The Committee held unanimously (7-0) that the winning attorney's post-verdict letter complimenting the jurors, assuring them none of the enumerated matters was misconduct, and advising them to refuse …
Can a Texas lawyer list their name, address, and phone number in a newspaper's classified 'Business Service Directory' section?
The Committee held by a 6-3 vote that a listing under a regular newspaper column headed 'Legal Directory' is proper, but the listing here, placed in the classified-ad 'Business Service Directory' sect…
Can a Texas lawyer run a newspaper ad offering to buy and sell real estate mortgage notes and arrange loans, with their name and contact information?
The Committee held unanimously (8-0) that a newspaper ad reading 'Real Estate mortgage notes bought and sold, business, residential, repair loans' with the lawyer's name, address, and telephone number…
Can a prosecuting attorney privately represent a defendant in a civil case arising out of the same accident the prosecutor charged the other party over?
The committee concluded that a prosecuting attorney was precluded from accepting private employment to defend a railroad in a civil damages suit brought by a truck driver the prosecutor had earlier pr…
If one partner in a law firm is the county attorney, can another partner defend someone being prosecuted for a felony in a different county?
The Committee held unanimously (9-0) that a lawyer who is county attorney in the county of the firm's domicile, and his partner, may not accept a retainer to defend a person being prosecuted for a cri…
Can a lawyer give the judge a memorandum or authorities on the case without telling opposing counsel?
The Committee held unanimously (8-0) that a lawyer may not communicate with the court without making full disclosure to opposing counsel and giving that lawyer an opportunity to be present or to submi…
Can an insurance company's lawyer set up and handle a friendly suit to settle a minor's injury claim against the insurer when the claimant has no lawyer?
The Committee held (6-3) that the insurer's lawyer may not act as attorney for the claimants in a friendly suit against the company, but may prepare the papers for the adjuster, avoid contact with the…
Is a gratuitous insult in a letter from one lawyer to another a Canon violation, or just a matter for a grievance committee?
The Committee held (7-1) that a gratuitous insult in a letter from one attorney to another did not violate any of the Canons, though it deplored the conduct and said it might call for action by a grie…
Can a lawyer mail other lawyers a plan inviting them into a reciprocal referral society to exchange specialized cases for set fees?
The Committee held unanimously (9-0) that a circular letter soliciting lawyers and others to form a reciprocal referral society violated Texas Canon 24 and ABA Canon 27; solicitation of strangers and …
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.