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 patent attorney who became a USPTO patent examiner still call himself 'Patent Attorney' on a business card?
Not without disclosure. Because his USPTO registration is on administrative-leave/inactive status and he can no longer represent others, the opinion finds the bare 'Patent Attorney' designation mislea…
Can a New York lawyer take foreclosure-case referrals from a non-lawyer company that telephoned the clients and collects a fee covering the lawyer's services?
No. The opinion finds the arrangement flawed on several grounds: the company's telephone solicitation is imputed to the lawyer, the client's single payment to the company effectively shares a legal fe…
Can a New York lawyer who belongs to a union serve on the union's legal-fee reimbursement panel and represent a fellow union member?
Yes to both, with conditions. The lawyer may join the panel and represent a co-worker in a real estate deal covered by the plan, subject to Rule 1.8(f) third-party-payment requirements and, for repres…
Is it ethical for a North Dakota lawyer to practice collaborative law, where the lawyer agrees to withdraw if the parties cannot settle and litigation becomes necessary?
Yes. The committee concluded that collaborative law is a permissible limited-scope representation under Rule 1.2(c), so long as the client gives informed consent after being told the process's advanta…
What may a lawyer licensed in another state do in Tennessee while waiting to be admitted to the Tennessee bar?
Formal Ethics Opinion 2012-F-91(c), since vacated by the Board, concluded that a lawyer licensed elsewhere and applying for Tennessee admission by comity or examination generally may not commence law …
If a Virginia lawyer is 'of counsel' to a firm, are the firm's clients and conflicts imputed to that lawyer?
Yes. An 'of counsel' lawyer is associated with the firm for conflict purposes, so conflicts are imputed both ways under Rule 1.10(a) and cannot be screened around. A genuinely limited independent-cont…
Does a Virginia prosecutor's ethical duty to disclose exculpatory evidence go beyond Brady, and must a prosecutor reveal that a key witness has died during plea talks?
Yes to the first: Rule 3.8(d)'s 'timely disclosure' duty is broader than Brady and requires disclosure as soon as practicable, not just in time for trial. On the second, a prosecutor may not make a fa…
Can a North Carolina lawyer charge interest or finance charges on a client's overdue bill without the client having agreed to it in advance?
Yes. The opinion concludes a lawyer may impose finance charges on a delinquent client account under N.C. Gen. Stat. section 24-11 without an advance agreement, so long as the lawyer first gives writte…
Can a North Carolina lawyer use client testimonials in advertising, and when does a testimonial need a disclaimer?
The opinion concludes that testimonials describing the lawyer's client service ('soft' endorsements) may be used without a disclaimer; testimonials that refer generally to results may be used only wit…
My client signed an assignment to a medical provider, and the provider now wants over $9,000 out of the settlement, but the money isn't enough to cover everyone. What am I required to do with the funds?
The panel held Rule 1.15 requires the attorney to notify the provider that he or she holds the client's settlement funds; if the client consents, the attorney may pay the provider an agreed amount, bu…
Can a criminal defense lawyer keep representing a client when her law partner is in business with a part-time assistant DA in the prosecuting office?
Yes, on these facts. The opinion treats the partner's business relationship as a personal-interest conflict imputed to the firm under Rule 1.10(a), finds no significant risk to the partner's judgment …
Can a Florida criminal defense lawyer advise a client to accept a plea that waives ineffective-assistance-of-counsel and prosecutorial-misconduct claims?
No. The defense lawyer has an unwaivable personal conflict of interest in advising on a plea that requires waiving ineffective-assistance and prosecutorial-misconduct claims, and a prosecutor may not …
Can a law firm list nonlawyer employees by name on its letterhead, website, and business cards?
The opinion concluded that a law firm's letterhead and website may list the names of nonlawyer employees if the employees are clearly identified as nonlawyers through job titles or other identifiers t…
Can an Ohio lawyer secretly record a conversation without the other person's consent?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer's surreptitious recording of a conversation is not a per se violation of Prof. Cond. R. 8.4(c) (dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation) if the recording do…
My client can't afford to pay me, so I want to take a mortgage on the very property he's trying to win through an adverse possession claim as my contingent fee. Is that allowed?
Yes, subject to conditions. The panel held Rule 1.8(i)'s exception for reasonable contingent fees permits the inquiring attorney to take a mortgage on the property that is the subject of the client's …
When a former client files a habeas petition claiming ineffective assistance, can the defense lawyer give confidential information to the government before any hearing?
Generally no. The self-defense exception in Rule 1.6(b)(2) does not authorize disclosing confidences when the petition is filed, before the court rules on its legal and procedural sufficiency, because…
Can a prosecutor require, and defense counsel agree, that documents the prosecutor produces may be shown to the defendant but not copied for the defendant?
Per the Committee, yes. Nothing in the Disciplinary Rules prohibits a prosecutor from conditioning production on, or defense counsel from signing, an agreement that the documents are State property, m…
Can Texas lawyers organize a law firm as a limited partnership whose general partner is an ordinary for-profit corporation rather than a professional corporation?
The Committee says the Disciplinary Rules do not prescribe firm-organization forms, but they bar sharing fees or partnering with non-lawyers and assisting unauthorized practice; whether this structure…
Can an e-discovery or document-review vendor that practices law in D.C. be owned in whole or part by passive nonlawyer investors?
The opinion concludes that a discovery service vendor cannot both practice law in the District of Columbia and be owned, in whole or in part, by passive nonlawyer investors, consistent with D.C. Rule …
Can a lawyer let a client or collection agency send debt collection letters on the lawyer's letterhead without the lawyer reviewing each file?
No. The Committees held that a lawyer must independently review each file and exercise professional judgment before a debt collection letter goes out on law firm letterhead; lending letterhead without…
Can a lawyer look at jurors' social media profiles to research them during a trial?
Yes, the opinion concludes, as long as the research causes no communication with the juror. A friend request, or any notification that tells the juror they were viewed, can be a prohibited communicati…
Can a lawyer serve as a referee in a foreclosure case when one of the lawyer's clients holds a judgment on the property?
Yes, with conditions. The opinion permits it if the lawyer makes any needed disclosures, has no circumstances that would let impartiality be reasonably questioned under the judicial-conduct rules, and…
What must a Kentucky lawyer do when a client in a civil case disappears and cannot be located, including with the client's funds, the ongoing matter, and any settlement offer?
After a diligent search, the lawyer must turn unclaimed client funds over to the state under the unclaimed-property laws, will usually have to withdraw because the case cannot proceed without the clie…
Can a New York lawyer give a bank or law enforcement the emails and documents from a 'client' who turned out to be running a counterfeit-check scam?
Yes. If the lawyer reasonably concludes the purported client was trying to defraud the lawyer rather than obtain legal services, that person is neither a client nor a prospective client, so the confid…
When a health-care provider appoints a lawyer to represent an injured person in a PIP arbitration, must that lawyer notify the client's personal-injury counsel, and what conflicts arise?
The Committee concluded the PIP lawyer has no duty to notify the client's personal-injury lawyer, but must explain to the client how the arbitration could prejudice a later personal-injury suit, may f…
Can a Massachusetts lawyer store confidential client files in a cloud service like Google Docs?
Yes, if the lawyer makes reasonable efforts to confirm the provider's terms and privacy practices protect client confidences under Rule 1.6(a). The lawyer must honor a client's instruction not to use …
Which state's contingent-fee limits apply when a Massachusetts lawyer sues in a tribal court in another state for a Massachusetts client?
The rules of State X or its tribal court govern the contingent fee, not the Massachusetts rules, under the choice-of-law rule in Rule 8.5(b) for conduct before a tribunal in another jurisdiction.
Must a lawyer report another lawyer's deceptive conduct to bar counsel when the facts came from the client's confidential information?
The deception is the kind of serious dishonesty Rule 8.3(a) requires reporting. But where the lawyer's knowledge is protected by Rule 1.6, Rule 8.3(c) means the lawyer needs the client's consent befor…
Can a Michigan judge host, and accept payment for hosting, a commercially-sponsored cable television talk program?
No. Hosting a commercially-sponsored program identified with the judge uses the prestige of office to advance business interests and can reflect on the judge's impartiality; a paid host who is an empl…
My law partner sits on the city council, and I sit on one of the city's advisory commissions. Am I barred from representing clients before the city's boards, commissions, law department, probate court, or the city council itself?
No, not automatically. The panel held the inquiring attorney is not per se prohibited from representing clients before the municipality's boards, commissions, law department, probate court, or the cit…
Can a lawyer licensed in both Texas and another state use a trade name allowed in that state but barred by Texas Rule 7.01, when practicing only in the other state?
Per the Committee, yes. Applying Texas's 'most significant relationship' conflict-of-laws test, Rule 7.01's trade-name ban does not reach a Texas-licensed lawyer's use of a trade name wholly in North …
Can a Utah lawyer charge a flat fee, call it nonrefundable, and move it out of the trust account before the work is done?
Flat fees are permitted under Rule 1.5, but the opinion concludes no fee is truly nonrefundable; unearned flat fees must stay in the client trust account, may be moved to the lawyer only as earned und…
Does a lawyer have to deposit a flat or fixed fee in the client trust account until it is earned?
Generally yes. The opinion concludes flat or fixed fees must go into the client trust account until earned, unless the lawyer and client agree in writing, after consultation, that the funds become the…
Can a North Carolina lawyer agree to buy title insurance exclusively from one agency in exchange for a referring party's continued real estate referrals?
No. The opinion concludes a lawyer may not enter an exclusive reciprocal referral agreement with a service provider: it impairs the lawyer's independent professional judgment (Rules 2.1 and 5.4(c)), i…
Does a North Carolina lawyer have to get a client's consent before outsourcing clerical work, like transcription, to a company in another country?
Yes. The opinion concludes that outsourcing any task, including purely clerical or administrative work like transcription, to a vendor in a foreign jurisdiction when it involves disclosing confidentia…
Can a North Carolina lawyer buy a competing lawyer's name as a search-engine keyword so the lawyer's own ad shows up when people search for that competitor?
No. The opinion concludes that selecting a competitor's name as a keyword in a search engine's paid-advertising program, so a user searching that name sees a link to the lawyer's own site, is dishones…
Can a lawyer take a case that might require impleading people the lawyer used to represent?
Yes, if the new matter is not substantially related to the prior representations, even though impleading former clients is materially adverse to them; but the lawyer still may not use or disclose thos…
Can a New York lawyer advertise that they will 'stop your foreclosure'?
No. An unqualified claim that a lawyer can 'stop' a foreclosure is false, deceptive, and misleading under Rule 7.1. Even a reworded, accurate version would need the required 'prior results do not guar…
Can a New York solo practitioner name the firm using only their initials, like 'JDR Law'?
No. A firm name made up only of the lawyer's initials is a trade name barred by Rule 7.5(b), because the initials are not the lawyer's legal name. The same words may be usable as a motto alongside the…
Can a Colorado lawyer use marijuana legally under state law without violating the ethics rules, given that it remains a federal crime?
Yes, with limits. The opinion concludes that a lawyer's use of marijuana in compliance with Colorado law does not by itself violate Colo. RPC 8.4(b), because that rule requires a nexus between the cri…
What must a lawyer do after receiving a document sent by mistake, like a misdirected email?
The opinion concludes that under Rule 4.4(b) a lawyer who knows or reasonably should know a document was sent inadvertently must promptly notify the sender, and has no other ethical duty under the New…
Can a New York lawyer who also works as a real estate broker represent a party in the same deal, or in a deal handled by a broker at the lawyer's brokerage office?
A lawyer may never serve as both attorney and broker in the same transaction; that conflict is non-consentable. A lawyer employed at a brokerage may represent a party in a deal another office broker h…
Can a New York lawyer post an educational legal video online and hand out flyers inviting the public to watch it?
Yes. Producing a bona fide educational legal video and distributing flyers inviting people to view it is generally not advertising or solicitation. But if the video or the flyers urge viewers to hire …
What limits apply when a New Hampshire client wants to give the drafting lawyer, or the lawyer's family, a present or testamentary gift?
Rule 1.8(c) bars a lawyer from soliciting a substantial client gift or drafting an instrument giving the lawyer or the lawyer's relatives a substantial gift, unless the recipient is related to the cli…
Can a Texas law firm contract with a for-profit prepaid legal service company to serve its members at discounted rates, and can it take referral fees on matters it refers out?
Per the Committee, a firm may contract with a licensed for-profit legal service contract company to provide discounted services; the company's retained margin is treated as insurance premium, not shar…
Can a Texas district attorney investigate or prosecute a local official the DA's office previously represented on matters tied to the official's public duties?
Per the Committee, only if the former-client protections of Rule 1.09 and the current-client conflict rule (Rule 1.06) are both satisfied: no reasonable probability of misusing the official's confiden…
Can a Texas lawyer make settling a civil case contingent on the other side signing an affidavit whose content the lawyer's client must approve?
Per the Committee, no. Conditioning a settlement on an affidavit whose content must be acceptable to the client is paying compensation (a more favorable settlement) for particular testimony, which Rul…
Can a New York law firm pay a non-lawyer marketing employee a bonus based on how many clients they bring in?
Yes, a firm may pay a non-lawyer marketing employee a bonus tied to the number of clients obtained through advertising, as long as the bonus is not calculated from the fees those clients pay. The firm…
Can a New York lawyer acting as the broker in a real estate deal throw in free legal services if the client is told they may hire separate counsel?
No. A lawyer acting and being paid as the broker may not offer free legal services to a party in the same transaction, even with disclosure that the party may retain separate counsel; the broker's fin…
Can a New York law firm's website link to the website of a nonlegal consulting business the firm formed, and vice versa?
Yes. A law firm's website and the website of a nonlegal entity the firm formed may link to each other. If a link's primary purpose is to facilitate retention of the firm, it is an advertisement subjec…
If one lawyer on a Legal Aid conflicts panel has a conflict, are all the other panel members disqualified too?
No. As long as conflicts-panel lawyers are independently engaged by, and independently serve, their indigent clients, the panel is not a 'law firm' under Rule 1.0(h), so one member's conflict is not i…
Can a New York lawyer accept stock or an equity interest in a client as payment for legal services?
Yes. A lawyer may take an equity interest in a client or the client's company as a fee if the deal satisfies Rule 1.8(a)'s business-transaction safeguards, is not excessive under Rule 1.5(a), and does…
Can a New York lawyer run or post on a blog that criticizes another lawyer's professional conduct?
Yes. The Rules do not prohibit a lawyer from hosting or participating in a blog that publishes factually accurate criticism of another lawyer's professional conduct, provided the criticism is accurate…
Can a New York lawyer work from a New York office as an employee of a foreign firm that has non-lawyer owners or managers?
No. A New York lawyer may not practice law principally in New York as an employee of an out-of-state (or foreign) entity that has non-lawyer owners or managers, because Rule 5.4 bars sharing fees with…
Can a New York matrimonial lawyer triple the hourly rate to cover the risk of nonpayment, take a confession of judgment or security interest, and amend the retainer?
The risk of nonpayment alone does not justify charging a multiple of the normal hourly rate. A lawyer may take a confession of judgment for fees already earned and a security interest in client proper…
Can a law firm sell its delinquent accounts receivable to a third party or hire a collection agency to collect unpaid fees from former clients?
Yes, subject to conditions. The Committee concludes a firm may sell delinquent receivables or use a collection agency to collect fees from former clients, because RPC 1.6(d)(2) lets a lawyer reveal co…
When a lawyer serves on a town board that controls the town court's budget, can other lawyers in the firm still appear in that court?
Generally yes. A board member's bar on appearing in the town Justice Court is not automatically imputed to the rest of the firm, except where the facts make public suspicion of undue influence likely …
Can a New York lawyer be listed in a bar association's online member directory and appear as a 'featured attorney' on its website?
Yes. A member may be listed in the association's online directory if the listing complies with Rule 7.1, and may appear as a randomly selected 'featured attorney' only if the page carries a disclaimer…
Can a lawyer serving as a Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee communicate directly with a represented debtor without the debtor's lawyer's consent?
No. A lawyer who serves as a Chapter 7 trustee may not communicate with a represented debtor unless the debtor's lawyer consents or the communication is authorized by law, such as statutory notices or…
A predecessor in-house lawyer represented both our company and a manager who was accused of harassment. That manager is now a former employee, and my notes from a meeting with him contain his account of events. Can I hand those notes to the outside lawyer defending the company in the related lawsuit?
No, not without the former client's consent. The panel held that because the manager was the inquiring attorney's former client (a predecessor in-house lawyer had entered an appearance for both the co…
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.