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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I've been informally helping a pro se friend (answering questions, suggesting language for an answer and discovery responses, and commenting on drafts) without signing or filing anything. Does that count as 'ghostwriting' I must disclose to the court?
The Panel concluded the informal assistance does not amount to ghostwriting because the friend, not the lawyer, was the documents' primary creator and finisher, so the lawyer need not sign the documen…
I was appointed as counsel for an alleged incapacitated person in a New York Article 81 guardianship case. She opposes a guardian, but I believe she lacks capacity. Can I advocate for a guardian anyway under Rule 1.14?
No. The opinion concludes that in an Article 81 proceeding, an attorney for an alleged incapacitated person may not advocate for a guardian or other restriction if the client opposes it, even where th…
I'm a town solicitor who prosecutes misdemeanors for the town. Is it a conflict of interest for me to prosecute a town employee who was arrested?
No conflict. The panel held that a town solicitor's only client is the municipality, not its individual employees, so prosecuting a town employee who is not the solicitor's client does not create a Ru…
When does a California lawyer need informed written consent to jointly represent two or more clients in the same matter?
The opinion concludes that informed written consent under Rule 1.7(b) is generally required to jointly represent multiple clients, because joint representations normally carry a significant risk the l…
Can a lawyer's engagement agreement require the client to cooperate and let the lawyer withdraw if the client does not?
Yes, within limits. The opinion concludes that under Rule 1.16(b)(5) a lawyer may withdraw when a client substantially fails to meet an obligation 'regarding the lawyer's services' (paying fees, coope…
When I compile a former client's file, must I include copies of correspondence between my law partner and opposing counsel, or can I withhold it as attorney work product?
Yes, the client is entitled to those copies. The panel held that correspondence between the attorney and opposing counsel developed during the representation is part of the client file, not attorney w…
When does an excessive caseload become a conflict of interest that limits a lawyer's ability to competently represent existing clients?
The opinion concludes that an excessive caseload can create a concurrent conflict of interest, a 'capacity conflict,' when a lawyer's workload is so great that competently and diligently representing …
What can a lawyer tell the court when moving to withdraw from a case without revealing the client's confidences?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer's withdrawal motion should ordinarily state only that professional considerations or irreconcilable differences require termination, and that the lawyer must protec…
My business-entity client wants me to use small claims to collect for products it delivered before I represented it, which were sold in violation of its license. Does that request force me to withdraw under Rule 1.16?
No. The panel held that the client's request to pursue small-claims collection does not require mandatory withdrawal under Rule 1.16(a), because it does not compel the attorney to engage in illegal or…
If a lawyer knows of a fact that should disqualify the judge but the judge has not raised it, must the lawyer tell the court?
Generally yes, subject to confidentiality. The opinion concludes Rule 8.4(d) requires a lawyer who knows information reasonably likely to give rise to a judge's recusal obligation to disclose it to th…
Can one lawyer represent both spouses in an estate plan that requires them to waive their elective-share rights?
A lawyer may give both spouses general information about elective-share rights and waiver, and may advise on the estate plan after a waiver is executed, but advising both on whether to waive, or draft…
Can a plaintiff's lawyer personally agree to indemnify the defendant for the client's failure to repay Medicare or fund a Medicare set-aside as a settlement condition?
No. The opinion concludes a lawyer may not join the client in indemnifying the opposing party for the client's failure to reimburse a third-party payer like Medicare or to fund a set-aside; doing so m…
Can a lawyer investigate a party, witness, or juror on social media, request access to their nonpublic posts, or use a fake name to do it?
A lawyer may view publicly available social-media information about anyone, and may request access to nonpublic information if the person is unrepresented and the lawyer does not falsely claim to be d…
Can a law firm store client files with a third-party online vendor, such as in the cloud, and access them remotely?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes a lawyer may store client materials on a third-party server if the lawyer meets the duties of competence and confidentiality by taking reasonable steps to ensure …
Can an Oregon lawyer agree to handle only part of a client's matter, such as drafting pleadings for a pro se litigant or advising on one issue?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes a lawyer may limit the scope of a representation under Oregon RPC 1.2(b) if the limitation is reasonable under the circumstances and the client gives informed con…
Can a hearings officer, agency adjudicator, or judge apply or negotiate for a government legal job while a matter involving the prospective employer is pending before them?
Under Oregon RPC 1.12(b), an adjudicator who participates personally and substantially in a matter may not negotiate for employment with a party or a party's lawyer in that matter, though merely apply…
When may a lawyer make public statements about a pending civil or criminal case, and when do pretrial press conferences cross the line under the trial-publicity rule?
A lawyer's extrajudicial statement violates Oregon RPC 3.6 only if the lawyer knows or should know it will be publicly disseminated and have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing an immin…
What must an indigent-defense lawyer do about an excessive court-appointed caseload, and when are supervising or contracting lawyers responsible?
A lawyer who cannot meet the basic duties of competence, diligence, and communication to each client has an excessive workload and must control it, by declining new appointments, transferring cases, o…
Can a lawyer or firm represent two unrelated clients who take opposite positions on the same legal issue in different cases?
Often yes. The opinion concludes that taking inconsistent legal positions for unrelated clients in factually unrelated cases is not itself a conflict; a conflict arises only when the lawyer actually k…
Can a lawyer act as the client's lawyer and also as the real estate broker and mortgage broker in the same transaction?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes a lawyer may serve in multiple roles in the client's real estate transaction if substantive law allows it, but the personal-interest conflict under Oregon RPC 1.7…
When a lawyer or staff member notarizes a client's document, how must the lawyer keep the next signer from seeing the prior client entries in the notarial journal?
If a journal entry contains protected client information, the lawyer must prohibit, and have staff prohibit, later signers from viewing it, for example by covering prior names and signatures or by kee…
Must a lawyer report another lawyer's ethics violation, and can the lawyer report it when the information came from representing a client who objects?
No, where the knowledge is protected by RPC 1.6 or ORS 9.460(3) and no exception applies: RPC 8.3 does not require (or permit) disclosure of confidential client information. Otherwise the duty to repo…
Can a lawyer at a firm that represents a corporation also serve as the corporation's officer, director, or shareholder, and is the conflict imputed to the whole firm?
Qualified yes: a lawyer may serve as an officer, director, or shareholder of a corporate client, but where there is a significant risk the dual role will materially limit the representation the lawyer…
Can a prosecutor make the decision to prosecute conditional on the complaining witness agreeing not to civilly compromise the case, and can the prosecutor instead suggest a civil compromise?
No to the first, yes to the second: conditioning prosecution on a witness's promise not to enter a statutory civil compromise is conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice under RPC 8.4(a)(4…
Can one lawyer represent both spouses together in a joint bankruptcy, in preparing their wills, and in their divorce?
The opinion concludes joint representation in a bankruptcy or wills is usually permissible with informed written consent because spouses' interests are typically aligned, but representing both spouses…
Can one lawyer represent more than one defendant in the same criminal case?
The opinion concludes usually no: in most criminal joint representations the lawyer would have to advance one client's interest (such as a plea deal to testify against the other) while opposing it for…
Can a lawyer give a second opinion to someone already represented by another lawyer, and may the lawyer tell that other lawyer about the request?
The opinion concludes a lawyer approached for a second opinion may give it without the other lawyer's consent because the no-contact rule does not apply to a prospective client who seeks the lawyer ou…
In a suit against a company, can the opposing lawyer interview the company's current or former employees without defense counsel's permission, and ask what they told the company's lawyers?
The opinion concludes a current employee is off-limits without consent only if they are management or their conduct is at issue; former employees who are not separately represented may be contacted fr…
Can a lawyer who first reviewed coverage for an insurer then defend both the insurer and the insured in the underlying lawsuit under a reservation of rights?
The opinion concludes the lawyer may, but because the prior coverage work creates a significant risk of materially limiting the defense of the insured, the lawyer must reasonably believe both clients …
Can a lawyer represent two clients in a chain of debt, a creditor of a seller and the buyer being sued by that seller, when one client may only be paid if the other loses?
The opinion concludes it depends on the facts: there is no conflict if the middle party can pay the creditor regardless of the outcome, a waivable conflict if payment is doubtful, and a direct, noncon…
Can a lawyer who sits on a legal aid society's board represent a client opposing someone represented by one of the legal aid society's own staff lawyers?
The opinion concludes the board-member lawyer and the legal aid staff lawyer may each represent their respective clients in the same matter, because in the ordinary case the board role does not materi…
Can an Oregon lawyer contact the opposing party directly, or have a client or investigator do it, when that party has a lawyer?
No. The opinion concludes Oregon RPC 4.2 bars a lawyer from communicating about the matter with a represented opposing party, or causing a client, investigator, or adjuster to do so, without the other…
Can two Oregon lawyers who share office space represent opposing parties in the same lawsuit?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes office sharers may represent opposing parties if they do not hold out as one firm, keep their files separate, and protect each other's client confidences; if they…
Can a defense lawyer condition a settlement on the plaintiff's lawyer promising never to sue the defendant again?
No. The opinion concludes that conditioning a settlement on the plaintiff's lawyer agreeing not to sue the defendant in the future is a restriction on the lawyer's right to practice barred by RPC 5.6(…
Is an employee covered by a prepaid group legal-services plan automatically a client of the plan's law firm?
No. The opinion concludes a plan beneficiary is not per se a current client of the firm; the firm may oppose one covered employee on behalf of another it actually represents, because mere eligibility …
Can one part-time nonlawyer work for two Oregon firms that are on opposite sides of matters?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes that, unlike a shared lawyer (whose dual employment would create a non-waivable firm conflict), a shared nonlawyer is governed by RPC 5.3: dual employment is allo…
Before filing suit, can an Oregon lawyer (or an investigator) contact a prospective defendant, take an affidavit, and negotiate a settlement?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes that because the lawyer does not know the prospective defendant is represented, RPC 4.2 is not triggered, so the lawyer or an investigator may speak to them, take…
In an Oregon bankruptcy, can a lawyer represent the debtor and the debtor's creditors at once, or represent two creditors of the same debtor?
No to representing the debtor and that debtor's creditors together in the bankruptcy (a non-waivable conflict), but the lawyer may represent the debtor alone while keeping the creditors on unrelated m…
Can an Oregon lawyer represent both the issuer and the underwriter on the same municipal bond issue?
No. The opinion concludes that simultaneously representing the issuer and the underwriter in the same bond transaction is a non-consentable current-client conflict under RPC 1.7, because the lawyer wo…
Can an Oregon lawyer paid by an insurer represent both the insurer and the insured in a subrogation action against a third party?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes the lawyer may represent both where their interests do not appear to diverge, so long as the insured gives informed consent to the insurer paying the fee under RP…
Can an Oregon law firm make associates or departing partners sign a covenant not to compete or pay a penalty for taking firm clients?
No. Oregon RPC 5.6(a) bars agreements that restrict a lawyer's right to practice after leaving, and lawyers may not require a withdrawing lawyer to pay a penalty for competing; a firm may, however, ad…
Can an Oregon lawyer represent both the birth mother and the adopting parents in an adoption, or just the adopting parents when the lawyer formerly represented the birth mother?
No to joint representation, because the parties' interests are necessarily opposed and consent cannot cure it; yes to representing only the adopting parents, qualified, if the prior matter for the bir…
Can a suspended or disbarred Oregon lawyer be paid for work done before the discipline, and can the successor lawyer split a contingent fee with that lawyer?
Yes, qualified. The suspended or disbarred lawyer may collect an ethically appropriate fee for pre-discipline work, and the successor may forward that earned portion, but may not share any fee for the…
Can an Oregon lawyer file a complaint against a defendant who has a valid affirmative defense the defendant may not have discovered?
Yes, qualified. As long as the claim has a basis in law and fact that is not frivolous under Oregon RPC 3.1, the lawyer may file it; it is up to the defendant or the defendant's counsel to discover an…
Can an Oregon lawyer claim the same items of damages in two separate lawsuits from two accidents when it is unclear which accident caused which injury?
Yes as to pleading the same damages in both complaints, because causation is unclear; but once a damage item has been paid by one defendant, the lawyer may not pursue clearly duplicative recovery from…
Is a public defender office treated as a law firm for conflicts, so that one lawyer's former-client conflict disqualifies the whole office, and does it change when the lawyer leaves?
Yes. A public defender organization is a firm under Oregon RPC 1.0(d), so a lawyer's former-client conflict under Oregon RPC 1.9 is imputed to the whole office under Oregon RPC 1.10(a) and cannot be c…
If a lawyer attends a single court call covering four clients' cases in one hour, can the lawyer bill each client the full hour under an hourly fee agreement?
No, qualified. Under straight hourly billing the lawyer cannot bill more than one client for the same time; billing four clients a full hour each for one hour of work bills more time than worked, whic…
Can a lawyer view an opposing represented party's public website and send messages through it during litigation?
Viewing an adverse party's public website is permitted, like reading anything published for the public. Sending internet messages, however, is treated like written contact under Oregon RPC 4.2, so it …
Can a criminal defense lawyer contact the complaining witness directly to suggest a civil compromise of the charges?
Yes. The opinion concludes a defense lawyer may contact a complaining witness to suggest a civil compromise, because the witness is not represented by the district attorney, so Oregon RPC 4.2 is not v…
Can a government lawyer advise an agency investigator to contact a represented licensee, and may the lawyer warn the licensee's attorney about the contact?
The opinion concludes an assistant attorney general may advise an agency investigator about contacting a represented licensee directly (the agency, as a party, may contact another party even though it…
Can an Oregon lawyer give advice or a recommendation to an unrepresented opposing person, like an adverse driver or a grand-jury witness?
No. The opinion concludes that even when RPC 4.2 does not apply because the person is not known to be represented, Oregon RPC 4.3 bars a lawyer from giving legal advice (other than to get counsel) to …
Can one lawyer represent both the driver and the passengers of the same car in injury claims against the other driver?
It depends on the issue. The opinion concludes a lawyer cannot represent both if the driver's liability to the passengers is genuinely in play (a possible nonwaivable conflict), may represent both for…
Can a defense lawyer send an insured client's detailed legal bills to the insurer's outside audit company, and may the lawyer ask the client to consent?
Not without consent if the bills contain protected information. The opinion concludes a lawyer may submit bills with no confidential information, but otherwise needs the insured's informed consent und…
If lawyers and firms are linked through 'of counsel' relationships, are their clients treated as one firm's clients for conflict-of-interest purposes?
Yes. The opinion concludes that an 'of counsel' lawyer is a member of the firm for conflict purposes, so firms and solo practices joined by of-counsel ties are treated as a single unit and their clien…
Can a plaintiff's lawyer interview current and former employees of a state agency defendant without the Attorney General's consent?
A current agency employee is off-limits under Oregon RPC 4.2 only if the employee is part of management or their conduct is at issue; other current employees, and former employees, may be contacted wi…
Can a lawyer withdraw earned hourly fees from a trust-account retainer when billing, and must the lawyer put the money back if the client later disputes the bill?
A lawyer may withdraw earned hourly fees from a trust account when invoicing the client, if the lawyer is unaware of any dispute over the right to payment. If the client objects afterward, the opinion…
Can a lawyer who did joint estate planning for a married couple later represent one spouse against the other in their divorce?
It depends. The opinion concludes the lawyer may represent one former-client spouse in the dissolution without consent if the divorce is neither a matter-specific nor an information-specific former-cl…
Can a lawyer let their own client talk directly with the opposing party about settlement when that party is represented by counsel?
Yes, qualified. Oregon RPC 4.2 restricts communications that originate with the lawyer, not voluntary contact between the parties, so a lawyer need not stop the clients from speaking directly, but the…
Can a lawyer adverse to a public body contact a government employee for copies of public records without the public body's lawyer's consent?
Yes. A limited request to a public employee to obtain a specific public record is a communication authorized by law under the Public Records Law, so Oregon RPC 4.2 does not bar it; but substantive que…
Can a prosecutor contact a represented witness directly once the witness's lawyer has given notice of the representation?
No. Once the prosecutor knows a non-suspect witness is represented, Oregon RPC 4.2 bars direct contact about the witness's testimony, before or after indictment, and the witness's motive for hiring a …
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.