District of Columbia Bar Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the District of Columbia Bar, with full citations and source links on every page.
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If a lawyer in a civil case learns the client gave false testimony, does the duty of candor to the tribunal require disclosing it?
The opinion concludes that Rule 3.3(d) does not override Rule 1.6(d). Disclosure to the tribunal is required only when the lawyer has actual knowledge of the fraud, the client used the lawyer's servic…
In D.C., can a lawyer treat a prepaid flat fee or subscription fee as earned on receipt and deposit it in the operating account?
The opinion concludes that prepaid flat fees and subscription fees are advances of unearned fees that must be held in trust until earned, and cannot be made earned-on-receipt by contract language alon…
Can a law firm agree to conditions a government demands that would limit or shape its practice, and what ethics rules does that implicate?
The opinion concludes that such agreements must be examined under the D.C. Rules for conflicts of interest in current or future matters adverse to that government (Rule 1.7), improper restrictions on …
When a lawyer's own prior work for a client becomes an issue in later litigation, can the lawyer keep representing that client or must the lawyer step aside?
The opinion concludes that a personal-interest conflict under Rule 1.7(b)(4) can arise when the lawyer's prior work is at issue; the lawyer may continue only on a reasonable belief that she can provid…
Can a D.C. lawyer use generative AI like ChatGPT in client matters, and what ethics duties apply?
The opinion concludes that lawyers may use generative AI but must satisfy their existing duties: competence requires a current understanding of the tool and verification of its outputs (especially cit…
When a D.C. lawyer serves as local counsel for an out-of-state lead attorney litigating in a D.C. court, what ethics duties does the local counsel keep?
The opinion concludes that the D.C. Rules draw no distinction between 'local' and 'lead' counsel: a lawyer serving as local counsel keeps full duties of communication, written fee disclosure, conflict…
When a lawyer represents multiple clients and settles their claims together, what does each client have to be told and agree to?
The opinion concludes that under Rule 1.8(f) a lawyer may make an aggregate settlement for multiple clients only if each client gives informed consent in a signed writing after full disclosure of all …
Can a lawyer encourage a client to talk directly to a represented opposing party, and how much can the lawyer help prepare for that conversation?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer may advise and even encourage a client to communicate directly with a represented opponent and may help the client prepare (objectives, talking points, draft corres…
Before taking over a jailed defendant's case for a fee, must a D.C. successor lawyer notify the prior lawyer, and when can the fee be collected?
The opinion concludes that under D.C. Rule 7.1(f), a successor lawyer who solicits an incarcerated person in a pending criminal case must give timely and adequate notice to current counsel before acce…
If a client's outside counsel guidelines ask a D.C. lawyer to disclose information about the lawyer's other clients, or to agree to withdraw if a midstream conflict arises, is that allowed?
The opinion concludes that, absent informed consent, a D.C. lawyer may not disclose a client's or prospective client's protected information (including the client's identity and the nature of the matt…
Can a D.C. lawyer serve on the board of directors of a company that the lawyer also represents as legal counsel?
The opinion concludes there is no per se bar to a D.C. lawyer simultaneously serving as counsel and as a director of an entity-client, but the lawyer must first determine whether the directorship crea…
If a D.C. lawyer is asked to help one client respond to a third-party subpoena that seeks information about another of the lawyer's clients, is that a conflict of interest?
The opinion concludes that representing a client in responding to a third-party subpoena for information about another current client is not a conflict unless the lawyer knows, after reasonable dilige…
Is it a conflict of interest for a D.C. lawyer to subpoena or cross-examine a person who is also the lawyer's current or former client?
The opinion concludes that subpoenaing or cross-examining a current or former client is not a per se conflict; a conflict arises only if the client objects (or would foreseeably object) to testifying,…
After a D.C. lawyer is fired in a contingent-fee case, can the lawyer tell successor counsel about a charging lien without breaching client confidentiality?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer whose fee is secured by a charging lien on the client's future recovery may notify successor counsel or another likely holder of the funds that the lien exists, and…
Can a D.C. lawyer accept cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, as payment for legal fees or in settlement of a client's claim?
The opinion concludes there is no per se bar to a D.C. lawyer accepting cryptocurrency, provided the fee is reasonable under Rule 1.5. When the lawyer takes cryptocurrency as an advance fee or calcula…
What must a D.C. firm's partners and supervisors do when they reasonably believe a lawyer in the firm is impaired, and do they have to tell clients?
The opinion concludes that an impaired lawyer has the same duties as any other lawyer, and that the firm's partners and managerial or supervisory lawyers must, under Rule 5.1, take reasonable steps to…
Can a D.C. lawyer put a mandatory arbitration clause in a fee agreement, and does the lawyer have to send the client to independent counsel first?
The opinion concludes that a mandatory arbitration provision in a fee agreement, including one covering legal-malpractice claims, is an ordinary fee arrangement governed by Rule 1.5, not a business tr…
Can a D.C. lawyer accept money raised through crowdfunding to pay for a client's legal fees, and what changes if the lawyer runs the campaign?
The opinion concludes that lawyers may generally represent clients whose fees are crowdfunded. When the client runs the crowdfunding and the lawyer is merely aware of it, the lawyer takes on no specia…
After a consultation that does not lead to representation, does a D.C. lawyer have to keep or hand over the notes, research, and information from the prospective client meeting?
The opinion concludes that a D.C. lawyer must protect a prospective client's confidences and secrets under Rules 1.18 and 1.6, and must safeguard and return any property the prospective client entrust…
Must a D.C. court-appointed criminal defense lawyer also enter the client's parallel civil protection-order case, and can the lawyer advise the client there without appearing?
The opinion concludes that a Criminal Justice Act (CJA) lawyer appointed in a criminal domestic violence matter is neither required nor barred from entering an appearance in the client's parallel civi…
When a D.C. law firm dissolves, what do the firm and its lawyers owe their clients on notice, choice of counsel, files, and money?
The opinion aggregates the D.C. ethics duties that attach when a firm dissolves or dissolution becomes reasonably foreseeable. The firm and its lawyers must keep representing clients competently and d…
How may a D.C. lawyer use social media in representing clients, including reviewing an opponent's posts, advising on a client's own accounts, and preserving evidence?
The opinion concludes that competent and diligent representation under Rules 1.1 and 1.3 may require a lawyer to understand, use, and review social media, and to advise clients about the confidentiali…
Do the D.C. ethics rules apply to a lawyer's social media accounts, including a personal page, and what must a lawyer watch for in posts, reviews, and endorsements?
The opinion concludes that the D.C. Rules apply to a lawyer's use of social media for both business and personal reasons, and that any social media presence, even a personal page, may be considered ad…
Can a D.C. lawyer pay a lawyer referral service a percentage of the fees earned on referred cases without violating the rule against fee sharing with nonlawyers?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer may pay a referral service a flat per-referral fee, which is not fee sharing because it does not depend on the fee earned. A percentage of the lawyer's earned fees …
Can a D.C. law firm make a departing lawyer pay liquidated damages for competing, or penalize the lawyer for working with former colleagues?
The opinion concludes that under Rule 5.6(a) a law firm may not provide for or impose liquidated damages on a lawyer who competes with the firm after leaving, and may not penalize a departed lawyer fo…
If a D.C. lawyer is job-hunting with the opposing party or opposing counsel in a matter, does that create a conflict of interest with the lawyer's client?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer who seeks employment with a client's adversary, or the adversary's lawyer, may have a personal-interest conflict under Rule 1.7(b)(4) if the lawyer's professional j…
What conflict, fee, confidentiality, and unrepresented-party rules apply to a D.C. lawyer handling a private adoption for a birth parent or adoptive parents?
The opinion concludes that private (independent) adoptions raise recurring duties a lawyer must address up front, mostly under the conflict rules. A lawyer for a birth parent may accept fees from the …
If a government lawyer is pursuing her own furlough complaint, can she also defend the agency against other employees' furlough complaints?
The opinion concludes that a government lawyer who is pursuing her own furlough complaint has an individual-interest conflict under Rule 1.7(b)(4) when asked to defend the agency against substantially…
When a former client files an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim, how much confidential information may the defense lawyer disclose to defend the representation?
The opinion concludes that D.C. Rule 1.6(e)(3) lets a lawyer whose former client raises an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim disclose protected information without first getting judicial approva…
Can an in-house lawyer use the company's confidential information to support her own discrimination or retaliatory-discharge claim against the employer?
The opinion concludes that an in-house lawyer may not disclose or use the employer/client's confidences or secrets offensively to support her own claim for employment discrimination or retaliatory dis…
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 D.C. lawyer accept and keep a referral fee from a nonlawyer service provider, such as a financial services firm, for sending the client there?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer who refers a client to a nonlawyer service provider may accept and retain compensation from the provider for the referral, provided the criteria of Rule 1.7(c) and,…
In a malpractice case, can a lawyer tell the client's treating physician not to talk to opposing counsel after privacy and privilege bars are lifted?
The opinion concludes that under D.C. Rule 3.4(f) a lawyer may not request or instruct a client's non-party treating physician to refrain from giving information to, or speaking with, opposing counsel…
What can a D.C. lawyer do with money sitting in a client trust account when the client cannot be located?
The opinion concludes that after reasonable but unsuccessful efforts to locate a missing client, a lawyer should presume the client's trust account monies abandoned and, where the D.C. Unclaimed Prope…
May a lawyer for a congressional committee subpoena a witness who has said in advance that he will invoke the Fifth Amendment to every question?
The opinion declines a request to vacate Opinion 31 (1977) and concludes that, under the D.C. Rules as under the former Code, a lawyer for a congressional committee violates the Rules by compelling a …
If a lawyer keeps a former client's files only in electronic form, must the lawyer provide paper copies on request, and who pays for the conversion?
The opinion concludes that there is no ethical prohibition on maintaining client records solely in electronic form (subject to some document-specific restrictions), and that lawyers and clients may ma…
Is there a conflict of interest if a lawyer only suspects, but cannot identify, that some other client might oppose a new client's matter?
The opinion concludes that Rule 1.7(b)(1) requires disclosure and informed consent of all affected clients when, at the start of a specific matter, the lawyer knows an identifiable second client will …
Can an immigration lawyer sign a client's USCIS Form I-864 Affidavit of Support as a joint sponsor while still representing the client?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer may not execute an Affidavit of Support (USCIS Form I-864) as a joint sponsor on behalf of an immigration client while continuing to represent that client. The affi…
Can a lawyer for an incapacitated client ask the court for a new surrogate decision-maker when the current one is making decisions against the lawyer's advice?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer for an incapacitated client with a surrogate decision-maker should ordinarily defer to the client's chosen surrogate and give the surrogate's choices the same weigh…
When does a temporary contract lawyer's conflict get imputed to the firm that hires the lawyer for a project?
The opinion concludes that whether a temporary contract lawyer's individual conflicts are imputed to a hiring firm under Rule 1.10 depends on the nature and extent of the lawyer's relationship with th…
Does Rule 5.4(a)'s ban on sharing legal fees with nonlawyers stop a lawyer from paying part of a settlement or fee award to her own client?
The opinion concludes that, in the two situations presented, a lawyer's payment to her own client does not violate Rule 5.4(a)'s prohibition on sharing legal fees with nonlawyers, because that rule ex…
Must a lawyer turn over a brief and affidavit to a former client when the documents were built on the client's fraudulent misrepresentations?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer who drafted a brief and affidavit in reliance on a former client's fraudulent factual misrepresentations has no duty under Rule 1.16(d) to surrender those documents…
Does a lawyer's past participation in a joint defense group disqualify the lawyer (or the firm) from later taking a matter adverse to a group member?
The opinion concludes that a joint defense agreement does not make other group members the lawyer's clients, so it creates no former-client conflict under Rule 1.9. But the lawyer may take on contract…
Can a D.C. lawyer accept credit cards to pay legal fees, including advance or unearned fees, and what does the trust-account rule require?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer may accept credit cards for payment of legal fees, including unearned (advance) fees, so long as the lawyer complies with the D.C. Rules and does not enter a mercha…
Does a D.C. lawyer owe a duty of confidentiality to a prospective client whose information reached the lawyer only through another lawyer acting on that person's behalf?
The opinion concludes yes. When a prospective client consents to having one lawyer call a second lawyer about taking the case, the second lawyer must treat the information conveyed as confidential und…
Can a D.C. lawyer pass on to the client the interest the firm pays on a line of credit it used to advance the costs of the client's case?
The opinion concludes a lawyer may pass along the interest charges incurred by using the firm's line of credit to advance a client's litigation costs, so long as the client is fully informed in advanc…
How do the D.C. conflict-of-interest rules apply to a lawyer who lobbies, and can a lawyer-lobbyist avoid them by treating lobbying as a law-related service?
The opinion concludes that the D.C. Rules treat lobbying as a 'matter,' so most conflict rules apply. Rule 1.7(a) absolutely bars a lawyer or firm from advancing opposing positions in the same lobbyin…
Can a D.C. lawyer take on a matter adverse to a former client by limiting the scope of the new representation so that it is not substantially related to the prior matter?
The opinion concludes that, under certain conditions, a lawyer may limit the scope of a new representation, to a discrete legal issue or a discrete stage of litigation, so that the new matter is not '…
Can a D.C. lawyer pay to participate in a for-profit Internet-based lawyer referral service, including a fee for each client the service sends?
The opinion concludes that lawyers may participate in both not-for-profit and for-profit Internet-based lawyer referral services that charge a flat fee to participate, a flat fee for transmitting the …
May a D.C. lawyer review the metadata embedded in an electronic document received from opposing counsel?
The opinion concludes that a receiving lawyer is prohibited from reviewing an adversary's metadata only where the lawyer has actual knowledge that the metadata was inadvertently sent. In that situatio…
Can a lawyer in litigation against a government agency contact government officials about the dispute without the consent of the government's lawyer?
The opinion concludes that under D.C. Rule 4.2(d), a lawyer adverse to a government agency may contact a government official with authority to redress the client's grievances, without government couns…
Can a lawyer's debt-collection demand letter cite the criminal bad-check statute and warn that the matter may be referred for prosecution?
The opinion concludes that D.C. Rule 8.4(g) bars a lawyer from threatening criminal charges solely to obtain an advantage in a civil matter, but the mere citation of, or reference to, the criminal bad…
Can a lawyer be 'of counsel' to a firm bearing his name while also being a partner in a different firm that also uses his name?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer may be 'of counsel' to one firm and a partner in another, so long as the 'of counsel' association is regular and continuing and the lawyer is generally available pe…
Does a lawyer who serves as an expert witness for a party form an attorney-client relationship that creates a former-client conflict?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer who serves solely as an expert witness for a party does not thereby form an attorney-client relationship with that party. As a result, Rule 1.9's bar on adversity t…
What are a lawyer's candor duties when serving as a court-appointed guardian and the ward's identity turns out to be false?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer appointed as guardian of an incapacitated individual (and not acting as that person's attorney) is still bound by the rules that apply to all members of the bar reg…
Can a settlement agreement require a lawyer to keep confidential public information about the case, like the defendant's name and the complaint?
The opinion concludes that a settlement agreement may not require counsel to keep confidential, or not disclose in promotional materials or on a firm website, public information about the case, such a…
Can a lawyer accept payment from the media for the rights to the lawyer's own story about an ongoing case?
The opinion concludes that Rule 1.8(c), which bars a lawyer from acquiring literary or media rights to an account based on the representation before it concludes, does not apply where the media (not t…
When representation ends, does a D.C. lawyer have to hand over the entire client file, including internal notes and strategy memos?
The opinion concludes that, upon termination, a lawyer must surrender to the client (or the client's successor in interest) the entire file of papers and property to which the client is entitled, incl…
Can a solo practitioner with no employees use a name like 'The Doe Law Firm' or 'The Advocacy Law Firm'?
The opinion concludes that a solo practitioner may use any trade name that is not a false or misleading communication, and that using the word 'firm' in the name (for example, 'The Doe Law Firm' or 'T…
Can a lawyer contact a represented company's in-house counsel about the matter without the company's outside counsel's consent?
The opinion concludes that, in general, a lawyer may communicate with the in-house counsel of a represented entity about the subject of the representation without obtaining the prior consent of the en…
Browse District of Columbia Bar opinions by topic
Legal ethics opinions from the District of Columbia Bar interpret the rules of professional conduct for working lawyers, in response to inquiries from members and committees. They are not binding like court discipline decisions, but courts and discipline boards treat formal opinions as substantial guidance on how the rules apply. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the original source on the bar's site.