Can a county attorney defend property owners in a condemnation suit brought by the county school board?

Plain-English summary

The inquirer was retained as County Attorney by the Board of County Commissioners. The county's Board of Public Instruction was represented by an entirely separate attorney with whom the inquirer had no professional association. He had been asked to represent defendants in a condemnation suit to be brought by the Board of Public Instruction.

The committee acknowledged that no actual conflict would exist, since the inquirer did not represent the school board. With two members dissenting, it nevertheless concluded that the possibility of public misunderstanding, as emphasized in its earlier Opinion 65-42, made the representation not in the best interest of the profession. One member of the majority concurred only because he felt bound by prior opinions such as 65-42.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1969, before The Florida Bar's adoption of the 2006 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct. It applied the former Canon 6 on conflicting interests, and rested on the appearance of impropriety rather than an actual conflict. Concurrent conflicts of interest are now addressed by Rule 4-1.7. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against the current rules before relying on any specific requirement mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Was there an actual conflict of interest here?

A: No. The committee expressly found that no actual conflict would exist, because the county attorney did not represent the Board of Public Instruction.

Q: Why did the committee still advise against the representation?

A: It relied on the possibility of public misunderstanding, as emphasized in its earlier Opinion 65-42, concluding the representation was not in the best interest of the profession. Two members dissented, and one of the majority concurred only because he felt bound by prior opinions.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied the former Canon 6 on representing conflicting interests, here in its appearance-of-impropriety dimension rather than on the basis of an actual adverse representation. Concurrent conflicts of interest are now addressed by Rule 4-1.7 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar; the Model Rule analogue is Rule 1.7.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• Canon 6 [Code of Professional Responsibility; conflict duties now in Rule 4-1.7]

Other opinions cited:

• Florida Opinion 65-42

See also

• FL Bar Ethics Op. 69-21: City Lawyer Before City Board
• FL Bar Ethics Op. 69-26: Prosecutor Sitting as Judge

Source

• Landing page: https://www.floridabar.org/etopinions/etopinion-69-22/
• Original PDF: https://www-media.floridabar.org/uploads/2017/04/FL-Bar-Ethics-Op-69-22-1.pdf

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

FLORIDA BAR ETHICS OPINION
OPINION 69-22
July 23, 1969
Advisory ethics opinions are not binding.
Even though a County Attorney does not represent the Board of Public Instruction of the county, he should not represent defendants in a condemnation suit brought by the Board of Public Instruction.
Canon: 6
Opinion: 65-42
Chairman MacDonald stated the opinion of the committee:
The inquirer advises that he has been retained by the Board of County Commissioners of his county as County Attorney. The Board of Public Instruction of the county retains an entirely separate attorney with whom he has no professional association. The inquirer has recently been requested to represent defendants in a condemnation suit to be brought by that board. Two members dissenting, the Committee has concluded that although no actual conflict would exist in this situation, the possibility of public misunderstanding as emphasized in our Opinion 65-42 dictates that it is not in the best interest of the profession for this representation to be undertaken by the inquirer. One member of the majority concurs only because he feels bound by previous opinions such as 65-42.