Los Angeles County Bar Association Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Los Angeles County Bar Association, with full citations and source links on every page.
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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 advise or represent a client about work the lawyer or the lawyer's firm did earlier for that client, such as a contract they drafted, and when does the lawyer's own interest create a conflict?
The committee concluded that a lawyer generally may advise and represent a client about the lawyer's or the firm's prior work, but the lawyer must be alert to the possibility that self-interest in avo…
Can a California lawyer charge a former client for the lawyer's own time and out-of-pocket attorney's fees spent collecting unpaid fees from that former client?
Only if a written, enforceable fee agreement contains a prevailing-party fee-shifting provision and the dispute is not in MFAA arbitration; otherwise the American rule and Trope v. Katz bar both items…
When a California client discharges a contingent-fee lawyer and successor counsel settles the case, what must the predecessor lawyer do to substantiate its quantum-meruit fee lien, and how must trust funds be handled while the lien is in dispute?
The opinion concludes that the predecessor lawyer owes a continuing fiduciary duty to the former client and must promptly quantify the quantum-meruit lien (with reconstructed time records or other rea…
When can a California lawyer continue to jointly represent multiple clients whose interests potentially or actually conflict after obtaining informed written consent?
Joint representation is generally permitted with informed written consent, but Rule 1.7(d) blocks it even with consent if the lawyer cannot reasonably believe they can be competent and diligent, the r…
May a California plaintiff's lawyer agree to indemnify defendants or their counsel against third-party (Medicare, health insurer) liens as a condition of settling the underlying personal injury case?
No. Such an agreement violates Rule 1.8.5(a) (paying client expenses), creates a non-consentable conflict, and a defense lawyer who demands the indemnity violates Rule 8.4(a) by inducing a rule violat…
When a former employee of the opposing party offers a California lawyer access to electronic data that supposedly shows the opposing party withheld responsive documents in discovery, what must the lawyer do before taking it?
Per the opinion, the lawyer must first assess whether the data was lawfully obtained and whether reviewing it would assist in a crime; must analogize to Rule 4.4's inadvertent-production rule if privi…
May a California law corporation or LLP keep a former partner's or shareholder's name in the firm name when that lawyer no longer holds equity but remains employed at the firm?
Yes. Under former Rule 1-400 it is not misleading to the public for a law corporation or LLP to retain in the firm name an attorney who has given up equity but continues to practice at the firm.
What confidentiality and competence duties apply when a California lawyer discusses a client matter on social media, including blogs and online discussion boards?
A lawyer must take reasonable steps to avoid revealing client information through online posts, even when the client is unnamed; aggregated posts plus pretexting may identify the client and waive work…
May insurance-retained defense counsel disclose to the carrier evidence the counsel obtained from a third party that could let the carrier deny coverage to the insured?
No. Defense counsel cannot disclose coverage-defeating information to the carrier even when learned from a third party; the irreconcilable tripartite conflict requires mandatory withdrawal.
May a California lawyer advise and assist a client on compliance with California's medical-marijuana laws when the same activity would violate federal law?
Yes, the lawyer may counsel and assist on California-law compliance, but cannot advise or assist the client in evading federal arrest or prosecution, must limit the scope accordingly, and must advise …
May a California lawyer take a contingency fee agreement giving the lawyer the first proceeds of suit, shifting to the client the risk that the defendant's finances will limit recovery?
Yes, the agreement is enforceable if it is in a writing that complies with Bus. & Prof. Code section 6147 and the client provides informed consent based on the lawyer's full and fair disclosure of per…
Can a California lawyer concurrently be 'of counsel' to a law firm and run a separate solo practice, and use separate business cards and stationery for each capacity?
The opinion concludes the dual capacity is ethically permitted; the lawyer may use separate business cards and stationery for the two practices so long as the relationship satisfies the 'close, person…
How may a California lawyer publicly respond to a former client's online review accusing the lawyer of incompetence or overcharging, when no confidential information has been disclosed and no litigation is pending?
The lawyer may publicly respond if the rebuttal discloses no confidential information, does not injure the former client in matters relating to the prior representation, and is proportionate and restr…
What must a California firm do before and after hiring a nonlawyer employee (law clerk, secretary, investigator) who may have been exposed to confidential information about an adverse party at a prior employer?
The hiring firm must reasonably investigate prior exposure without probing the substance, instruct the new employee on confidentiality, and timely screen the employee from any matter where the employe…
May a California lawyer and client agree to a contingency fee calculated as a percentage of the combined damages plus court-awarded statutory attorney's fees in a fee-shifting case?
Yes. A retainer that defines gross recovery to include statutory fees and then takes a percentage of the whole is not fee splitting with a non-lawyer under former Rule 1-320(A), because the statutory …
What are a California lawyer's ethical duties when serving as outside counsel for a corporate debt-collection business whose nonlawyer staff drafts the pleadings and processes the collection cases?
The lawyer must actively supervise rather than rubber-stamp; failure to do so aids unauthorized practice of law under former Rule 1-300, and seeking attorney's fees for nonlawyer work without truthful…
Must a California lawyer inform the adverse party of a settlement overpayment the lawyer's client received, and if the client refuses, may the lawyer continue the representation?
The lawyer must tell the client about the overpayment and counsel disclosure, but cannot disclose to the adverse party over the client's confidentiality instruction; the lawyer must consider whether c…
Does a fee dispute that arises with a current client during the representation create an ethical conflict of interest that requires withdrawal under California's former Rules of Professional Conduct?
No. A fee dispute does not by itself require withdrawal or create a conflict of interest, and where the lawyer holds no lien it is not an adverse pecuniary interest in the client's property.
May a California attorney sued by a third party disclose otherwise confidential or privileged client information in order to defend against the claim?
No. California has no statutory self-defense exception to Bus. & Prof. Code section 6068(e) or to the attorney-client privilege; disclosure requires the client's informed consent, although a court may…
Can a California lawyer hire an out-of-state legal research and brief-writing company to draft a brief, and what does the lawyer have to do to comply with the ethics rules?
The committee concluded that an attorney charging an hourly rate in a civil case may contract with an out-of-state company to draft a brief, provided the attorney is competent to review the work, rema…
Can a California lawyer agree to pay or indemnify a client for the litigation costs the client may be ordered to pay if the client loses the case?
The committee concluded that an attorney may agree to advance the reasonable expenses of a matter and waive repayment if there is no recovery, and may, either at the inception of the representation or…
Can a California lawyer agree to cap a client's hourly-rate obligation and refund any excess statutory attorney's fees awarded under CCP section 1021.5 to the client without violating the fee-sharing prohibition?
Yes. The opinion concludes that refunding excess statutory fee awards to a client is a refund of an overpayment, not a sharing of an earned fee, and therefore does not violate former California Rule 1…
Do California lawyers participating on a bar-association listserv that also includes judges risk improper ex parte contacts, and what should they avoid posting?
Inadvertent contact with a judge through a listserv post likely does not violate former Rule 5-300, but the opinion concludes lawyers must not include information identifiable to a particular case or …
What ethical duties apply when a California lawyer learns that a former client has been designated as an opposing party's expert witness in a current case?
Whether the lawyer can take or continue the representation depends on whether the lawyer holds confidential information from the former client that is material to the new matter. The opinion concludes…
May a California lawyer agree to a settlement provision that bars the lawyer from disclosing the fact and amount of the settlement to the lawyer's other current or future clients?
Yes. The opinion concludes that a confidentiality clause limited to the fact and amount of the settlement does not violate former Rule 1-500(A) because it restricts disclosure of settlement terms, not…
May a California lawyer serve as a partner of one law firm and simultaneously as a partner or employee of a second firm and share in the fees generated by both without the disclosure and written-consent process required by former Rule 2-200?
Per the opinion, only if a true common-law partnership or employer-employee relationship exists between the lawyer and the second firm. Following Chambers v. Kay (2002), a joint venture or label-only …
May a California estate-planning lawyer be a salaried employee of a financial-planning company that bills its customers a percentage of their estate covering both the legal work and the company's financial advice?
No. The opinion concludes that the arrangement violates former Rule 1-320 because a portion of the customer's bundled fee is a legal fee shared with non-lawyers, and may also violate Rules 1-310 (part…
When a former client asks for the return of mental-health records the lawyer obtained during the representation, can the lawyer refuse on the basis that disclosure would be detrimental to the client or others?
No. Per the opinion, former Rule 3-700(D)(1) requires the lawyer to promptly release client papers and property at the former client's request, subject only to applicable protective orders, and the la…
May a California plaintiff's lawyer contact the defendant's liability insurer directly when the defendant has said it will not tender the claim to the insurer?
Yes, on the facts presented. Per the opinion, former Rule 2-100(A) reaches only persons the lawyer actually knows are represented; where the defendant has not tendered the matter and the lawyer does n…
May a California lawyer accept as a fee for preparing and prosecuting a patent application a percentage of any future profits the patent generates, without complying with the adverse-interest rule for ownership transactions?
Yes. Per the opinion, a contingent right to be paid from future patent profits is not an adverse pecuniary interest under former Rule 3-300 because the lawyer cannot summarily extinguish the client's …
When a California lawyer learns material information during an unsuccessful initial consultation with a prospective client that would be useful to an existing client in an unrelated matter, must the lawyer disclose it to the existing client?
Per the opinion, no. The lawyer owes the prospective client a duty to preserve the confidentiality of information disclosed in an initial consultation, even when no engagement results. The lawyer's du…
May a California lawyer use an initial engagement agreement that waives the lawyer's fee if the client agrees not to accept any settlement confidentiality clause, but provides for the lawyer's full reasonable fee if the client does accept one?
Yes. Per the opinion, the arrangement does not unlawfully restrain settlement because the client retains the right to settle on any terms and, if a confidentiality clause is accepted, owes only the re…
When a California court-appointed dependency lawyer is told in confidence by a minor client that the minor is being sexually abused at the placement and the client instructs the lawyer not to disclose, may the lawyer override that instruction in the minor's best interests?
Per the opinion, no, when the lawyer reasonably believes the minor is competent to make an informed decision. The lawyer must honor a competent client's confidentiality instruction even when the lawye…
May a California workers' compensation lawyer prepay a flat $250 referral fee to another lawyer when the referring lawyer's underlying fee depends on a future award by the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board?
Per the opinion, no. Former Rule 2-200(A) permits dividing fees with non-firm lawyers only after the client gives written informed consent to an existing fee, so prepayment before any fee exists canno…
May a California lawyer ethically limit a representation to ghost-drafting pleadings and conducting settlement negotiations for a litigant who appears in pro per, without disclosing the limited scope to the court?
Per the opinion, yes. A lawyer may limit the engagement to consulting, drafting, and settlement negotiations if the limitation is fully disclosed in writing and the client consents. The lawyer must st…
When a California lawyer moves from one law firm to another, which conflicts of interest from the former firm travel with the lawyer, and when are those conflicts imputed to the new firm?
Per the opinion, the moved lawyer is barred under Rule 3-310(E) only if the lawyer holds confidential information from the former firm's client material to the new representation. The lawyer's actual-…
May a California lawyer set up a business that finances another person's lawsuit in exchange for a partial assignment of the proceeds, where the claimant retains independent counsel?
Per the opinion, yes, on stated conditions: the claimant brings the lawsuit, is represented by independent counsel of the claimant's choice, the financier does not interfere with the lawyer, and the f…
May a California lawyer charge a client interest on costs advanced on the client's behalf, covering the period from when the lawyer pays the cost to when the client is billed?
Per the opinion, only if the written fee agreement specifically provides for it. The Rules of Professional Conduct do not categorically prohibit such interest, but Bus. & Prof. Code section 6147 and t…
After withdrawing to avoid using a client's falsified medical billings, may a California lawyer disclose the misrepresentation as the reason for withdrawal in a later fee dispute with the former client?
Per the opinion, only if the misrepresentation is relevant to the dispute and reasonably necessary because of an issue the client has raised. Disclosure should be made in a way that minimizes confiden…
What are a California lawyer's ethical limits on objecting during a client's deposition and on consulting privately with the client during the deposition or its breaks?
Per the opinion, the lawyer must protect the client's interests by asserting appropriate objections and may consult with the client during and between deposition sessions, including interrupting a pen…
May a California lawyer take a contractual lien on a client's recovery in one case to secure unpaid hourly fees owed in an unrelated case?
The opinion concluded that an attorney-client fee agreement may include an assignment of anticipated court-ordered statutory fees in one case to satisfy unpaid hourly fees in an unrelated client matte…
May a California lawyer pay reasonable litigation costs (such as court reporter fees) that the client has refused to pay, without violating Rule 4-210?
The opinion concluded that under former California Rule 4-210, an attorney may advance the reasonable expenses of prosecuting or defending an action notwithstanding the client's refusal to pay such co…
Under California Rule 1-400, may a lawyer 'cold call' a non-client to offer an in-house educational seminar on a legal topic, and may the lawyer mail bulletins or briefs describing recent legal developments to non-clients?
The opinion concluded that a telephone call offering to conduct an in-house educational seminar, or the mailing of bulletins or briefs about legal developments, to a consumer of legal services with wh…
When a California lawyer's joint representation of co-clients ends and the co-clients dispute who gets the original client files, how should the lawyer handle the files?
The opinion concluded that under former Rule 3-700(D)(1), a lawyer must promptly transfer files at the request of the former client. In a joint-representation dispute, the lawyer cannot favor one clie…
When a California lawyer takes a security interest (a deed of trust) in real property to secure fees, does former Rule 3-300 apply if the record title is held by a third party but the client claims an interest in the property?
The opinion concluded that former Rule 3-300 applied whenever the attorney knew the client had any interest in the property pledged. Rule 3-300 was not limited to property the client owns of record; t…
May a California law firm destroy office files of a deceased client when there is no preexisting agreement or statute governing disposition, and is notice to the legal representatives or residuary legatees required?
The opinion concluded that before destroying a deceased client's office files where no preexisting agreement or statute applies, the law firm must give or attempt to give notice to legal representativ…
May a California lawyer send a written communication addressed to a represented party but delivered through that party's attorney, and may the lawyer communicate ex parte with an adverse non-party witness?
The opinion concluded that under former Rule 2-100, an attorney may send a written communication to a represented party provided delivery is made through the attorney representing that party. The opin…
Can a California lawyer include retainer-agreement language limiting the client's recovery of punitive or non-economic damages in a malpractice action, or conditioning the lawyer's malpractice liability on the lawyer's representation of the client in a related third-party action?
The opinion concluded that under former Rule 3-400, a lawyer may not include retainer language limiting the client's right to recover punitive or non-economic damages in a malpractice action, and may …
May a California lawyer enter into a contractual arrangement with a non-lawyer-controlled office management company that provides space, staff, bookkeeping, trust-account services, advertising, and other support in exchange for a percentage of the lawyer's fees?
The opinion concluded that the arrangement was permissible only if (1) compensation does not constitute fee splitting with the non-lawyer company, (2) the attorney does not abdicate control over the l…
Under California Rule 2-100, may an attorney who does not represent a client in a matter ethically contact a friend who is represented by counsel to advise the friend on the competence of that representation?
The opinion concluded that former Rule 2-100 was not violated because the contacting attorney did not 'represent a client' in the matter. The opinion further concluded that Rule 1-400 (advertising and…
When a California landlord-attorney refers prospective clients to subleasing attorneys and is paid a portion of the resulting fees, what must the landlord-attorney do under former Rule 2-200, and what restrictions apply to a letterhead that suggests a firm relationship?
The opinion concluded that under former Rule 2-200, a referral fee from a non-firm subleasing attorney to the referring attorney requires written client consent after full written disclosure of the fe…
Where a California attorney holds part of a retainer in trust as security for the final statement, may the attorney withdraw those funds to cover earlier unpaid interim statements, and does holding the funds in trust until earned constitute impermissible commingling?
The opinion concluded that where, by express agreement, an attorney holds a portion of a retainer as an advance against the last statement to be rendered, the attorney may not withdraw those funds to …
May a California lawyer represent to opposing counsel and the court that an expert witness has been retained when discussions and a proposed engagement letter exist but no contract has been signed, and what duty arises if the expert later revokes consent to designation?
The opinion concluded that, where the lawyer in good faith believed an expert had been retained based on extensive discussions and a proposed engagement letter, designation and representations were et…
Does class counsel have a duty under Rule 3-700(D) to turn over papers and property of the class to a member who opts out of the certified class to pursue an independent action?
The opinion concluded that class counsel has no duty under Rule 3-700(D) to turn over the papers and property of the class action to a member who opts out of the certified class, except for papers or …
Under California Rule 1-500, may a law partnership agreement impose a reasonable cost on departing partners who compete with the firm in a limited geographical area?
The opinion concluded that, following Howard v. Babcock, a law partnership agreement may impose a reasonable cost on departing partners who compete with the firm in a limited geographical area; such a…
May a California attorney provide limited consulting services to a pro per litigant, including drafting pleadings the client will file, making special appearances on motions, or appearing as 'associate counsel' for a status conference where trial counsel must appear?
The opinion concluded that with full written disclosure and client consent, an attorney may limit services to consultation and pleading preparation for a pro per litigant. A litigant may not be both s…
Must a California law firm obtain client consent to changes in fee calculation methods, and is it ethically permissible to require attorneys to meet a minimum-billable-hour productivity standard?
The opinion concluded that an attorney has a duty to inform the client of the fees charged, the methods used to calculate fees, and any alternative fee arrangements, and to obtain client consent; chan…
When a California attorney has notice of a medical lien on client settlement funds, may the attorney disburse the funds to the client per the client's instructions, or to the lienholder over the client's objection?
The opinion concluded that an attorney with notice of a medical lien may not simply disburse contested funds to the client even on the client's instruction, nor may the attorney pay the lienholder wit…
May a California attorney who also holds a partnership interest in a medical clinic refer personal-injury clients to that clinic for treatment, and what disclosures are required?
The opinion concluded that while there is no per se prohibition on a lawyer practicing both law and medicine, referring law clients to the lawyer's own medical clinic is a business transaction trigger…
Browse Los Angeles County Bar Association opinions by topic
Legal ethics opinions from the Los Angeles County Bar Association 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.