Do the ethics rules bar a plaintiff’s lawyer from interviewing the defense’s designated expert outside counsel’s presence?

Short answer The opinion says the ethics rules do not bar the ex parte contact if it complies with discovery rules. It declines to decide whether discovery law permits that contact.

Bar

MOLEC

Issued

1996

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1996. Ask about yours and see what the current Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct say for your facts, with citations.

How much weight this carries: Under Missouri Supreme Court Rule 5.30, formal opinions are binding; informal opinions are advisory. Source.

About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official ethics opinion. The original opinion (linked on this page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

A personal-injury plaintiff’s lawyer asked whether the lawyer could interview a doctor identified as the defense expert outside counsel’s presence.

The opinion says the Rules of Professional Conduct do not prevent that contact so long as discovery rules are not violated. It notes that appellate opinions addressed the discovery issue and says interpreting those rules is outside an informal ethics opinion’s scope.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1996, before Missouri’s 2007 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context and verify current rules before relying on it.

Common questions

Q: Did the ethics opinion find an independent ethics bar to contact?

A: No, provided the contact does not violate discovery rules.

Q: Did it decide what the discovery rules permit?

A: No. The opinion expressly treats that as outside its scope.

Background and rules framework

The answer distinguishes the ethics-rule question from the separate discovery-law question, without citing a numbered professional-conduct rule.

Source

Landing page: https://mo-legal-ethics.org/informal-opinion/960286/
Rule revision reference: Missouri Informal Opinion 970082

Original opinion text

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

QUESTION: Attorney represents a plaintiff in a personal injury suit. Attorney would like to conduct an ex parte interview of the doctor whom defendant has identified as an expert. May Attorney do so? ANSWER: The Rules of Professional Conduct do not prevent an ex parte contact with the expert as long as such contact does not violate the rules of discovery. Whether such contact violates those rules has been the subject of several appellate opinions. A legal issue under the discovery rules is not within the scope of an informal advisory opinion.

What do the rules say today, for your facts?

This opinion is from 1996. Ezel checks the current Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct against your situation and cites the rules it relies on.

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