Can a lawyer hire a licensed bail bondsman as his part-time private investigator and list him on the firm letterhead?

Plain-English summary

Attorney A, in private practice, wished to hire B, who worked as both a licensed private investigator and a licensed bail bondsman, as a part-time private investigator for a set monthly fee. Attorney A had never received a client through B's bail-bond business, but had asked B to write bonds for a few of A's clients and would probably continue to do so on occasion; otherwise the bail-bond business would remain separate, and A would observe the prohibition on an attorney's owning or operating a bail-bond business. The inquiry asked whether Attorney A could enter the part-time investigator arrangement and, if so, whether he could list B on the letterhead as a licensed private investigator on his staff.

The opinion concluded the answer is no: the proposed contractual relationship gives an appearance of impropriety.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1986, before the North Carolina State Bar's adoption of the 2003 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct. It rests on the general "appearance of impropriety" principle of the then-current rules rather than a numbered rule; the modern Rules of Professional Conduct address such concerns through their conflict-of-interest and professional-independence provisions. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Can a lawyer hire a bail bondsman as a part-time investigator?

A: No, on these facts. The opinion concluded the proposed contractual relationship gives an appearance of impropriety.

Q: Did the arrangement violate a specific rule?

A: The opinion did not cite a numbered rule; it rested on the appearance of impropriety created by the combined bail-bond and investigator relationship.

Background and rules framework

This 1986 opinion, the first in the North Carolina State Bar's RPC series, rested on the general principle that a lawyer should avoid an appearance of impropriety rather than a specific numbered rule. The analysis turned on the overlap between the lawyer's use of a bail bondsman to write bonds for his clients and his proposed regular engagement of that same person as an investigator.

Citations and references

The opinion did not cite a specific Rule of Professional Conduct, resting instead on the appearance-of-impropriety principle.

See also

• NC Ethics Op. RPC 14: county attorney as guardian ad litem
• NC Ethics Op. RPC 25: unlicensed professor on letterhead

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ncbar.gov/for-lawyers/ethics-and-governing-rules/ethics-opinions/opinions/rpc-1/

Original opinion text

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

Inquiry:

Attorney A is a licensed attorney in private practice in North Carolina. Attorney A would like to hire B as a part-time private investigator. B currently works both as a licensed private investigator and a licensed bail-bondsman. Attorney A wishes to enter into a contractual arrangement by which he would pay B a set monthly fee for private investigation services.

Attorney A has never received a client as a result of B's bail-bond business. He has asked B to write bonds for 4 or 5 clients, and B has done so on all but one of those occasions. Attorney A has no other connection with B's bail-bond business and does not anticipate any change in that situation.

B wishes to retain his bail-bond license and to continue to work part-time as a bail-bondsman. If Attorney A retains B on a regular basis as a part-time investigator, B's bail-bond business would remain entirely separate and independent of Attorney A's legal practice except that Attorney A would probably, on occasion, request that B write a bail-bond for one of Attorney A's clients. Attorney A would have nothing else to do with B's bail-bond business and would observe strictly the prohibition of an attorney's owning or operating a bail-bond business.

May Attorney A ethically enter into a contractual relationship with B for regular part-time private investigation services under the conditions set out above? If so, may Attorney A list him on his letterhead as a licensed private investigator on Attorney A's staff?

Opinion:

No. The proposed contractual relationship gives an appearance of impropriety.