May a Nebraska county attorney serve on the board of a legal-services corporation operating in the county?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 1980. Ask about yours and see what the current Nebraska Rules of Professional Conduct say for your facts, with citations.
Plain-English summary
A county attorney asked whether serving on the board of Legal Services of Southeast Nebraska would create a conflict of interest.
The committee had previously addressed lawyer-directors whose private clients might be adverse to clients represented by the legal-services program's staff. It applied the same standards and criteria to a lawyer serving as county attorney.
The committee identified the most important condition: the board had to limit its work to broad policies governing the program. Directors could not interfere with a staff lawyer or attempt to influence the lawyer's independent professional judgment in handling a case.
The opinion therefore permitted the county attorney's board service if the principles and restrictions in the cited ABA formal opinions were observed.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1980, before Nebraska's adoption of the 2005 Rules of Professional Conduct. Subsequent government-lawyer, board-service, conflict, legal-services-organization, and professional-independence rules or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.
Common questions
Q: Was a county attorney categorically barred from the legal-services board?
A: No. The opinion permitted service subject to the cited standards and restrictions.
Q: What role could the board perform?
A: It could establish broad policies governing the program.
Q: What could the board not do?
A: It could not interfere with a staff lawyer or try to influence the lawyer's independent judgment in a case.
Background and rules framework
The opinion applied the same standards used for other lawyer-directors of legal-services organizations to a county attorney. Its holding cites ABA Formal Opinions 345 and 334; its closing paragraph separately identifies attached copies of ABA Formal Opinions 324 and 345.
Citations and references
Other opinions cited:
- ABA Formal Opinions 324, 334, and 345
See also
- Oregon Ethics Op. 2005-66: Legal-aid board member conflict
- New York Ethics Op. 489: Legal-services organization adverse party
- Nebraska Ethics Op. 22-01: Part-time county attorney private practice
Source
- Landing page: Nebraska lawyer ethics opinions archive
- Original PDF: Nebraska Ethics Advisory Opinion 80-8
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
Nebraska Ethics Advisory Opinion for Lawyers No. 80-8
A COUNTY ATTORNEY MAY SERVE ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS A LEGAL SERVICE CORPORATION OPERATING IN HIS COUNTY PROVIDED THE PRINCIPLES AND STANDARDS REFERRED TO IN FORMAL OPINIONS 345 AND 334 OF THE COMMITTEE ON ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION ARE COMPLIED WITH.
FACTS
An advisory opinion has been requested from this Committee on the question of whether a County Attorney can serve on the Board of Directors of the Legal Services of Southeast Nebraska. The specific inquiry was whether this would constitute a conflict of interest. Specific reference is made to the opinion of this Committee wherein we stated that if a lawyer member of the Board of Directors of a legal services program or corporation complies with and observes the principles and standards referred to in Formal Opinions 345 and 334 of the Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility of the American Bar Association, that they would not be subject to disciplinary action or criticism under the Code of Professional Responsibility of the Nebraska State Bar Association.
That opinion of this Committee had specific reference to situations where the lawyer members of the Board of Directors of legal services corporations or programs might represent interests or clients adverse to those being represented by staff attorneys of the legal services corporation or program.
CONCLUSION
It is our opinion that the same standards and criteria apply to a lawyer who serves as a county attorney. The most important principle which must be observed is that the Board of Directors of a legal services corporation must limit itself to establishing broad policies governing the operation of the program, and must not interfere or in any manner attempt to influence a staff attorney or his independent professional judgment in the handling of the case.
Attached to this opinion for specific reference and guidance are copies of Formal Opinion No. 324 adopted August 9, 1970, and Formal Opinion No. 345 adopted July 12, 1979, by the Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility of the American Bar Association. Specific attention should be given to the restrictions placed upon the role of the Board of Directors of a legal services corporation or program.
Nebraska Ethics Advisory Opinion for Lawyers No. 80-8
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