Can a lawyer accept appointment as assistant county counsel when his law partner is an elected member of the county board of freeholders that makes the appointment?

Short answer No. The opinion concluded it would be improper for the lawyer to accept appointment as assistant county counsel from the freeholder board on which his law partner serves as an elected member.

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NJACPE

Issued

November 18, 1976

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1976. Ask about yours and see what the current New Jersey Rules of Professional Conduct say for your facts, with citations.

How much weight this carries: The Supreme Court of New Jersey has held that the Advisory Committee's published opinions are binding on the ethics committees that decide grievances (R. 1:19-6), and that a lawyer who does not follow one "does so at his peril" (Higgins v. Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, 73 N.J. 123 (1977)). The Court can modify or vacate an opinion. 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

The inquirer's law partner was an elected member of the county board of chosen freeholders, and a position of assistant county counsel, to be filled by appointment of that board, was available. The inquirer asked whether his acceptance of the appointment would place him in a conflict of interest or violate the disciplinary rules on the appearance of impropriety.

The Committee answered that it would. It pointed to its Opinion 189, which reviewed in detail the principles that should guide attorneys in their relationships with governmental agencies, and to its Opinion 192. On that basis it concluded that the inquirer's acceptance of appointment as assistant county counsel by the freeholder board, of which his law partner was a member, would be improper.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1976, before New Jersey's adoption of the 2004 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct, and predates the 1984 replacement of the Disciplinary Rules by the RPCs. Conflict and appearance-of-impropriety questions of this kind are now analyzed under RPC 1.7; New Jersey abolished the separate appearance-of-impropriety standard in 2004. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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 take a county-counsel post his partner's board controls?

A: Under this opinion, no. The Committee held it improper for the lawyer to be appointed assistant county counsel by the freeholder board on which his partner serves.

Q: What did the Committee rely on?

A: Its Opinions 189 and 192, which set out the principles governing attorneys' relationships with governmental agencies.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied the governmental-relationship principles of its Opinions 189 and 192 to a lawyer being appointed by a board on which his partner sits. In current New Jersey terms, the conflict question is governed by RPC 1.7.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

Appearance-of-impropriety and conflict principles as in effect 1976; now analyzed under MR 1.7 / NJ RPC 1.7

Other opinions cited:

NJ ACPE Opinion 189, 93 N.J.L.J. 789 (1970); Opinion 192, 94 N.J.L.J. 44 (1971)

Source

Full text (Justia mirror): https://law.justia.com/cases/new-jersey/advisory-committee-on-professional-ethics/2004/acp355-1.html
Issuing authority: New Jersey Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, via the NJ Courts Supreme Court Committees page

Original opinion text

Reproduced from a full-text mirror of the official opinion for research purposes. The linked official source controls.

99 N.J.L.J. 1017, November 18, 1976

OPINION 355

Conflict of Interest
Freeholder's Partner Assistant County Counsel

The inquirer's law partner is an elected member of the county board of chosen freeholders. A position of assistant county counsel is available and the appointment will be made by the board. This Committee's opinion is asked as to whether the inquirer would be "placed in conflict of interest or violate the Disciplinary Rules regarding appearance of impropriety" if he were appointed to the position.

We believe that N.J. Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, Opinion 189, 93 N.J.L.J. 789 (1970), answers the question. That opinion reviewed in detail the principles which should guide attorneys in their relationship with governmental agencies. See also N.J. Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, Opinion 192, 94 N.J.L.J. 44 (1971).

In our opinion the inquirer's acceptance of the appointment as an assistant county counsel by the board of chosen freeholders, of which his law partner is a member, would be improper.

What do the rules say today, for your facts?

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