New Jersey Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the New Jersey Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Can an assistant county counsel have a partner who serves as a municipality's counsel in the same county, and can the assistant county counsel also be a municipal prosecutor there?
No to the first, yes to the second. The opinion concluded an assistant county counsel's partner may not be counsel to a municipality in the same county, but the assistant county counsel may also serve…
Can an assistant county counsel also defend a municipality in the same county in a civil-rights suit that does not involve the county?
Yes. The opinion concluded there was no inherent or potential conflict in an assistant county counsel defending a municipality, its mayor, and council in a civil-rights action that did not include the…
Can a lawyer send fee-schedule information to a registered group legal-services plan without committing improper solicitation?
Yes. The opinion concluded that furnishing the fee information allowed by the advertising rule to a group properly formed and registered under the legal-services-plan rule is proper advertising, not i…
May the lawyer who drafts a will name himself as the estate's attorney, executor, or a beneficiary, and does it matter whether the client asked for it?
A scrivener who inserts a clause retaining himself for the estate without the client's request acts unethically; where the testator directs such a designation or a legacy, the opinion treated independ…
Can one lawyer defend both a minor driver and the parent sued for failing to supervise the minor in the same auto-negligence case?
No. The opinion concluded that the potential for conflict between the minor and the parent, including possible cross-claims for contribution and the parent's defense undercutting the minor, foreclosed…
Can a lawyer who is a county college trustee appear before the boards and agencies of the same county for private clients?
Yes. The opinion concluded that because a county college is an autonomous, separate political subdivision not under county fiscal control, an attorney who is a trustee may appear before county agencie…
Can a union's lawyer also serve as counsel to a joint labor-management committee that investigates whether union members' workers' comp claims are made in good faith?
No. The opinion concluded that union counsel may not serve a committee investigating the good faith of members' compensation claims, because the committee's interests are potentially adverse to member…
After defending school officials in suits a teachers' association brought, can the same lawyer then sue that association for malicious prosecution and defamation on the officials' behalf?
Yes. The opinion concluded that the lawyer's prior defense of the board members and superintendent did not conflict with bringing affirmative claims against the association, so DR 5-105(A) did not bar…
Can a lawyer with no experience in a field advertise his availability for conferences by relying on an associated out-of-state attorney's expertise?
No. The opinion concluded that an advertisement by a lawyer who admittedly has no experience in the advertised field is misleading and deceptive, and impliedly holds him out as a specialist, both impr…
Can a New Jersey lawyer pay to join a for-profit real-estate agency listing or a lay-owned advertising company that refers clients for a fee?
No. The opinion concluded that both arrangements are improper because neither is a bar-operated referral service, the fee structure pays for referrals rather than advertising, and the lay company's na…
Can a lawyer answer general legal questions from the audience on a radio or TV call-in program, and may the lawyer take on a caller as a client from it?
The opinion modified Opinion 148 to permit a lawyer to answer general legal questions on call-in programs, with a disclaimer urging the inquirer to seek competent legal advice, but kept the bar on acc…
After a solo practitioner who practices as 'Smith & Associates' dies, can the surviving associates keep using that name?
No. The opinion concluded that continuing the trade name 'John Smith & Associates' after John Smith's death would mislead the public, because the earlier opinion permitting the name depended on Smith …
Can the associate of an assistant county counsel handle a criminal defendant's appeal from a conviction that arose in the same county?
No. The opinion concluded that an assistant county counsel may not defend against prosecution of offenses in his county, that disqualification extends to his associates and to every judicial level, so…
Can a lawyer who writes a legal column for a business publication be identified by name and as a member of his law firm?
Yes. The opinion concluded that, after Bates v. Arizona, a lawyer writing such a column may identify himself as a member of a law firm, modifying and overruling earlier opinions that had barred using …
Can a New Jersey lawyer list himself as 'Of Counsel' to a multistate marketing firm that takes a percentage of referred-matter fees and runs group advertising?
No. The opinion concluded the arrangement is improper because the firm's fee division is an arbitrary percentage unrelated to services performed and the firm is an unregistered referral organization t…
Can a multistate law firm open a New Jersey office under its existing firm name when the named partners are not New Jersey lawyers?
No. The opinion concluded that under the rule's plain language a firm name may not be used in New Jersey unless all those named are or were members of the New Jersey bar.
Can a lawyer draft a warning letter for a rental-agency client that threatens to bring criminal charges against a renter who fails to return rented property?
No. The opinion concluded it would be unethical for the lawyer to prepare a form default letter threatening to present criminal charges if the default was not cured, because doing so is participation …
Can a lawyer represent a group legal-services plan that insurance brokers set up for their clients, and the subscribers who use it?
Yes, conditionally. The opinion concluded there is no ethical problem if the lawyer submits the plan to the Supreme Court as the rule requires, the Court approves it, and counsel acts in accordance wi…
Can a lawyer be attorney for both an elected township board of education and the township itself at the same time?
The opinion concluded the lawyer could serve in both capacities because an elected board of education is independent of the town government, but with the caveat that he must drop both if a conflict or…
Can a lawyer work for two different law firms at once, and also hold a part-time job with a state government agency?
Yes, with conditions. The opinion concluded a lawyer may work for two firms, each paying for services rendered, if their matters are not adverse and no client information is exposed, and may also hold…
After Bates, can a New Jersey lawyer send letters advertising legal services to businesses and the public with whom the lawyer has no prior relationship?
Yes, within limits. The opinion concluded that simple letters advertising the availability of legal services, addressed generally to a segment of the population the lawyer does not personally know, ar…
Can a municipality include its township attorney's fees in the condemnation costs it requires a developer to reimburse, without creating a conflict of interest?
Yes, on these facts. The opinion concluded that where the township attorney represents only the municipality and his services are not subject to the developer's approval, including his fees in the rei…
Can lawyers paid to run a college legal clinic cooperate with it as a qualified legal-services organization, and represent the students who use it?
The opinion concluded the clinic could qualify only under the registered-organization rule, which requires the organization (the college) to file the plan with the Supreme Court, after which a lawyer …
Can two lawyers who are both part-time assistant municipal attorneys for the same town represent opposing spouses in a divorce?
Yes. The opinion concluded that two attorneys both serving part-time for the same municipality may represent opposing parties in a divorce, because their shared public employment does not create a suf…
Can a lawyer advertise routine-service fees together with a discount for members of any identifiable group of at least 100 people?
No. The opinion concluded the advertisement was improper because it was designed to encourage people to form a group to obtain a fee reduction, circumventing the rule that controls cooperation with re…
Can a developer's attorney use a sale contract that makes the buyer reimburse a flat fee for the developer's legal work, including title review and closing documents?
No. The opinion concluded the clause was improper because its broad references to title review and preparation of closing documents are likely to mislead buyers into thinking that work was done for th…
Can a New Jersey lawyer participate in a bar-sponsored plan that finances clients' legal fees through a bank?
Yes. The opinion reversed earlier opinions that had condemned fee-financing as commercializing the practice, and approved attorney participation in the State Bar Foundation's plan, finding no ethicall…
Can a New Jersey lawyer disburse from a trust account the same day a client's check is deposited, before it has cleared?
Only for real estate or commercial closings and only against bank, certified, or cashier's checks, whose risk of non-clearance is negligible. Drawing against uncleared personal checks, or against any …
Can a New Jersey lawyer who is also a CPA list that credential, or advertise as 'Financial,' in a yellow-pages directory listing?
No. A lawyer may not indicate CPA membership in a directory advertisement, and the bare designation 'Financial' is misleading and ambiguous because it does not identify any field of law practice; both…
Can a New Jersey lawyer be a municipal prosecutor while a law partner serves as planning board attorney in the same town?
No. A municipal prosecutor is a municipal attorney, and because a conflict bars dual representation of two public bodies in one municipality, what one partner may not do the other partner and the firm…
Can a New Jersey planning board attorney resign, represent a private client before that board, and then return to the board attorney post?
A planning board attorney may not represent a group with business before the board while in office; the Committee declined to rule on whether the later reappointment was legal but strongly disapproved…
Can a New Jersey lawyer sue a former client on behalf of that client's agent when the new matter is unrelated to the prior representation?
Yes, where the prior representation produced no confidential information prejudicial to the former client and the current dispute does not concern the matters earlier litigated; absent such confidence…
Can a part-time county legal assistant in New Jersey also serve as counsel to a municipal planning board in the same county?
No. Because the county planning board may disapprove a municipal board's plat as a matter of law, a conflict could arise between the two roles, so the same lawyer cannot hold both positions.
Can a New Jersey law firm that regularly prosecutes disorderly-persons cases for a private party in a municipal court also defend other defendants in that same court?
No. A firm that frequently and regularly prosecutes disorderly-persons offenses for and on behalf of the state or municipality under the court rules may not represent criminal defendants in that same …
Can a New Jersey lawyer who is also a CPA put the CPA designation on the law-office letterhead?
No. The CPA designation is not a legal degree and advertises qualifications for a separate profession; DR 2-102(D) bars a lawyer who also practices another profession from indicating it on the letterh…
Can a New Jersey lawyer charge interest on a client's overdue legal-fee bill?
Yes, if the lawyer made clear at the outset that interest at a lawful rate would be charged if the fee is not paid within 30 days after the client receives a written statement; this modified an earlie…
Can a New Jersey lawyer use the title 'Doctor' for a J.D., and may a lawyer advertise a Ph.D. in Spanish or fluency in Spanish?
A lawyer admitted in New Jersey may use the J.D. degree and the title 'Doctor' because it indicates legal training, but may not list a non-law 'Ph.D. in Spanish' on a card or letterhead; the Committee…
If a New Jersey lawyer has been paid in full, can the lawyer refuse to hand over the client's original file?
No. A lawyer who has been paid all outstanding fees must promptly deliver the client's original file to the client; the client is entitled to its return.
Can New Jersey law partners be listed 'of counsel' on a sole practitioner's letterhead in another county, and the sole practitioner 'of counsel' to their firm?
Yes. Nothing in the rules precludes the cross 'of counsel' designations, assuming those listed are genuinely available to the firms' clients and any fee division does not offend the fee-sharing rule; …
Can a New Jersey lawyer, including a retired judge, serve 'of counsel' to more than one law firm at the same time?
Yes. There is no legal or ethical prohibition against a lawyer being a member of, or acting 'of counsel' to, more than one firm, so long as the arrangement complies in every respect with the disciplin…
Can a New Jersey lawyer state on the letterhead that he is admitted to practice before particular federal courts, like the U.S. Tax Court?
Yes. The opinion saw no objection to a lawyer stating on the letterhead that he is admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court and the U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico, where he has met those co…
Can a New Jersey city attorney sue a former member of the governing body, on the city's behalf, to recover money received under color of office?
Yes. A municipal attorney represents the entire municipality, so there is no impropriety in suing a former official to recover money allegedly due the city, even though the attorney was appointed whil…
Must a New Jersey lawyer (including a municipal attorney) disclose a client's zoning or building-code violations discovered during a real estate sale?
No. Both the seller's and buyer's attorneys are barred from disclosing the violations learned in the representation, because no exception to the confidentiality rule applies; but the seller's attorney…
Can a New Jersey lawyer who serves on a municipal charter study commission also represent private clients before that municipality's boards?
Yes. A municipal charter study commission is an elected, autonomous body that is not part of the municipal 'official family,' so a commissioner-lawyer may appear for property owners opposing a varianc…
Can two New Jersey lawyers form a partnership while one serves as mayor and the other as borough attorney in the same municipality?
No. A statute bars a sitting governing-body member from such an appointment, and because the mayor would share partnership income that includes the municipal attorney's fees, the arrangement creates a…
Can a New Jersey lawyer practice under a trade name like 'The Budget Barrister' or 'The Legal Clinic of John Doe, Esq.'?
A professional corporation's name must contain only the shareholders' names, so the proposed trade names fail; for a non-corporate practice, 'The Legal Clinic of John Doe, Esq.' is permissible but 'Th…
If a New Jersey lawyer is married to an assistant prosecutor, can the lawyers in that spouse's firm still handle criminal defense in the same county?
Yes, with safeguards. The disqualification of the prosecutor's attorney-spouse is not imputed to the firm, so the other lawyers may practice criminal law in the county if the spouse does no criminal w…
What letterhead and office-sharing arrangements may a New Jersey lawyer use: an accountant's name on a shared door, a sign at a realtor's office, an out-of-state bar admission, or an out-of-state P.O.-box 'branch'?
An accountant's name may share a door if it creates no appearance of partnership, and an out-of-state bar admission may be noted if not deceptive; but a lawyer's sign at a realtor's premises risks an …
When a New Jersey lawyer applies for a casino license, can the lawyer let regulators examine the law firm's books and client accounts?
No, not without client consent. The lawyer and firm must refuse to disclose records containing privileged information or clients' confidences and secrets unless a confidentiality exception applies; if…
Can the law partner of a New Jersey municipal attorney serve as a citizen member of the same municipality's planning board?
No. The governing body the municipal attorney advises reviews the planning board's work, so the interplay is too active; even as a lay board member the partner creates an appearance of conflict, and t…
How long must a former New Jersey board of adjustment attorney wait before representing private clients before that board on new matters?
There is no fixed period. A former public attorney should normally let some reasonable time pass before appearing before his former governmental employer, but the Committee cannot prescribe a set numb…
If a New Jersey lawyer defends municipalities and police through a liability insurer, can the lawyer also represent private clients before that town's boards and municipal court?
Yes, in unrelated matters. Because the lawyer is chosen by the insurer and is not the appointed municipal attorney, the public is unlikely to associate him with the municipal government, so unrelated …
Can a New Jersey municipal prosecutor (or another lawyer in the city law department) prosecute city employees, including police, at departmental disciplinary hearings and appeals?
No. Because the public sees the municipal prosecutor and city employees as on the same team, the appearance of conflict bars the prosecutor, and every other member of the municipal law department, fro…
Can a New Jersey firm keep suing a county for compensation claimants when a county freeholder, a former associate, rents space and shares its entrance and waiting room?
No. By sharing a common entrance and waiting room (and continuing to do work for the firm), the freeholder becomes an 'office associate,' so the firm's continued suits against the county create a conf…
When a New Jersey lawyer realizes he ought to be a witness, must he withdraw from the case right away, or can he continue through discovery?
He need not withdraw immediately in every case. The rule speaks of withdrawal from the conduct of the trial, so a lawyer who learns he ought to be a witness may handle the matter through discovery, bu…
When a New Jersey lawyer leaves a professional corporation, can the firm and the departing lawyer split fees by fixed percentages on the pending and future files?
For files that originated while the lawyer was a member, a separation-agreement percentage split is permitted; but for entirely new files that come to him only after he leaves, the rule against splitt…
Can a firm take a workers' compensation case against a law firm where one of the firm's current partners used to be an associate?
The opinion held that, assuming no dispute and no reasonable possibility of a dispute over whether the accident was compensable (so the former associate would not be a witness), employment of the new …
Can a New Jersey lawyer appear in a municipal court where his or her spouse is the court clerk or deputy court clerk?
No. Because a municipal court clerk performs important non-ministerial functions and influences the court, the opinion held that the appearance of impropriety bars an attorney from appearing in a muni…
In New Jersey, does sharing only a law library make otherwise-separate lawyers 'office associates' who are treated as connected for ethics purposes?
No. The opinion held that lawyers who share only a law library, while keeping separate and distinct office facilities and no joint building ownership, are not 'office associates,' so long as the libra…
Can a New Jersey lawyer accept a referral fee or commission from a real estate agency for sending it clients' listings?
Only with full disclosure and the client's express consent, and the client is entitled to the benefit of the commission by credit or refund. The opinion held the lawyer's fiduciary obligation applies …
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Legal ethics opinions from the New Jersey Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics 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.