Oklahoma Bar Association Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Oklahoma Bar Association, with full citations and source links on every page.
No Oklahoma Bar Association opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Can a former judge or former county attorney accept private employment in a matter he investigated, passed on, or decided while in office?
The Board concluded no. Rule 38 bars a lawyer from acting as an advocate in a matter on whose merits he previously acted in a judicial capacity, or from accepting employment connected with a matter he…
In a fifty-percent contingent-fee case, must litigation costs be deducted before the fee is split, and can a lawyer take fifty percent of the gross recovery while the client pays all costs?
The Board suggested that costs should be deducted from the gross recovery first and the residue split, because the statute caps the fee at fifty percent of the net amount; a contract giving the lawyer…
Does an accounting firm that prepares incorporation papers and secures business licenses for corporate clients engage in the unauthorized practice of law?
Yes. The Board concluded that incorporating companies and securing foreign-corporation licenses requires legal knowledge and constitutes practicing law, so an accounting firm doing this as a regular p…
Can a lawyer who holds contingent-fee civil damage claims against a criminal defendant also serve as a special prosecutor in the criminal case?
The Board did not flatly condemn it but concluded the arrangement did not tend to uphold the honor and dignity of the profession, given the prosecutor's duty under Rule 7 to see that justice is done, …
Can a lawyer file a denial or a plea of payment the lawyer knows is false in order to delay a judgment the client admits is owed?
The Board of Governors concluded no. Filing a denial or plea of payment the lawyer knows to be untrue, merely to delay a judgment the client conceded was due, violated the lawyer's oath and Rules 17, …
Can a lawyer mail postcards to other lawyers across the state advertising that he writes briefs and will appear in any court?
The Board of Governors concluded no. Soliciting business by circular or advertisement not warranted by personal relations violated Rule 29, and there was no distinction between soliciting the public a…
Can a trust company solicit will business by mail, and what is the position of its lawyer trust officer who takes part in the plan?
The Board of Governors concluded that if the trust company drafts wills or advises on them, it engages in the unauthorized practice of law, and the lawyer trust officer who participates is a party to …
Does a real estate corporation engage in the unauthorized practice of law by giving its customers legal advice through a publication it distributes?
The Board of Governors concluded yes. A lay corporation that, through a periodical sent to its customers, gives legal advice about their rights (such as how to evict a tenant) is rendering a service i…
Are attorneys who were licensed by Territorial or Tribal courts before statehood, but never admitted by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, eligible to practice without examination?
The Board of Governors concluded no. After the 1919 legislation requiring admission by the Supreme Court, attorneys licensed only by the pre-statehood Territorial or Tribal courts who had never been a…
What is the status under the State Bar Act of a non-resident attorney whose name was on the Supreme Court roll when the Act took effect?
The Board of Governors concluded that a person whose name appeared on the Supreme Court roll on June 22, 1929, became a member of the State Bar obligated to pay the required fees, but that the Board h…
Can a corporation have a regular employee, who is not a lawyer, file and handle its cases in a justice-of-the-peace court?
The Board of Governors concluded no. While an individual plaintiff or defendant may appear in person before a justice of the peace, a corporation cannot appear through a non-lawyer employee; it can ap…
Can a lawyer pay to have his photograph and biographical description published in a newspaper feature?
The Board of Governors concluded no. Adopting ABA Opinion 43, it held that a lawyer's paid-for photograph with his name, address, and vocation was solicitation of business by advertising condemned und…
Can a lawyer represent a salary or chattel loan company, including suing to collect notes that carry usurious interest?
The Board of Governors concluded a lawyer may represent such a company on retainer for advisory work, and may sue on indebtedness where usurious interest has been waived, but it is reprehensible to as…
Can a county attorney accept compensation from a crime victim in connection with the prosecution of the alleged offender?
The Board of Governors concluded no. In counties where county attorneys were prohibited from private practice, demanding or accepting compensation for legal services or a reward for official acts was …
Can a lawyer answer listeners' individual legal questions on a radio program?
The Board of Governors concluded that if the answers purported to advise listeners about their individual rights, the conduct violated the spirit of Rule 42, whether or not the lawyer was paid; a lawy…
What counts as the practice of law under the State Bar Act's prohibition on unauthorized practice?
The Board of Governors defined the practice of law as any service involving legal knowledge, whether representation, counsel, or advocacy, in or out of court, rendered in respect of the rights, duties…
Can an Oklahoma lawyer who collects a commercial claim forwarded by a lay collection agency remit part of the contingent fee to that forwarder?
The Board of Governors concluded yes. Rule 36 contained an express exception allowing the established custom of sharing commissions at a commonly accepted rate on commercial-claim collections between …
Does the lawyer-as-witness rule apply to a county attorney who testifies in a criminal case and then continues to prosecute it?
The Board of Governors concluded yes. Rule 21, which directed a lawyer-witness to leave the trial to other counsel, applied to county attorneys and their assistants in criminal cases with the same for…
Does the lawyer-as-witness rule apply to a county attorney who testifies in a criminal case and then continues to prosecute it?
The Board of Governors concluded yes. Rule 21, which directed a lawyer-witness to leave the trial to other counsel, applied to county attorneys and their assistants in criminal cases with the same for…
Can a lawyer use runners or touters to bring in business, or maintain a standing business association with a habitual usury violator?
The Board of Governors concluded no to both. Knowingly accepting the services of runners or touters to secure business violated the rules and could result in disbarment, and a standing business associ…
Can a lawyer who runs a collection service mail circular letters to merchants' associations soliciting accounts to collect?
The Board of Governors concluded no. Mailing such solicitation letters was solicitation of business by circular not warranted by professional relations under Rule 29, and using a collection-service ag…
Can a lawyer advertise or mail circulars to other lawyers offering to research and write briefs for them for a fee?
The Board of Governors concluded no. Soliciting business by circular or advertisement not warranted by personal relations was unprofessional under Rule 29, so a lawyer who advertised brief-writing ser…
Can a non-lawyer practice before a justice of the peace, and can a lawyer give a layman a power of attorney to sign pleadings and commence lawsuits in the lawyer's name?
The Board of Governors concluded no on both points. A non-member of the State Bar who practices before a justice of the peace commits a misdemeanor, and a lawyer who delegates authority to a layman to…
Can a corporation set up an in-house legal department and advertise legal services to the public by employing licensed lawyers to do the work?
The Board of Governors concluded no. A corporation that furnishes legal services to its customers through employed lawyers is engaged in the unauthorized practice of law in violation of Section 48 of …
Can a lawyer who serves on a city council represent private clients in that city's municipal courts?
No. The committee concluded that a lawyer who sits on the city council may not practice before that city's municipal courts, because the council selects, budgets for, and can remove the municipal judg…
Can a disbarred or suspended lawyer working as a 'legal assistant' question a witness at a deposition if a licensed attorney supervises?
No. The committee concluded that a suspended or disbarred lawyer who conducts the questioning of a witness at a deposition, even under a licensed attorney's supervision, engages in the unauthorized pr…
May a bar association operate a lawyer referral service, and may it advertise that service to the public without violating the rules against advertising and stirring up litigation?
Yes, within limits. The committee concluded that a bar association may sponsor a lawyer referral service that meets stated minimum requirements, and that advertising aimed at educating the public abou…
May a bar association operate a lawyer referral service and advertise it without violating the canons against solicitation?
Yes, within limits. The committee concluded that a bar association may sponsor a properly organized lawyer referral service meeting stated minimum requirements, and that Canon 27 does not bar the orga…
Browse Oklahoma Bar Association opinions by topic
Legal ethics opinions from the Oklahoma Bar Association 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.