Oregon State Bar Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Oregon State Bar, with full citations and source links on every page.
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When moving to withdraw, can a lawyer tell the court the client won't cooperate, won't pay, or has stalled discovery?
No, qualified. The opinion concludes those reasons are usually protected client information, so a lawyer cannot volunteer them in a withdrawal motion; a mere dispute or nonpayment is not yet a 'contro…
Can a lawyer discuss a client's matter with a mentor or on a professional listserv outside the firm, and must the consulted lawyer check for conflicts first?
A lawyer may consult an outside lawyer or a listserv but must protect client confidentiality under Oregon RPC 1.6: general or genuinely hypothetical questions are fine, but if the facts could reveal t…
What must an Oregon lawyer do with money held in trust for a client the lawyer can no longer locate?
The opinion holds the lawyer must keep the funds safeguarded in trust, use reasonable diligence to find the client, and, once the funds are presumed abandoned under Oregon's unclaimed-property act, re…
Can a lawyer accept a flat fee per case from an insurer to defend its insureds, and what duties does the lawyer still owe the insureds?
Yes: a flat fee per case is not clearly excessive so long as the agreement as a whole is reasonable, but the flat fee does not reduce the lawyer's duties of competence, diligence, and independent judg…
Can a lawyer charge clients 18 percent annual interest on past-due bills, what rate applies without an interest agreement, and can the lawyer add the interest charge just by noting it on a bill?
An 18 percent charge is permissible if the client expressly agrees and the agreement as a whole is not clearly excessive; absent an enforceable agreement the rate is capped at 9 percent under ORS 82.0…
Can a lawyer draft a parent's will that leaves the lawyer a substantial gift, and can a lawyer act as counsel for (or serve as) the personal representative of a parent's estate when the lawyer is also a beneficiary?
Qualified yes to both: RPC 1.8(c) lets a lawyer prepare an instrument giving the lawyer a substantial gift where the lawyer is related to the client, so a child-lawyer may draft a parent's will; and a…
Can a lawyer help a client deliberately breach a contract or minimize the damages that will flow from the breach?
Qualified yes: a lawyer may assist a client in breaching a contract and in minimizing the resulting liability, so long as the lawyer does not help the client defraud anyone (RPC 8.4) and does not use …
After a lawyer is discharged or withdraws for unpaid fees, can the lawyer hold the client's case file and documents until the past-due fees are paid?
Yes, but qualified: an attorney's possessory lien under ORS 87.430 lets the lawyer withhold the file when the client can pay or post a bond but will not, yet the lien must yield to the lawyer's fiduci…
Can a lawyer refer clients to, accept referrals from, or do legal work for a nonlawyer estate-planning firm that is itself practicing law unlawfully?
The opinion concludes no to all three: because the estate-planning service's activities constitute the unlawful practice of law, RPC 5.5(a) bars the lawyer from assisting it by referring clients to it…
When a lawyer represents a corporation or partnership with two unrelated owners, does that automatically make the owners the lawyer's clients, or vice versa?
The opinion concludes representing an entity does not by itself make its shareholders or partners the lawyer's clients, and representing one owner does not by itself make the entity a client, unless t…
Can a lawyer whose client is not a party to an OLCC license hearing send a letter to the hearing officer urging cancellation of the license, and does copying the other parties change the answer?
The opinion concludes the lawyer may not send the letter ex parte, because not being a party is no exception to RPC 3.5(b); the lawyer may send it only if it is relevant and admissible, complies with …
Can a lawyer communicate ex parte with an administrative law judge during a contested-case hearing, and does an Attorney General's office lawyer have more latitude to do so?
The opinion concludes RPC 3.5(b) appears to apply to administrative law judges as it does to court judges, so private-party ex parte contact on the merits is barred unless authorized by law; the APA's…
Can a lawyer try a case when the lawyer or a partner will testify, and does it matter if the testimony helps or hurts the client?
It depends. The opinion concludes a lawyer generally may not try a case in which the lawyer will testify for the client unless an RPC 3.7(a) exception applies, a partner may try the case if the testim…
When a client protests a bill, can the lawyer respond by submitting a higher bill for the same work, or charge the client for the time spent fighting over the fee?
The opinion concludes no: raising the fee to retaliate for a fee protest makes the revised fee clearly excessive under RPC 1.5(a), and the lawyer also may not charge the client for time spent respondi…
Can a lawyer who learned a birth mother's identity while handling an adoption later disclose that information to the adoptive parents when they ask for it?
The opinion concludes the lawyer's fiduciary duty appears to require disclosing the information on request if it is in the lawyer's file, was not obtained in violation of law, and disclosing it would …
Can a lawyer enter into a private financial deal with a judge, such as leasing the lawyer's airplane to the judge or buying a vacation home together?
The opinion concludes it depends: a deal that amounts to a gift or favor to a judge whose docket the lawyer's interests may reach can violate the judicial gift rules and RPC 8.4, while an arm's-length…
When a court awards attorney fees that exceed what the lawyer is owed under the fee agreement with the client, who gets the difference, the lawyer or the client?
The opinion concludes the client gets the excess; collecting more than the agreed fee would be a clearly excessive fee under RPC 1.5(a), and paying the surplus to the client does not violate the rule …
Can a county counsel who advises county employees on county business also negotiate the county's collective-bargaining agreement against those same employees?
The opinion concludes county counsel may negotiate the collective-bargaining agreement because the county is the lawyer's only client; advising employees on county business does not make them clients,…
Can a lawyer give a newspaper an opinion about whether a sitting judge is competent, even if the lawyer has never appeared before that judge?
The opinion concludes a lawyer may publicly comment on a judge's competence, including to the press during a reelection campaign, as long as the lawyer does not knowingly or recklessly make false stat…
Can the lawyer for a resigned estate personal representative also represent the successor, including against the first one's fee claim?
The opinion concludes the lawyer may represent the successor personal representative absent a conflict and may keep representing the original one, but may not represent the successor in opposing the o…
After a lawyer misses a filing deadline, can the lawyer settle the malpractice exposure with the client and keep handling the client's other claim?
Yes to both, qualified. The opinion concludes a lawyer may settle a potential malpractice claim with the client only after advising the client in writing to seek independent counsel, and may keep hand…
When a lawyer leaves a firm, must the firm turn over original wills and client property the departing lawyer requests?
The opinion concludes the firm may hold original wills and client property until the clients themselves direct where it should go, but once a client so directs, the firm must promptly send the propert…
When can a lawyer add a corporation's officers, employees, or shareholders as defendants alongside the corporation?
The opinion concludes a lawyer may join individuals only where a reasonable investigation shows a nonfrivolous basis for their liability; joining them with no reasonable basis violates the rules again…
In a state support-enforcement case, is the custodial parent the lawyer's client whose instructions the lawyer must follow?
No, qualified. The opinion concludes that in support-enforcement proceedings the client is the State of Oregon, not either parent, so the government lawyer owes the former wife no client-type duty and…
Can lawyers chip in to a gift fund for a judge, such as a vacation fund for a part-time pro tem judge?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes lawyers may solicit and contribute to a judge's gift fund if they are not trying to influence the judge and do not know the judge's acceptance would violate the j…
Can a contingent-fee agreement switch the client to an hourly fee if the client turns down a settlement the lawyer thinks is reasonable?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes such a clause is not automatically improper, but it can violate the rules if it unduly pressures the client's decision whether to settle or makes the fee clearly …
Can a lawyer represent a client who was wrongly ticketed in place of another person but refuses to tell the court the truth?
No. The opinion concludes a lawyer who learns the client intends to continue a deception on the court must call on the client to tell the truth, and if the client refuses, the lawyer may not ethically…
When a client tells a lawyer to pay out settlement funds to the client instead of known creditors, what must the lawyer do?
The opinion holds the lawyer may not pay the client funds subject to a valid lien or security interest (those go to the secured creditor), may hold or implead funds whose ownership is genuinely disput…
Can a lawyer who is a notary take a notarial acknowledgment over the phone, or have a secretary notarize a signature the notary did not witness?
No. The opinion concludes that certifying a notarial acknowledgment for someone who did not personally appear, whether by phone or through a secretary, is dishonest conduct that violates Oregon RPC 8.…
Can an Oregon lawyer agree to represent an indigent client at little or no fee, with the client obligated to pay if their finances improve?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes such an agreement does not violate RPC 1.5(a)'s bar on clearly excessive fees, but it would be unethical if the expected change in finances comes from a matter RP…
When an Oregon lawyer retires or dies, can the lawyer (or the lawyer winding up the practice) discard original wills whose former clients cannot be located?
No, qualified. The opinion concludes original wills are client property the lawyer must preserve, or have preserved by competent successor counsel, under RPC 1.15-1; statute (ORS 112.815 and 112.820) …
When an Oregon lawyer believes a client has lost the capacity to handle their own affairs, can the lawyer act protectively over the client's objection?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes that under RPC 1.14 a lawyer who reasonably believes a client has diminished capacity, is at risk of substantial harm, and cannot act in their own interest may ta…
Can an Oregon lawyer publicly campaign for and endorse candidates for judicial or other elected office?
Yes. The opinion concludes no ethical rule prohibits a lawyer from assisting in others' campaigns, including speaking publicly and lending the lawyer's name to endorsements, so long as the lawyer does…
Can an Oregon lawyer running for judicial office campaign for that office?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes a lawyer may campaign for judicial office, subject to compliance with the applicable provisions of the Code of Judicial Conduct as required by Oregon RPC 8.2(b).
What must an Oregon lawyer do when a client commits perjury, or when a court-appointed client is fraudulently obtaining free counsel?
For past perjury, the lawyer must urge the client to correct it and, if the client refuses, may only seek to withdraw without disclosing the wrongdoing; but where the client's conduct is a continuing …
If an Oregon lawyer's client disappears mid-appeal owing fees, can the lawyer stop work or settle the case without the client?
No to both, qualified. The opinion concludes the lawyer must keep handling the appeal until properly granted leave to withdraw under RPC 1.16, and may not settle the case without the client's authorit…
Can an Oregon lawyer borrow money from, lease property from, or go into business with a client?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes a lawyer may enter a business transaction with a client only if the lawyer meets all of RPC 1.8(a): fair and fully disclosed written terms, written advice to seek…
Can an Oregon lawyer who represents a trade association take on one member against another member in an unrelated matter?
Yes. The opinion concludes the lawyer's client is the association, not its individual members, so representing one member against another non-client member in an unrelated matter is not a current conf…
Can an Oregon lawyer endorse a settlement check that is payable jointly to the lawyer and the client?
Only with the client's authorization. The opinion concludes a lawyer may endorse a check on the client's behalf if the client authorizes it, but may not do so without authorization; implied authority …
Can an Oregon lawyer employ a suspended or disbarred lawyer to do work that nonlawyers may lawfully perform?
Yes, qualified. A suspended or disbarred lawyer may do work that nonlawyers may lawfully do, but may not practice law and may not receive a share or percentage of legal fees earned on a specific case;…
Can an Oregon lawyer accept payment from an insurance adjuster to handle a conservatorship for an unrepresented minor and the minor's parents?
Yes, qualified. Under Oregon RPC 1.8(f) the lawyer must obtain the client's informed consent to the third-party payment and must not let the adjuster direct or regulate the lawyer's professional judgm…
When can an Oregon lawyer assist nonlawyers (or sign documents prepared by them) without aiding the unauthorized practice of law?
A lawyer may help nonlawyers do what nonlawyers can lawfully do, and may use a collection agency for the lawyer's own or clients' debts, but may not sign letters or pleadings the lawyer has not review…
Can an Oregon lawyer help a client buy back the client's own bad checks to reduce criminal exposure, if the steps are lawful?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes that because the actions the client asks for are assumed lawful, the lawyer has a duty under Oregon RPC 1.2 to act in accordance with the client's directions; the…
When can an Oregon lawyer advise, supervise, or take part in a covert investigation that uses misrepresentation, and can the lawyer go undercover personally?
Oregon RPC 8.4(b) is a safe harbor that lets a lawyer advise or supervise lawful covert activity only when the lawyer in good faith believes there is a reasonable possibility of unlawful activity; it …
Can a lawyer accept credit card payments for advance retainers, and how should the trust account, service fees, and chargebacks be handled?
A lawyer may accept credit card payments, but unearned retainers are client funds that may not be deposited into the lawyer's business account; if the bank requires one merchant account it must be a t…
Can an Oregon lawyer take a new matter adverse to a former client when only confidential information, not the same matter, is at stake?
It depends on the information. The opinion concludes that where the new matter is not the same or substantially related to the former representation, the lawyer may proceed without consent unless the …
Can a lawyer's engagement agreement require a corporate client to indemnify the lawyer against civil claims by a nonclient, like an investigated employee?
Yes. The opinion concludes a lawyer may include an engagement provision in which the client agrees to indemnify the lawyer against independent civil claims by a nonclient (here, an investigated employ…
Can a lawyer who is a public employee take part in a lawful labor strike against the government agency that employs them?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes nothing in the rules bars a public-employee lawyer from a lawful strike, but the lawyer must avoid neglecting client matters (by giving adequate advance notice so…
Can a lawyer who used to work in the state appellate public defender's office take postconviction appeals alleging ineffective assistance by that office's lawyers?
Generally yes, with qualifications. The opinion concludes the lawyer may take such appeals, but a personal-interest conflict under Oregon RPC 1.7(a)(2) arises if loyalty to former colleagues would mat…
In a juvenile dependency case, when can a parent's lawyer ask for a guardian ad litem, and must the lawyer follow the guardian's directions afterward?
The opinion concludes a parent's lawyer should seek a guardian ad litem only when the client consistently cannot act in their own interests; a lawyer acting as a guardian ad litem performs a nonlawyer…
In a workers' compensation case, can a lawyer contact the opposing side's expert witness directly, and is notice to opposing counsel required?
Yes. No conduct rule bars contacting an opposing expert in a workers' compensation proceeding, and the broad discovery policy permits it without prior notice to opposing counsel, though the lawyer sho…
When a contingent-fee settlement is paid in installments, can the lawyer take more than the agreed percentage out of the early payments?
No. The opinion concludes that, absent a contrary agreement, a lawyer must take only the agreed prorated percentage from each settlement installment, because charging more than the client agreed to pa…
If a lawyer sends past clients periodic reminders about deadlines like patent maintenance fees or lease renewals, are those people current clients for conflict purposes?
They may be. The opinion concludes that, absent a clear written statement that no continuing relationship exists, recipients of periodic docket reminders can reasonably believe the lawyer-client relat…
Can a lawyer keep a cushion of personal funds in the client trust account to prevent an overdraft notice to the bar from a bookkeeping or bank error?
No. Oregon RPC 1.15-1(b) lets a lawyer place personal funds in a trust account only to cover bank charges or minimum balances, and only in necessary amounts, so a 'cushion' to avoid overdraft notifica…
Can a lawyer contact jurors after the verdict to ask what they thought of the case or to look for grounds for appeal?
No. Oregon and federal court rules generally bar a lawyer from initiating contact with jurors about a case they were sworn to try, and violating those rules also violates Oregon RPC 3.5(c)(1), so the …
Can a lawyer have a sexual relationship with a client during the representation, and can a lawyer represent someone with whom the lawyer already had a sexual relationship?
A lawyer may not begin sexual relations with a current client during the representation. A lawyer may continue a sexual relationship that existed before the representation, but only if the resulting p…
Can a part-time deputy district attorney take private clients in matters connected to cases the office is prosecuting?
No, while still in office. The opinion concludes a deputy DA may not represent a private party in a civil matter involving substantially the same controversy as a pending prosecution, under ORS 8.720 …
Can a prosecutor threaten to file more serious charges if a defendant refuses a plea offer or files pretrial motions?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes that threatening charges already supported by probable cause as part of plea negotiations facilitates the administration of justice and does not by itself violate…
Does a legal aid program create a conflict when it screens applicants and refers them to a pro bono panel lawyer, even if the opposing party was already referred to another panel lawyer?
Generally no. The opinion concludes that intake information gathered by a legal aid screener is protected, but screening can prevent it from disqualifying the program's other lawyers and the pro bono …
Can a lawyer partner with a nonlawyer to sell a web-based, automated legal information system without assisting the unauthorized practice of law?
Yes. The opinion concludes that an automated, web-based system that asks users stored questions and returns stored legal information or forms, with a clear notice that no human interaction is involved…
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Legal ethics opinions from the Oregon State Bar 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.