Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel, with full citations and source links on every page.
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I've been informally helping a pro se friend (answering questions, suggesting language for an answer and discovery responses, and commenting on drafts) without signing or filing anything. Does that count as 'ghostwriting' I must disclose to the court?
The Panel concluded the informal assistance does not amount to ghostwriting because the friend, not the lawyer, was the documents' primary creator and finisher, so the lawyer need not sign the documen…
I'm a town solicitor who prosecutes misdemeanors for the town. Is it a conflict of interest for me to prosecute a town employee who was arrested?
No conflict. The panel held that a town solicitor's only client is the municipality, not its individual employees, so prosecuting a town employee who is not the solicitor's client does not create a Ru…
When I compile a former client's file, must I include copies of correspondence between my law partner and opposing counsel, or can I withhold it as attorney work product?
Yes, the client is entitled to those copies. The panel held that correspondence between the attorney and opposing counsel developed during the representation is part of the client file, not attorney w…
My business-entity client wants me to use small claims to collect for products it delivered before I represented it, which were sold in violation of its license. Does that request force me to withdraw under Rule 1.16?
No. The panel held that the client's request to pursue small-claims collection does not require mandatory withdrawal under Rule 1.16(a), because it does not compel the attorney to engage in illegal or…
My law partner and I want to name our new transactional firm 'Contract House LLP.' It has no partner names, just describes our practice. Does a trade name like that comply with the Rhode Island firm-name rules?
Yes. The panel held that 'Contract House LLP' comports with Rule 7.5 (and by extension Rule 7.1) because it is a permitted trade name that describes the firm's practice area and organizational structu…
A former client asked me to destroy all the emails and records they sent me during the representation. Do the ethics rules require me to destroy those files?
No. The panel held that Rule 1.16(d) does not require an attorney to destroy a former client's files on request; the client file is the client's property and the client-provided materials should have …
My firm's intake staff interviewed a prospective client (a nurse) whose problem turns out to be the same death my existing clients are suing over. Does that intake create a conflict forcing me to withdraw from the family's case?
The panel concluded the intake interview does create a conflict requiring the attorney to withdraw from representing the Decedent's family. The nurse is a prospective client under Rule 1.18, and Rule …
A resident who once sued the quasi-municipal entity I represent, in a case that settled, just got elected to its board and says I must resign as counsel. Do the ethics rules require that?
The panel concluded the Rules of Professional Conduct do not require the attorney to resign. Under Rule 1.13, the attorney represents the Entity, not its individual board members, so there is no attor…
I prosecute cases for a town police department. Can I defend a client at a probation-violation hearing where I'd have to cross-examine officers from that same department?
The panel concluded the attorney may not represent the client at the hearing. Because the attorney regularly prosecutes for the Department, cross-examining and possibly impeaching Department officers …
A bankruptcy trustee accuses me of malpractice in a concluded case, but has filed no suit, and my client wants me to keep representing him. Do I have a personal-interest conflict that forces me to withdraw?
The panel concluded no conflict of interest exists under these facts. A bare malpractice allegation from a third party (the bankruptcy trustee), with no suit or action filed, does not create the kind …
My client claims my firm missed a filing deadline and wants to settle the malpractice claim for money plus finishing the other case for free. Can we accept that settlement under the ethics rules?
The panel concluded the proposed settlement comports with the Rules of Professional Conduct. Rule 1.8(h)(2) permits a lawyer to settle a malpractice claim with a client or former client only if the pe…
I'm a real estate development expert who testifies before zoning and planning boards. Can I be both the expert witness and the advocate for clients in the same matters if I use separate LLCs?
The panel concluded the attorney may not serve as an expert witness in the same real estate development matters in which he or she represents clients as an advocate, nor vice versa. The zoning and pla…
I hold my client's settlement money in IOLTA, and a third party claims part of it under a promissory note my client says is forged. What must I do with the disputed funds?
The panel concluded the attorney must notify the claimant (the mother) that he or she holds the claimed amount but lacks the client's (the daughter's) authority to disburse it, then transfer the undis…
A mortgage broker I do real estate work for wants me to be its resident agent, endorsing and disbursing insurance checks. Do the ethics rules let me take that role?
The panel concluded the attorney may become the Broker's resident agent, subject to the Rules of Professional Conduct. Serving as resident agent (receiving and endorsing insurance checks and disbursin…
A law firm trains me and helps on my cases, though we share no office or letterhead. Can I put that firm on my nonprofit's conflict-referral list?
The panel concluded the inquiring attorney may not refer conflicted prospective clients to the Firm unless the training relationship is terminated or affected clients give informed written consent. Th…
I sit on the board of a nonprofit that is being sued, and I want to represent it in the litigation. Do the ethics rules let me serve as both director and its lawyer?
The panel concluded the inquiring attorney is not prohibited from representing the Entity, provided he or she reasonably believes the representation will not be materially limited by the dual role, or…
I moved firms and want to sue a school district that is my old firm's client, but I never worked on its matters there. Does Rule 1.9 disqualify me?
The panel concluded the inquiring attorney may represent the client without the former firm's consent. Rule 1.9(b) disqualifies a migrating lawyer only when the matter is the same or substantially rel…
One of the lawyers who shares my letterhead is a part-time assistant town solicitor who prosecutes for the town. Can I still defend a client charged by that town's police if that lawyer is screened off?
The panel concluded the inquiring attorney is not precluded from representing the client. Because the lawyers shared letterhead, address, and email domain, they were a firm under Rule 1.0(c), so the a…
My firm wants to distribute a publication advertising our services that also carries ads for our non-lawyer business partners (financial planners, realtors, in-home care, and the like). Does including those partner ads violate the advertising rules?
No. The panel held that including non-lawyer business-partner advertisements in the firm's publication does not violate Rules 7.1 through 7.5, because the partner ads contained no false or misleading …
I've been referred a client to appear before a Supreme Court board, but my law partner is a sitting member of that board. If my partner recuses from the matter, is screened off, and takes no fee, can I still take the representation?
Yes. The panel held that although the partner's board membership creates a nonconsentable Rule 1.7 conflict that would ordinarily be imputed to the inquiring attorney under Rule 1.10(a), the partner's…
I represented a client only in his SSDI claim. I later learned he falsely attested, in a separate workers' comp settlement I had nothing to do with, that he had not applied for SSDI. Must I report that to a tribunal?
No. The panel held that the duty of candor under Rule 3.3 attaches only where the lawyer is representing the client in the proceeding in question, and because the inquiring attorney never represented …
My former client is appealing his criminal convictions by claiming I represented him ineffectively, and I expect to be subpoenaed. May I testify using confidential information from the representation to defend myself?
The panel concluded the attorney may testify using information relating to the former representation. Although Rules 1.6 and 1.9(c) ordinarily bar revealing such information even after the representat…
Opposing counsel in my client's divorce is also a probate judge before whom I represent a different client in an unrelated matter. Is that a conflict of interest that forces me to withdraw?
The panel concluded no concurrent conflict of interest exists, so the attorney need not withdraw from either representation. The two clients are unrelated parties in unrelated matters, so the represen…
I'm a town solicitor and a Town Councilor whose interests have turned adverse to the Council is undermining our case and may draw sanctions against the Council. How do I proceed under the ethics rules?
The panel concluded that under Rule 1.13 the solicitor should tell the Councilor his or her interests are now adverse to the Town Council, that the solicitor no longer represents the Councilor, and th…
My firm represents private clients before a town's planning and zoning boards. If the firm also takes on prosecuting the town's misdemeanor cases, can it keep representing those private clients before the town's boards?
The panel concluded the two representations create a concurrent conflict under Rule 1.7(a), imputed firm-wide under Rule 1.10(a). The conflict is generally waivable if Rule 1.7(b)'s conditions are met…
I've learned that a key document my client wants to use in litigation is fraudulent, and my client denies it and wants to proceed. Must I disclose the fraud to the court before I withdraw?
The panel concluded no disclosure is required before withdrawing. Because the client had not yet offered the fraudulent document (the summary-judgment response was only prospective) and had alternativ…
My former client, now deceased, confessed to me that he set a fire, and now someone else has been criminally charged for it. Am I permitted to disclose the confession?
The panel concluded the attorney must disclose. The confession is confidential under Rules 1.6(a) and 1.9(c), but the duty of candor under Rule 3.3, which qualifies confidentiality and applies even wh…
In an immigration matter, my client's sibling (whom I don't represent) told me the sibling had filed a fraudulent application in my client's name years ago. Do I now have a conflict of interest that forces me to withdraw from representing the client?
No. The panel concluded no withdrawal is required. Because the sibling is neither a current client nor a prospective client under Rule 1.18 (the attorney told the sibling to retain separate counsel), …
I represent a client in a slip-and-fall case, and one of the defendants' witnesses turns out to be another current client of mine in an unrelated workers' comp matter. I need to depose and cross-examine that witness. Do I have a conflict, and must I withdraw?
Yes. The panel held a directly adverse concurrent conflict exists under Rule 1.7(a)(1), because the attorney must cross-examine one current client (the adverse witness) on behalf of another. The confl…
A former criminal-defense client disputed a court-transcript vendor's credit-card charge, and the vendor wants me to sign an affidavit confirming I received the transcripts and the work was acceptable. Does giving that affidavit breach my duty of confidentiality to a former client?
The panel concluded the attorney may provide the affidavit. It would use information relating to the former representation to the client's disadvantage under Rule 1.9(c)(1), but the specific facts (th…
Can one law firm represent both the buyer and the seller in the same residential real estate sale if both sides consent, or is that a nonconsentable conflict of interest?
The panel held the described transactions violate the conflict rules. Representing both the buyer and the seller in the same real estate sale is a directly adverse concurrent conflict under Rule 1.7(a…
At real estate closings, the buyer's attorney is adding disbursement, discharge-tracking, wire, and courier fees to the settlement statement that my seller client must pay. Do those fee practices violate the ethics rules?
Yes. The panel held these closing fees violate Rule 1.5: they are unreasonable expense charges (a wire fee, for one, reflects a cost no institution actually charges on IOLTA transfers), and they viola…
Can I help organize and moderate a public civic panel on local housing as a private citizen, when many attendees could be potential clients of my elder-law firm, without violating the solicitation rules?
Yes. The panel concluded the attorney may organize and moderate the panel because two facts remove the concern Rule 7.3(a) targets: the attorney would act as a private citizen with no pecuniary motive…
I switched to the firm that represents the estate I was adverse to for a former client. Can I work on the related trust matter, or does my firm have to screen me?
The panel concluded the attorney is personally disqualified under Rule 1.9(a) from the trust matter, but the former client can remove the disqualification with written informed consent; absent that co…
Can I pass my credit card processing fees on to clients, and what do I have to tell them first?
The panel concluded a lawyer may pass credit card processing fees to clients in flat fee and hourly matters, and when the client pays for issuance of payment to a third party, so long as the charge is…
A prosecutor wants me to testify about a former client. Does confidentiality still apply, and must I testify if a court orders it?
The panel concluded confidentiality under Rule 1.6 applies to a former representation and continues under Rule 1.9(c). The client may waive it by informed consent. Absent waiver, the lawyer should ass…
Can I hold my law firm equity in a revocable trust for succession planning without violating the no-nonlawyer-ownership rule?
The panel concluded a lawyer may transfer law firm equity into a revocable trust, but only if the sole trustee, any successor trustee, and all beneficiaries are licensed Rhode Island attorneys in good…
My firm is the Town Solicitor and also counsel to a municipal agency. Is representing both a conflict of interest?
The panel concluded there is no concurrent conflict under Rule 1.7 on these facts, because the Agency and the Town do not have adverse interests. The Town Council merely took a position on a type of d…
A board member filed an open-meetings complaint against the agency I represent. Can I defend the agency, given the complainant sits on its board?
Yes. The panel concluded the attorney may represent the Agency against the OMA complaint. Under Rule 1.13(a) the client is the organization, not its individual constituents, so the complaining Board m…
Can my firm place a lien on a client's property to secure unpaid attorney's fees?
Yes. The panel concluded a firm may place a lien on a client's property for the fees owed, but because acquiring a security interest adverse to a client is a business transaction, the firm must comply…
Our of-counsel attorney is a town solicitor. Can other lawyers in our firm appear before that town's zoning board and council?
The panel concluded it is a concurrent conflict under Rule 1.7(a), imputed to the whole firm under Rule 1.10(a), for other firm attorneys to appear before the municipality's planning board, zoning boa…
My immigration client's former employer wants to withdraw the affidavit of support his application depends on. Must I tell USCIS?
Yes. The panel concluded the lawyer must promptly notify USCIS that the former employer wishes to withdraw the affidavit of support. The duty of candor under Rule 3.3, and the duty not to pursue an un…
As town solicitor, can I represent the town council, zoning board, and a committee at once in a variance application where the committee seeks relief the zoning ordinance bars?
No. The panel concluded it is a non-waivable concurrent conflict under Rule 1.7 for the town solicitor to represent all three municipal entities in the variance application, because the Recreation Com…
Can my contingency fee apply to the total of the damages award plus court-awarded statutory attorney's fees?
Yes. The panel concluded it is permissible under Rule 1.5(a) for a retainer to state that the contingency percentage applies to the total of the damages award plus court-awarded attorney's fees. The f…
Can a defense insurer require my client and me to sign a hold-harmless agreement indemnifying it for all liens as a condition of paying the settlement?
No. The panel concluded that conditioning payment of a personal injury settlement on the plaintiff's counsel personally signing a hold harmless/indemnification agreement violates Rules 1.8(e), 1.7(a)(…
May my debt-collection firm send the required CFPB model validation notice without listing our attorneys or a signature block?
Yes. The panel concluded it is permissible under the Rules of Professional Conduct to send the CFPB model validation form without listing each attorney or including a signature block. Rule 7.5(b) does…
Can a lawyer act as a fair housing tester, posing as a renter to gather evidence of housing discrimination, without violating Rule 8.4(c)?
The panel concluded it is not professional misconduct under Rule 8.4(c) for a lawyer to serve as a fair housing tester in covert investigations of housing discrimination, because the testing is a lawf…
May prosecutors in the Attorney General's office release, or advise police to release, body-worn-camera video in response to a public records request?
Yes. The panel concluded it does not violate Rule 3.6 (trial publicity) or Rule 3.8(e) for the Attorney General's office to release, or advise law enforcement to release, body-worn-camera video in res…
After I withdrew from representing a joint venture, its remaining owner demands I disclose whether I helped my other client negotiate a sale. Must I?
No. The panel concluded that, absent the consent of the lawyer's client (Company A), Rule 1.6 prohibits the lawyer from disclosing information relating to Company A's potential sale, including whether…
Can I pay a marketing agency about $200 per title order a mortgage broker sends me, and build that cost into my closing fee?
No. The panel concluded the arrangement violates Rule 7.2(c) because the lawyer effectively pays the mortgage broker's advertising costs in exchange for title-order referrals, even though the money ru…
May I pay a for-profit internet company a flat fee for each client lead it sends me?
No. The panel concluded a for-profit internet service that holds itself out as a 'Lawyer Referral Service' is an impermissible referral service. Rule 7.2(c) lets a lawyer pay only the usual charges of…
I was a corporation's outside counsel years ago. May I now represent a buyer suing that corporation over a contract I never handled?
The panel concluded no conflict under Rule 1.9 because the buyer's breach claim is not the same as or substantially related to the lawyer's prior work for the corporation. The lawyer gained no specifi…
May I walk around my office neighborhood and personally solicit legal business from local business owners, leaving a letter?
Yes. The panel concluded Rule 7.3(a), which bars in-person solicitation for pecuniary gain, contains an exception for business organizations, so the lawyer may solicit business owners and operators in…
I'm a former judge back in private practice. May I represent clients in matters before the court where I served as a judge?
The panel concluded yes, subject to a limit. A former judge may represent clients before the court on which he or she served, but not in any matter in which the lawyer participated personally and subs…
May I represent a new client filing an amicus brief that supports my former client's appeal, where the two are on the same side of the issue?
The panel concluded no conflict under Rule 1.9. Even though the amicus matter is substantially related to (if not the same as) the prior representation, the new client's interests are not materially a…
Two solo lawyers who share office space want to share a secretary and a computer. Does that make them one firm for conflict-of-interest purposes?
The panel concluded the arrangement is permissible, but because the shared secretary will have access to both lawyers' protected client information, the two practices are treated as one firm for confl…
My client, a widow, refuses to bring the wrongful-death suit and tells me not to inform her children about the claim. What are my ethical obligations?
The panel concluded the client has ultimate authority over whether to pursue the wrongful-death claim, so the lawyers must abide by her decision not to proceed. Because the widow is the client, Rule 1…
I represent a client against an opponent while job-hunting at a nonprofit that counts the opponent's parent company as a dues-paying member. Is that a conflict of interest?
The panel concluded no. Because the opponent's parent company is merely a dues-paying member with no governance role in the prospective employer, and that organization is autonomous and even takes pos…
Can I represent a client in a deal with a company that is an affiliate of my former firm's client, when my prior work for that client was unrelated to the current deal?
The panel concluded yes. Even assuming the former client and its affiliate share substantial operations and interests, the current transaction is not the same as, or substantially related to, the matt…
I represent a former city employee suing the city. Can I also serve as legal counsel to that city's council without a conflict of interest?
The panel concluded it is a conflict under Rule 1.7 to represent a client suing the city and also serve as counsel to the city council, because the lawyer would be directly adverse to a current client…
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Legal ethics opinions from the Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel 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.