State Bar Association of North Dakota Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the State Bar Association of North Dakota, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Does Rule 4.2 apply to government lawyers and employees they directly supervise when communicating with represented claimants?
The committee said Rule 4.2 applied to all lawyers, including government lawyers, and employees under their direct supervision. It declined to give a clear opinion on the specific claims-analyst…
Could a state's attorney defend the county against a deputy sheriff's claim while also defending that deputy in related litigation?
The committee found a conflict in representing the county against the deputy's workers' compensation claim while defending the same deputy in a civil action from the incident. It recommended…
Could a firm maintain a North Dakota office if a lawyer licensed there handled all North Dakota work?
The committee saw no ethical problem with the firm maintaining a North Dakota office on the stated condition that all work done in the state would be handled by a lawyer licensed there. It also…
May lawyers split a contingent fee after one withdraws to testify, and may a lawyer later lend the collected fee to the client?
The committee allowed the proposed fee split if based on each lawyer's work, reasonable, and approved by an informed client. It treated collection of a legitimate fee as ethical absent creditor…
How should a lawyer sign correspondence while handling matters for a deceased lawyer's office?
The committee recommended that the lawyer sign every letter handled for the deceased lawyer's office with the lawyer's name and an indication of agency for the estate, so clients and others would…
Could a North Dakota lawyer use a proposed firm name containing the lawyer's own name under the rules considered in 1987?
The committee saw no problem with the proposed names under the new rules and said it had no objection under the old rules so long as the lawyer intended to include the lawyer's own name in the firm…
Does a criminal-defense contract ethically require appointed counsel to represent clients in a civil administrative hearing?
The committee said the defense contract covered criminal defense while the administrative hearing was civil, so the lawyer was not ethically obligated to handle that hearing. It treated any…
Could a lawyer represent an engineering firm against a former resort-owner client on the facts presented?
The committee found no present conflict on the stated facts, but warned that use of knowledge from the former resort-owner representation could create one. It recommended discussing potential…
May a lawyer advertise to find people injured similarly to a client who might serve as witnesses?
The committee allowed an advertisement seeking witnesses who may have been injured on the defendant's premises in a manner similar to the client, so long as the ad was not misleading, unfair, or deceptive.
May a city attorney represent either the city or another client when both may oppose each other in the same injury case?
The committee found a conflict arising from the lawyer's existing and past relationships with both clients and said the lawyer should withdraw from representing either in litigation involving them.…
Must a lawyer tell successor counsel about a polygraph report when the client opposes disclosure?
The committee said the file belongs to the client and Attorney A should give it to the client to pass to Attorney B as the client chooses. It recommended against telling Attorney B about the…
In which courts may a municipal city prosecutor appear as defense counsel in a criminal case?
The North Dakota Ethics Committee determined that a municipal city prosecutor may appear as criminal defense counsel in a court other than one where the lawyer or a firm member regularly appears as…
May a part-time state's attorney represent a crime victim in a later civil damages case?
The committee answered yes after the criminal appeal period expired, provided no discussion established a civil lawyer-client relationship while the criminal case was pending. It said preliminary…
May a North Dakota lawyer use a client's letterhead in pre-lawsuit and lawsuit collection correspondence?
The committee said DR 2-102A4 may permit identifying a lawyer as general counsel on a client's letterhead when the lawyer or firm devotes substantial professional time to representing that client.…
What limits did Ethics Opinion 39 place on lawyers working with debt collection agencies?
The committee required separation of law practice from collection agencies, protection of client confidences, lawyer control of staff work, and personal review of collection documents; it barred…
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Legal ethics opinions from the State Bar Association of North Dakota interpret the rules of professional conduct for working lawyers, in response to inquiries from members and committees. Under North Dakota Rule for Lawyer Discipline 1.2(B), a lawyer who acts in good faith and in reasonable reliance on a written opinion of the association's ethics committee is not subject to sanction for the conduct the opinion addresses. Source. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the original source on the bar's site.