May a part-time Commonwealth's Attorney in a small county also serve as counsel for the county's Public Service Authority and Industrial Development Authority?
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This page answers the general question as of 1981. Ask about yours and see what the current Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct say for your facts, with citations.
Plain-English summary
The committee considered whether an attorney serving as Commonwealth's Attorney of a county having a population of less than 15,000 could also serve as counsel for the county's Public Service Authority and the county's Industrial Development Authority. It concluded that doing so is not ethically improper, citing Va. Code § 15.1-8.1 (1950) and Canons 4 and 5 of the former Virginia Code of Professional Responsibility.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1981, under Virginia's former Code of Professional Responsibility, before the Virginia State Bar's adoption of the Rules of Professional Conduct effective January 1, 2000. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis, and the cited statute may have been recodified. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement mentioned here.
Common questions
Q: Could a part-time Commonwealth's Attorney hold other county legal positions?
A: Under this 1981 opinion, yes, on the stated facts: serving the county's Public Service Authority and Industrial Development Authority was not ethically improper for the Commonwealth's Attorney of a county under 15,000 inhabitants.
Q: What authorities did the committee rely on?
A: It cited Va. Code § 15.1-8.1 (1950) and Canons 4 and 5 of the former Code of Professional Responsibility.
Background and rules framework
The opinion applied the former Code's Canon 4 (preserving confidences) and Canon 5 (exercising independent professional judgment) together with the cited statute governing the office to a part-time prosecutor's additional county roles. The conflict-of-interest analysis corresponds in current terms to ABA Model Rule 1.7 on concurrent conflicts of interest.
Citations and references
Rules of Professional Conduct:
- Canon 4 (former Code)
- Canon 5 (former Code)
- ABA Model Rule 1.7 (conflicts of interest)
Statutes:
- Va. Code § 15.1-8.1 (1950)
See also
- VA LEO 1058: Commonwealth's Attorney Conflict From a Former Firm Colleague
- VA LEO 1012: Former Commonwealth's Attorney's Partner in a Civil Suit
- VA LEO 487: Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney as Witness; Office as a Firm
Source
- Landing page: https://vsb.org/Site/about/rules-regulations/leo-opinions.aspx
- Original PDF: https://www.vsb.org/common/Uploaded%20files/LEOs/0398.pdf
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
LEGAL ETHICS OPINION 398
COMMONWEALTH’S ATTORNEY – PERMISSIBLE PRIVATE PRACTICE.
It is not ethically improper for an attorney, who serves as Commonwealth's Attorney of a county having a population of less than 15,000 inhabitants, to also serve as counsel for the county's Public Service Authority and the county's Industrial Development Authority. [See § 15.1-8.1, Va. Code (1950); Canon 4 and Canon 5 of the Virginia Code of Professional Responsibility.]
Committee Opinion
January 20, 1981
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