Legal Ethics Opinions
Free state and local bar legal ethics opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and source links on every page.
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I once represented a client and opined that a contract was enforceable. Its successor counsel now wants it declared void. May I help successor counsel, or the opposing party's counsel?
The panel concluded that the attorney may, but is not obligated to, voluntarily assist successor counsel on the former matters, but may not assist counsel for the other signatory, because that would c…
I have a fee-division agreement with a lawyer who was later suspended. How is that lawyer's share determined?
The panel concluded that the fees owed to the suspended attorney are determined by quantum meruit, based on the work performed before the suspension, following its earlier digest in Opinion 91-71.
Can I charge a contingent fee to collect past-due alimony and child support, and can I co-sign a loan so my client can pay my fee?
The panel concluded that a contingent fee is proper for collecting past-due alimony and past-due child support but improper when seeking to obtain increased alimony or child support (Rule 1.5(d)(1)), …
I discovered another lawyer's misconduct while representing a client. Can I report it without my client's consent?
The panel concluded that if the information is confidential and within the attorney-client privilege, then absent the client's consent the attorney is prohibited by Rule 1.6 from revealing it, even to…
Can a lawyer bill the probate work from an estate hourly while handling or referring the related wrongful-death claim on a contingent or referral-fee basis?
Yes. The opinion concluded the lawyer may bill probate hourly and either handle the wrongful-death claim on contingency, refer it for a share of the successor's fee, or handle the distribution, with t…
Can a lawyer advise a client to secretly record a conversation with an unrepresented person to capture an admission?
The committee concluded that, while the legality of secret recording is a question of law beyond its purview, advising a client to start a conversation under possibly false pretenses and secretly reco…
In a child-support enforcement case, what does a corporation counsel who represents only the state have to tell the parents and child?
The opinion concluded that a corporation counsel or district attorney providing child-support enforcement services under Wis. Stat. § 767.075(2)(a) represents only the state, with no attorney-client r…
Can a personal injury lawyer's direct-mail letter say the lawyer can suggest health-care providers to accident victims who have no treating doctor?
The opinion concluded that such advertising is misleading without a caveat. Telling accident victims by targeted direct mail that the lawyer 'can suggest various health-care providers' is misleading u…
Can a lawyer use a client's contingent-fee contract or attorney's lien as collateral for the lawyer's own personal loan?
The opinion concluded that under no circumstances may a lawyer use a contingent-fee contract with a client as security for a personal loan to the lawyer. Although SCR 20:1.8(j)(2) permits a reasonable…
Can a lawyer help a company market and prepare living trust plans sold to the public by nonlawyer salespeople?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who participates in a company's marketing of living trust products faces serious problems. Drawing on its earlier Opinion E-90-7, the committee warned of nonwaivabl…
Can one lawyer represent both an injured plaintiff and the plaintiff's subrogated health insurer in the same personal injury claim?
The opinion concluded that joint representation may be possible, but only with care, because there are clear potential conflicts. The plaintiff and the subrogated carrier share the goal of recovering …
After an insurer overpays a client because of the lawyer's earlier statement, must the lawyer disclose the overpayment or release the refunded money to the client?
The committee concluded the attorney has no duty to disclose to a third party unless disclosure is necessary to prevent the client's fraudulent act, and absent a fraud or crime the attorney must turn …
What files must a law firm turn over to a former client, and who pays the copying costs?
The committee concluded that the firm must surrender originals of client-supplied and client-paid investigatory documents (keeping copies at its own expense), while copying charges for pleadings and w…
I investigated a lawsuit as a public agency's investigator, not its lawyer. Now as an attorney elsewhere, can I represent the plaintiffs against that agency?
The panel advised that Rule 1.11(a) plainly bars the attorney from representing a private client in a matter in which the attorney participated as a public officer or employee (even as an investigator…
After an insurer overpays a client because of the lawyer's earlier statement, must the lawyer disclose the overpayment or release the refunded money to the client?
The committee concluded the attorney has no duty to disclose to a third party unless disclosure is necessary to prevent the client's fraudulent act, and absent a fraud or crime the attorney must turn …
When a client fires a lawyer, who pays to copy the file and which papers can the lawyer keep?
The committee concluded a fired lawyer must deliver the file but may first copy it, charging the client only for copying papers previously provided to the client and papers that do not belong to the c…
Can a lawyer who is suing a former client for unpaid fees take a new client whose case is adverse to that same former client?
The committee concluded the lawyer may represent the new client against the former client only if the new matter does not require using information from, or injuriously affecting, the former represent…
Can a lawyer give another state's bar copies of escrow-account checks to help investigate a different lawyer?
The committee concluded that, absent a court order, releasing copies of escrow-account checks that reveal client information to another state bar without the clients' consent would violate Rule 1.6, b…
Can a lawyer mention possible criminal charges against a non-paying contractor while negotiating a civil settlement for unpaid subcontractors?
The committee concluded that under South Carolina's Rule 4.5 lawyers may advise clients of their right to file criminal charges, and may mention possible related charges in settlement only if they can…
Can a plaintiff's lawyer contact a corporate defendant's former employees ex parte when those employees' alleged negligence is at issue?
The committee concluded that on these facts the plaintiff's lawyer may not contact the former employees ex parte, because their alleged acts and omissions would be imputed to the corporate defendant u…
Can a firm drop one client to take on a long-term client in a matter directly adverse to the dropped client?
The committee concluded that a firm could not cure a concurrent conflict by withdrawing from a current client, over that client's objection, in order to represent a long-term client directly against t…
Can a lawyer participate in a prepaid or group legal-services plan where a service organization refers clients and handles the fee?
The committee concluded an employer-paid plan where the employee initiates contact and the organization only refers (situation A) is permissible, but a plan where the organization gathers client infor…
Can a lawyer who is also a defendant, or who is a title insurance agent, represent other defendants in the same mass land-claim suit?
The committee concluded that, where the defendants' objectives appear identical, a lawyer who is also a defendant, or who serves as a title insurance agent, may represent other defendants under Rule 1…
Can a lawyer employ a convicted felon to serve process or do investigative work, and what duties apply?
The committee concluded that employing a non-attorney convicted felon for administrative work such as service of process violates no South Carolina Rule, but the lawyer must supervise the assistant un…
When a firm sues the sole shareholder of a corporation that a newly hired lawyer once represented, is that a disqualifying conflict?
The committee concluded the answer turns on whether the new lawyer's past representation of the corporation effectively made the sole shareholder a client; if a lawyer-client relationship with the ind…
When opposing counsel in the same litigation join the same firm, can that firm keep representing one of the parties?
The committee concluded the firm may continue only if the lawyer who represented the other side withdraws, both clients consent after consultation, the firm reasonably believes the continued represent…
Can a law firm bar a departing associate from advertising on television for three years as a condition of being named in the firm's commercials?
The committee concluded the proposed agreement, which would stop a departing associate from advertising on television in the area for three years, is an indirect restriction on the right to practice l…
Can different lawyers in the same public defender office each represent one of several co-defendants in a criminal case?
The committee concluded a public defender office is treated as a law firm, so although there is no per se bar, ordinarily a single lawyer should not represent more than one co-defendant, and under Rul…
Can a South Carolina firm hire a lawyer who was disbarred in another state to do legal research and paralegal work?
The committee concluded the answer is no: under South Carolina Appellate Court Rule 413, paragraph 42, a disbarred, suspended, or resigned attorney may not be employed by a South Carolina lawyer as a …
Can town counsel who represents a man as estate executor advise the selectmen on revoking that man's liquor license for unpaid taxes?
The committee concluded that representing a sole-beneficiary executor counts as representing him individually, so town counsel could not advise the selectmen on the license revocations affecting that …
Is Georgia Formal Advisory Opinion 92-2 still in effect?
No. The State Bar of Georgia has replaced Formal Advisory Opinion 92-2, and its text is not published in the online handbook. The State Bar directs anyone seeking the replaced opinion to contact the B…
How long must a South Carolina law firm keep a closed client's file, and when may it destroy the contents?
The committee concluded there is no fixed minimum retention period; to the extent the file is the client's property, Rule 1.15 calls for keeping records six years after the representation ends, but co…
Can a part-time public defender represent paying criminal defendants in private practice, whether in the same county or another county?
The committee concluded the Rules of Professional Conduct do not prohibit a part-time public defender from representing paying criminal defendants in any county, provided the cases are unrelated to th…
Can a South Carolina lawyer advise a client to secretly record a conversation, or recommend a company to supply the recording equipment?
The committee concluded that, depending on how one reads South Carolina case law (chiefly In re Warner), it may be unethical for a lawyer to instruct or equip a client to record a conversation secretl…
When can a part-time county or municipal attorney, or the attorney's firm, represent clients with interests adverse to the local government?
Modifying Opinion 91-05, the committee concluded that where the county or city attorney provided legal services to the specific part of government involved, neither the attorney nor the firm may take …
If a court-ordered attorney's fee award is reversed on appeal, must the lawyer who already received and applied it to the client's bill refund it?
The committee concluded the attorney need not repay either the opposing party or the client; once the client directed the voluntarily paid funds to satisfy her fee contract they became the attorney's …
Can a law firm agree to advance all collection costs for a lending-institution client and absorb them out of its percentage fee?
The committee concluded that paying costs out of the fee rather than being reimbursed would give the firm a prohibited financial interest in the cases; reworded so the firm advances costs and the clie…
Can a lawyer draft a client's will naming himself personal representative with power to sell the home and bill at his hourly rate, and witness the will?
The committee concluded the lawyer may draft a will naming himself personal representative, with power to sell the home and to charge his regular hourly rate, because the appointment is not a gift und…
After a client fires her lawyer, can the lawyer still collect a court-approved attorney's fee directly from the opposing party?
The committee concluded that once the client fired the lawyer, ending the attorney-client relationship, the lawyer may take no further action to enforce the fee provisions on her behalf, and because t…
Can a firm defend abuse and neglect cases brought by a social-services agency when one firm member sits on the agency's board?
The committee concluded the agency is not the firm's client merely because a member serves on its board, but it is a third person to whom Rule 1.7(b) duties run; the firm may take these appointments i…
Can an attorney pay a referral fee to the lawyer-co-executor who hired him as the attorney for the estate?
The committee concluded that the attorney could not pay a forwarding fee to the lawyer-co-executor, because the co-executor hired him as a fiduciary rather than as a referring lawyer, making it a proh…
Is Georgia Formal Advisory Opinion 92-1 still in effect?
No. The State Bar of Georgia has replaced Formal Advisory Opinion 92-1, and its text is not published in the online handbook. The State Bar directs anyone seeking the replaced opinion to contact the B…
Can a lawyer who is also a registered nurse run a litigation-consulting business, use a trade name, and advertise as a nurse-attorney?
The committee concluded the lawyer may run the consulting business while in a firm so long as conflicts are managed, but because the business involves the practice of law it is governed by the Rules; …
Can a lawyer who is personally a party (here, a stepfather) contact a represented person directly when the lawyer is not representing a client?
The committee concluded that Rule 4.2 bars a lawyer's contact with a represented person only when the lawyer is acting in the course of representing a client, so a lawyer acting purely as an intereste…
Can a lawyer own a consumer-loan company that lends to personal-injury plaintiffs, taking assignments of their recoveries, if it never lends to the lawyer's own clients?
The committee concluded that because the company would not lend to the attorney's own clients, the arrangement does not violate Rule 1.8 or Rule 7.2; the lawyer may refer clients to the lender and hon…
Can a lawyer take a contingent fee to collect a property-division award that was already set in a final divorce decree?
The committee concluded a contingent fee is appropriate here because the fee is not contingent on securing a divorce or on the amount of the property settlement, both already fixed by the decree; only…
Can a lawyer run a divorce mediation business with a nonlawyer out of the law office?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may operate a divorce mediation business with a nonlawyer and run part of it from the law office, provided the lawyer does not represent either party in the underly…
Can a lawyer use a CPA to collect tips from the public about an adverse government agency while promising the responders confidentiality?
The committee concluded that whether the promised confidentiality creates an evidentiary privilege is a substantive-law question it could not answer, but it flagged an ethical concern: the lawyer must…
Does reporting an impaired lawyer's misappropriation of client funds to a lawyer-assistance program satisfy a lawyer's duty to report misconduct under Rule 8.3(a)?
No. The opinion concluded that the Committee on Legal Ethics is the appropriate professional authority for reporting misconduct under Rule 8.3(a); reporting to the Lawyer Assistance or Lawyer Impairme…
Can a lawyer serve as both general counsel and a board member of the same corporation when shareholders perceive a conflict?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may serve as both general counsel and board member of a corporation, without violating Rule 1.7(b) or 1.8, where the lawyer fully discloses possible conflicts, the …
Can a lawyer who represents the buyer or lender at a real estate closing also act as the agent for the title insurer and keep the commission?
The committee concluded a closing lawyer may normally also serve as the title insurer's agent, but must disclose at the outset any adverse impact on the lawyer's judgment from the agency role or the c…
Can a West Virginia lawyer participate in a living-trust marketing program where a nonlawyer franchisee sells the trust, an out-of-state company prepares it, and the lawyer only supervises signing?
No. The opinion concluded that a lawyer who participates in such a living-trust marketing franchise assists a nonlawyer in the unauthorized practice of law and violates Rule 5.5(b), because the franch…
Can a lawyer send litigation correspondence directly to a city's mayor and council members when the city is represented by counsel?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer whose client is being sued by a city would violate Rule 4.2 by communicating directly with the city's represented elected officials about the litigation; the client…
Can a lawyer who represented a mother in a custody case later represent a babysitter accused of abusing the child now in the father's custody?
The committee concluded there is no prohibition on the lawyer taking the new representation, provided the babysitter's interests are not materially adverse to the former client's and the lawyer does n…
What does a lawyer hired by an insurer to defend the insured owe the insured when there is a coverage dispute under a reservation of rights?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer retained by an insurer to defend its insured owes the insured the same duties as if personally retained, including not disclosing to the insurer facts that could pr…
Does threatening to file criminal charges to win a civil settlement violate the rules, and must the lawyer who receives the threat report it?
The committee concluded that threatening to present criminal charges solely to gain an advantage in a civil matter violates Rule 4.5; whether the receiving lawyer must report it under Rule 8.3(a) is u…
Is it improper to threaten criminal prosecution to gain leverage in a civil case, and must opposing counsel report it to the disciplinary commission?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who, during civil settlement negotiations, threatens to pursue criminal prosecution to gain an advantage violates Rule 1.2(e), but that opposing counsel has no duty…
If a third party who benefits from legal work offers to pay the bill, does that make them the lawyer's client?
The opinion concluded that a third party who benefits from, and offers to pay for, legal services rendered for a client does not thereby become the lawyer's client or gain a confidential relationship;…
Can a government lawyer lead a nonprofit that lobbies the legislature for a law change the lawyer's official client opposes?
The opinion concluded that an assistant state's attorney who is president of a genealogical society may urge the legislature to amend a statute even though the county clerk his office represents oppos…
Can a lawyer who advises an insurer on coverage prosecute a subrogation claim against that insurer's policyholder for a different insurer?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who represents an insurer on coverage questions may prosecute a subrogation claim against that insurer's policyholder on behalf of a different insurer only with the…
How these opinions are useful
- Understand the rules: Ethics opinions interpret how the rules of professional conduct apply to real fact patterns.
- Persuasive authority: Not binding like court discipline decisions, but state bar formal opinions carry substantial weight.
- Working guidance: The committee shows lawyers what the rule actually requires day to day (conflicts checks, fee letters, intake screens, withdrawal mechanics).
- Practice research: Cite ethics opinions in fee agreements, engagement letters, conflict waivers, and disqualification motions.