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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Can one firm represent the estates of both the pilot and the passenger killed in the same plane crash when the defendant will likely join the pilot's estate?
The opinion concluded that a firm may represent both estates if it obtains informed consent from both and reasonably judges that neither representation will be adversely affected, but it must keep eva…
Can a lawyer take a medical malpractice case against a hospital when two hospital agents in the case are the lawyer's former and current clients from unrelated divorce matters?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer may proceed as to the former client, whose unrelated child-custody matter ended years earlier and was not substantially related, but should not undertake the malp…
Is a law firm's newspaper ad about workers' comp deadlines improper if it overstates the law, and does broad distribution count as solicitation?
The opinion concluded the ad was misleading under Rule 7.1 because it omitted that the injuries remained compensable under the Occupational Disease Act and implied unjustified results, but its wide ge…
Can a former judge note that former judicial title under a signature on letters, and does it matter whether the matter relates to law practice?
The opinion concluded that a former justice or judge may indicate the former judicial position under a signature on letters to attorneys and others about matters unrelated to the practice of law, but …
Can a bank charge borrowers for its in-house counsel's loan-closing work and pay that lawyer a bonus based on those charges?
The opinion concluded that a bank may require borrowers to reimburse the bank's actual cost of in-house counsel's loan-closing services and may pay that lawyer a bonus on those charges, but only if th…
Can a law firm invite local judges to a firm golf outing and pay their expenses along with clients and prospective clients?
The opinion concluded no; a firm may not bear the expense of judges attending a firm outing, because it both creates an appearance of impropriety and amounts to giving a judge something of value barre…
Can a criminal defense lawyer share office space with, or rent space in the same building as, a part-time or full-time prosecutor?
The opinion concluded a defense lawyer may not share office space with a full or part-time prosecutor; sharing with a special-function part-time prosecutor is allowed if the sharers avoid cases advers…
Can a criminal defense lawyer argue on appeal that his own representation amounted to ineffective assistance of counsel?
Qualified no. The opinion concluded the lawyer should ordinarily inform the client and move to withdraw rather than argue his own ineffectiveness, given the conflict with his reputation and the lawyer…
Can a lawyer have ex parte contact with an administrative law judge about scheduling or other procedural matters?
The opinion concluded that ex parte communication between a lawyer and a judge, including an administrative law judge, is prohibited by ER 3.5(b) unless permitted by law, and that no Arizona law permi…
Can a contingent fee be computed on costs, attorney fees, and interest recovered, not just damages?
The opinion concluded that how a contingent fee base is computed is a question of contract interpretation, which is a question of law outside the committee's jurisdiction. It declined to opine, but no…
Can one firm represent opposing clients on the same legal issue in two separate appeals before the same court?
The opinion concluded that two lawyers from one firm taking opposite positions on the same legal issue in separate Ninth Circuit appeals fell within ER 1.7, but that the conflict could be cured here b…
Can an Arizona lawyer cite an unpublished memorandum decision to a trial court for its persuasive value?
The opinion concluded that citing an Arizona appellate memorandum decision (except for res judicata, collateral estoppel, or law of the case) is unethical because court rules bar treating it as preced…
Can a lawyer charge a contingent fee in a divorce based on obtaining the decree or the property division?
The opinion concluded that the proposed contingent fee, payable only on a decree of dissolution and measured by the value of the client's share of marital property, is unethical under ER 1.5(d)(1), wh…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, what disqualifications applied when a common pleas judge sought to appoint as full-time domestic relations referee a former Bureau of Support prosecutor whose lawyer husband appeared locally?
The Board concluded that the common pleas judge should disqualify under Canon 3C(1) when the referee's husband or members of his firm appeared if impartiality might reasonably be questioned; the refer…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could a part-time juvenile court referee continue to serve as the President of, and run for re-election to, his local Board of Education, and was he required to file an annual financial disclosure statement?
The Board concluded that a part-time juvenile court referee could serve on a local Board of Education under Canon 5B(1) and (2) provided the activity did not reflect adversely on impartiality or inter…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could a judicial candidate (including an incumbent) promise to refuse plea bargaining in DWI cases or announce a specific sentencing policy for a category of criminal cases?
The Board concluded that under former Canon 7B(1)(c), a judicial candidate could not promise to handle a category of criminal offenses in a specific way if elected, nor announce a specific sentencing …
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could the spouse of a common pleas judge serve as a prosecuting attorney in the same county, and was the judge required to disqualify from all cases prosecuted by that office?
The Board concluded that the judge's spouse could not appear as counsel in the judge's courtroom (Canon 3C(1)(d)(ii)) but could appear before other judges in the county; the disqualification of one pr…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, was an incumbent judge automatically disqualified from hearing cases in which an election opponent, or members of the opponent's law firm, represented one of the parties?
The Board concluded that the incumbent judge was not automatically disqualified; under former Canon 3C(1) the judge should disqualify himself only when his impartiality might reasonably be questioned,…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could a son who was a law partner of a part-time municipal court judge serve as city law director and prosecute all city matters in his father's court?
The Board concluded that a conflict of interest existed both because of the father-son relationship and because the two men were law partners; under former Compliance Section A(2) a part-time judge's …
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could a part-time domestic relations referee in a common pleas court practice law in the general, probate, and juvenile divisions of the same common pleas court?
The Board concluded that referees were considered judges under the former Code Compliance Section because they performed judicial functions, and as part-time judges under Compliance Section A(2) they …
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could a common pleas judge serve on a county hazardous-materials task force whose purpose was to make recommendations on the county's ability to respond to hazardous materials incidents and spills?
The Board concluded that membership on the county Hazardous Materials Task Force would violate Canon 5G of the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, because Canon 5G prohibited a judge from accepting …
Can a Mississippi lawyer drafting a will let the existing client name the lawyer in the will as attorney for the client's estate?
The opinion concluded yes; where an existing client asks the lawyer to perform the additional service, no conflict of interest, solicitation, or attorney-client problem arises.
Can a lawyer take an ongoing referral fee from an investment advisor for steering a client's funds there?
The Committee concluded that the conflict in a lawyer taking an ongoing fee from an investment advisor who manages a client's funds is not waivable, because the lawyer cannot keep acting as the client…
Can a lawyer cut his fee in half if the client donates the savings to the lawyer's church?
No. The Committee concluded that offering to waive half a fee on the condition the client donates the savings to a church is impermissible fee-splitting with a nonlawyer under SCR 188, even though the…
Can a lawyer charge a reduced hourly rate plus a contingent bonus, and split the bonus with out-of-state counsel?
The Committee concluded a combined fixed/contingent fee (a reduced hourly rate plus a success bonus and a share of punitive damages) does not violate the rules so long as the total fee is not unreason…
Can an attorney pay for a follow-up letter from a client's physician if the client stays responsible for the cost?
The committee concluded it was not improper for an attorney to pay for a physician's follow-up letter on a client's behalf so long as the client remained ultimately responsible for the cost, and it de…
Can two unrelated law firms list each other as "of counsel" on their letterheads and pay a 10 percent origination fee on referred work without telling the client?
The committee concluded that it was improper for each firm to list the other as "of counsel" on its letterhead and improper to permit a 10 percent origination fee, and it retracted an earlier opinion …
Does the reporting-immunity for lawyer-assistance committee members extend to volunteer participants, and to similar programs run by other Tennessee bar associations?
Vacated. As originally issued, the opinion expanded Formal Ethics Opinion 83-F-48's reporting immunity beyond officially elected Nashville Bar Association Alcohol and Drug Abuse Committee members to a…
Could a law firm avoid disqualification by screening a paralegal who had performed substantive work on pending matters for the opposing party's former counsel?
Vacated; overruled in part by Opinion 89-F-118. As originally issued, the opinion concluded that screening and isolation procedures could not avoid an attorney's ethical disqualification when the atto…
After Tennessee courts rejected blanket per se rules for government-lawyer conflicts, how does the Board decide whether a governmental attorney or public official, or a law partner, has a disqualifying conflict?
The opinion vacated and set aside Formal Ethics Opinion 86-F-107's sweeping per se prohibitions on governmental attorneys, public officials, and their associates representing other clients, following …
Can an incumbent judge use campaign materials that show the judge wearing judicial robes?
The opinion concluded that an incumbent judge who is lawfully entitled to wear judicial robes may use campaign materials depicting the judge in robes, whether or not the judge customarily wears them, …
Can a bar association pay the expenses of sitting judges who attend its luncheons and annual dinner as invited guests?
The opinion concluded yes; a bar association may bear the cost of having judges attend its functions as guests, because open exchanges between an organized bar and the judiciary do not raise the undue…
If a non-client buys a former client's interest in the matter a lawyer once handled, can that buyer invoke the lawyer's duties to disqualify the lawyer or claim the former client's confidences?
The opinion concluded no; a lawyer's duties of confidentiality and loyalty run to the client, not to a stranger who later succeeds to the client's substantive rights, so the successor cannot disqualif…
Can a Kentucky lawyer whose office is set back from the road place a dignified nameplate on a sign or post shared with other businesses?
Yes. The opinion concluded a lawyer whose office is not visible from the main road may place a dignified nameplate on a post or display used by other businesses in the same or adjacent buildings.
Can a Kentucky firm add to its letterhead the name of a deceased relative, or a retired or disabled lawyer, who never practiced with the firm?
No. The opinion concluded that listing on a firm's letterhead a deceased relative, or a retired or disabled lawyer, who never practiced with the firm is misleading and impermissible.
Can a public defender director follow a funding agency manager's directions in representing indigent clients?
The opinion concluded that the director of a public defender agency may follow the funding body's manager only where professional judgment, client confidences, and conflicts are not implicated. Where …
Can a law firm send targeted direct-mail letters to people with known specific legal problems?
The opinion concluded that a firm may not send direct mailings targeted at individuals known to have specific legal problems, even if truthful, because such targeted contact is solicitation for pecuni…
Can an Arizona lawyer who is not board-certified put a practice 'specialty' on the firm letterhead?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer not certified by the Arizona Board of Legal Specialization may not use 'Commercial Law and Litigation Specialty' or any 'specialist'/'special' wording on letterhead…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could opposing candidates for a judicial office engage in a public debate immediately before a partisan primary election, and what restrictions applied to the format?
The Board concluded that the former Code did not specifically prohibit or allow public debates between judicial candidates, but that Canon 7B(1)(c) limited candidates to promising faithful and imparti…
What must a lawyer do if a workers' comp client plans to spend a lump-sum award differently from how it was represented to the court?
The opinion concluded the lawyer must not participate in or aid an improper expenditure or knowingly mislead the court about the intended use of the funds; under Rules 1.2(d) and 3.3, the lawyer canno…
Can a legal services nonprofit keep clients' unclaimed trust-account funds under its retainer agreement?
No. The Committee concluded a nonprofit legal services corporation cannot contract to take clients' unclaimed trust funds after three years, because that is not a reasonable fee and gives the lawyer a…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could a probate-juvenile judge serve on the board of trustees of a not-for-profit fund-raising foundation whose proceeds went to agencies that appeared in the judge's court?
The Board concluded that the judge could serve only if the membership avoided fund-raising solicitation, did not lend the judge's name or office to solicitation, and did not interfere with the judge's…
If a lawyer represents a partnership, can the lawyer sue a partner who was expelled from it?
Yes. The opinion concluded that under the entity theory of Rule 1.13, the lawyer represents the partnership as a separate legal entity, not the individual partner, so suing an expelled partner does no…
Is it unethical for defense counsel to condition a civil rights settlement on the plaintiff waiving statutory attorneys' fees?
The opinion concluded that, after the Supreme Court's decision in Evans v. Jeff D., it is not unethical per se for defense counsel to propose settlements conditioned on a waiver of statutory attorneys…
Can lawyers and an accountant co-own a corporation that markets combined legal and financial services to clients?
The opinion concluded the proposed venture would violate Rule 3.2(a)(2), because a business that holds out lawyers as providing legal services may not share proprietorship with non-lawyers, whether or…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could a retired judge eligible for recall to judicial service serve as a member or co-chairperson of a courthouse restoration committee whose function included raising one million dollars in private donations?
The Board concluded that under Compliance Section C and Canon 5B(3) of the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, a retired judge eligible for recall could not solicit funds for any charitable or civic…
Can a New York lawyer keep the interest a client's settlement check earns between the day it is deposited and the day it clears?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not retain the interest earned on a client's settlement check between the date of deposit into an escrow account and the date the check clears; that interest is…
May an incumbent New York judge be shown wearing judicial robes in campaign material for re-election or for another judicial office?
The opinion concluded that there is no restriction on an incumbent judge being shown in judicial robes in campaign material, whether or not the judge customarily wears robes; being depicted in robes i…
When the opposing party is a government agency with counsel, which of its employees can a lawyer interview without the agency lawyer's consent?
The opinion concluded that the no-contact rule applies to government-agency parties the same way it applies to corporations: a lawyer may not contact management or any employee whose act or omission m…
Can one lawyer represent several codefendants in the same lawsuit when they could point fingers at each other?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may represent multiple codefendants with a potential conflict only if the lawyer reasonably believes no client's representation will be adversely affected and each …
Can a Florida lawyer donate legal services, like a will, to be auctioned or given as a door prize by a charity?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may donate a will or other specified legal service for a charity auction or door prize, overruling earlier contrary opinions, provided the lawyer ensures the charit…
If a malpractice insurer can settle without the physician's consent, can one lawyer represent both the physician and the insurer?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may represent both only after consulting each about the policy's settlement clause and obtaining consent, may not negotiate a settlement for the insurer when the ph…
When an associate leaves a law firm, may both the associate and the firm contact shared clients about continuing representation, and how are the fees divided?
The opinion concluded that both the departing associate and the firm may seek the clients' consent to continue, and that fees earned during employment are divided per the employment agreement, but the…
Can one lawyer represent both the buyer and the seller in a real estate transaction if both consent after full disclosure?
The opinion concluded that dual representation of an arm's-length buyer and seller is generally improper even with consent, because it is rarely obvious one lawyer can adequately represent both; in th…
Can a lawyer who sits on a not-for-profit association's board also represent the association, including suing fellow members for unpaid dues?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may represent the association if he abstains from any board vote on his own employment, guards the client's confidences, and, because he is also a dues-paying member, …
Must a criminal defense lawyer withdraw if subpoenaed to testify about the client's prior conviction?
The opinion concluded that when a lawyer defending a client on a DWI-with-prior charge is properly subpoenaed by the prosecutor to prove the prior conviction, the lawyer must ordinarily seek to withdr…
Must a government agency lawyer who also represents a discrimination complainant disclose information adverse to the complainant that the complainant confided?
The opinion concluded that when the agency lawyer also represents the complainant, the lawyer need not disclose the adverse confidence to the employer so long as no misrepresentation is made to the tr…
Can a real estate closing lawyer file IRS Form 1099 disclosing the parties' sale price and tax IDs without violating client confidentiality, and must clients be told?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer may disclose the Form 1099 information because tax law requires it, so client consent is not needed, but the lawyer should inform the clients and other affected p…
Can one lawyer represent an estate administratrix in both her official fiduciary capacity and her individual capacity when creditors sue her in both roles?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer may not represent the administratrix in both her official and individual capacities where her personal interests may be adverse to the estate, including the minor…
Can a lawyer send an initial demand letter to an adverse party without naming the client when revealing the client's identity could expose the client to retaliation?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer may send a demand letter for an undisclosed client, because nothing in the rules bars negotiating for an undisclosed principal and the client's identity is confid…
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.