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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Must a lawyer who holds public office disclose client names under financial-disclosure laws, and is a client's identity privileged?
The opinion concluded a lawyer who holds or seeks public office may disclose client identities required by disclosure law without client consent, unless disclosure is likely to embarrass or harm the c…
Does a lawyer who serves as a child's guardian ad litem owe the normal duty of confidentiality, or may the lawyer disclose what the child says in confidence to the court?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer serving as a child's guardian ad litem is not bound by the normal duty of confidentiality, but must act in the child's best interest and the purpose of the appointm…
When an insurer hires a lawyer to defend its insured, who is the client, and what can the lawyer do about coverage disputes and multiple insureds?
The opinion concluded the insured, not the insurer, is the lawyer's client even though the insurer pays; the lawyer may represent multiple insureds only if it is obvious he can adequately represent ea…
Can a lawyer who collects a debt referred by a collection agency pay the agency a share of what is collected?
The opinion concluded that paying the collection agency its own client-authorized commission, separate from the lawyer's legal fee, is not prohibited fee sharing with a non-lawyer; what the rules forb…
Can a lawyer represent a corporation in litigation when the lawyer's partner is an officer of that corporation who will testify?
The committee concluded that where two lawyers are principals of a professional corporation and one is the managing director, officer, and shareholder of a client corporation who will testify in a con…
Can an Arizona attorney and an out-of-state attorney run a joint newspaper advertisement seeking clients (here, Dalkon Shield users)?
The opinion concluded that joint advertising by an in-state and an out-of-state attorney is permissible as long as the advertising is not false or misleading. ER 7.1 and ER 7.2 permit newspaper advert…
Can a lawyer cooperate with a for-profit company that runs group TV and radio ads and refers responding clients to attorneys by zip code?
The opinion concluded that, unless the corporation is not-for-profit and bar-association approved, it is improper for a lawyer to cooperate with a company that provides group advertising and refers po…
Can a criminal defense attorney who negotiates the contract for a county probation officers' association keep practicing criminal law in that county's courts?
No. While he represents the probation officers' association, the attorney may not appear in the criminal courts of that county, because the dual role would erode public confidence that justice is admi…
If a client becomes mentally ill during her divorce case, must the lawyer withdraw, and can the lawyer seek a guardian over the client's objection?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer is not required to withdraw and instead has a duty to safeguard the client's interests, and may seek appointment of a guardian, even over the client's objection i…
Can a lawyer who is also a CPA run a law practice and an accounting practice from the same office, sharing a receptionist, clerical worker, and reception area?
The opinion concluded yes; after the 1984 repeal of the Code provision that forced physical separation of dual practices, a lawyer-CPA may practice both from one office and share staff, subject to the…
Can a firm run a separate practice area under a different name, or set up an owned-and-controlled satellite firm, without disclosing that its lawyers belong to the original firm?
The opinion concluded no; lawyers in a firm may not hold themselves out as practicing independently or under a non-existent firm name, because that misleads the public about who they are dealing with.
Can a lawyer sponsor a sports team and have the sponsorship, including the lawyer's name and firm, publicized in connection with the team?
The opinion concluded yes; an attorney may sponsor an athletic team and publicize that sponsorship, including the firm name, as a permitted form of lawyer advertising, modifying an earlier opinion tha…
Can a law firm contract to advise and supervise a company that supplies non-lawyer agents to represent clients before a state agency?
The opinion concluded that the law firm could not enter the proposed arrangement. Although Arizona statutes let non-lawyer agents appear before the Department of Economic Security under attorney super…
When an insurer hires an attorney to defend an insured, can that attorney also represent the insurer's interests once a coverage dispute arises over tendering policy limits into court?
The opinion held that the insured, not the insurer, is the attorney's client, so the attorney may not represent or advise either the insured or the insurer once a conflict arises between them over cov…
Can defense counsel in a Colorado personal injury or malpractice case talk ex parte with the plaintiff's treating physician once the plaintiff has put a medical condition in issue?
The opinion concluded that although a plaintiff who pleads a physical or mental condition impliedly waives the physician-patient or psychologist-client privilege for that condition, defense counsel ma…
After a verdict, can a Colorado trial lawyer tell the jurors about evidence that was suppressed or never admitted at trial?
The opinion concluded that after a verdict it is improper for a lawyer who participated in the trial to tell the jury about information not presented at trial if it is disclosed to criticize the jury'…
If one partner in a firm represents a client in a divorce, can another partner in the same firm sue that client in an unrelated matter?
No. The opinion concluded that loyalty under Rule 1.7 bars any lawyer in the firm from suing a person another firm lawyer currently represents, even in a completely unrelated matter, absent the client…
Can a lawyer use a medical-legal consulting firm that charges the client a contingent fee and supplies expert witnesses?
Only with care. The opinion concluded a contingent-fee consulting contract can violate the rules if it amounts to fee splitting with a nonlawyer, if expert witnesses are in effect paid contingent on t…
May a lawyer who serves as a part-time judge of a court not of record represent criminal defendants in other courts?
Yes. The committee concluded that a lawyer serving as a part-time municipal judge of a court not of record may act as defense counsel in criminal cases filed in other courts, subject to the Code of Ju…
Can a Tennessee law firm lease non-lawyer office staff, such as secretaries or bookkeepers, from a third-party staffing employer instead of hiring them directly?
The opinion held there is no impropriety in a law firm leasing non-lawyer staff personnel from a third-party lessor/employer, provided the firm exercises reasonable care to prevent the leased personne…
Can an attorney holding real estate closing funds park them in a money-market or government securities fund like a Merrill Lynch Government Fund?
No. Funds held pending a real estate closing may be deposited only in a New Jersey financial institution (a bank, savings and loan association, credit union, or savings bank); a government securities …
At what point does an attorney-client relationship form for purposes of the ethics rules, even without a signed fee agreement?
The opinion concluded that an attorney-client relationship can exist for ethical purposes even without a contract; on these facts it arose when the prospective client supplied the documents the lawyer…
If a criminal client gives a lawyer physical evidence of the crime, may the lawyer take and keep it, or must it be turned over to the prosecution?
The opinion concluded the Commission could not definitively answer, because the duty turns on the Maine Criminal Code, which the Commission lacks authority to interpret; it laid out the competing argu…
What confidentiality and conflict duties arise when a pro bono referral project's lay staff and volunteer lawyers screen and refer clients?
The opinion concluded the referral project itself is not a client or an attorney, but its lay staff handle client confidences a supervising lawyer must protect; the screening 'lawyer of the day' forms…
In a criminal case, may defense counsel raise an insanity defense without the client's consent, or over the client's objection?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may not enter a not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity plea without the client's consent. Once the court finds the client competent to stand trial, the decision to assert th…
When a paralegal leaves one firm and joins the opposing firm in pending cases, is the hiring firm disqualified by a conflict of interest?
A paralegal's prior work is not automatically imputed to the hiring firm, but the former firm may make a series of confidentiality requests, and because of the appearance of impropriety the hiring fir…
Can a lawyer who chairs the board of a counseling agency represent one spouse in a divorce after the couple was counseled at that agency and referred to him?
No. Because the lawyer-board member had access to the couple's confidential counseling file and financial information, representing one spouse against the other would let him do indirectly what he cou…
Can a lawyer take a disputed fee out of funds received for a client from a third party when the client does not agree?
No. The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not withdraw a disputed fee from client funds; the disputed portion must stay in trust until the dispute is resolved, though the lawyer is not required to r…
Can a lawyer threaten criminal charges to gain leverage in a civil debt collection?
The committee concluded it is unethical for a lawyer to threaten criminal charges solely to gain an advantage in a civil matter, including alluding to possible prosecution in a debt-collection letter …
Can an Alaska lawyer let clients pay legal fees by credit card and charge interest on overdue accounts, and can charges be made automatically under a retainer agreement signed in advance?
The opinion concluded that clients may pay fees and costs by credit card and that interest may be charged on delinquent accounts, both with advance disclosure to the client, but a card could be charge…
Can a law firm continue as trial counsel when it must call a former associate of the firm as a witness for the client?
The opinion concluded that the firm may continue as trial counsel even though it will call a former associate as a witness; the advocate-witness bar of DR 5-101(B) disqualifies a lawyer who will testi…
May a lawyer make ex parte contact with an expert witness or consultant retained by opposing counsel?
The opinion vacated Ethics Opinion 84-8 and concluded that ex parte contacts should not be made with expert witnesses retained by opposing counsel; discovery from experts to whom Alaska Civil Rule 26(…
Do the political-activity restrictions of Canon 7 of the Code of Judicial Conduct apply to a lawyer who is a candidate for judicial appointment under a merit-selection plan?
The opinion adopted ABA Informal Opinion 85-1513 and concluded that the political-activity restrictions of Canon 7, Section A apply to a candidate for judicial office by gubernatorial appointment unde…
Can a Tennessee lawyer serve as a volunteer Peacemaker on a panel for a nonprofit Christian conciliation service without it being the unauthorized or improper practice of law?
The opinion held that the proposed Christian conciliation program does not constitute the practice of law because the volunteer lawyers on its panels give no legal advice and represent no party, so th…
Can a Tennessee lawyer direct the interest earned on a client trust account to a charity of the lawyer's own choosing?
No. The opinion held that a lawyer may not give trust-account interest to a charity the lawyer designates, but may voluntarily place client trust funds in an interest-bearing account under the amended…
Can an attorney who is an independent-contractor county counsel on specific civil matters also serve as a municipal public defender and appear in other municipal courts in the same county?
Yes. Because he is an independent contractor on specific civil cases, not part of the county's official family, and the county is not a party to his criminal or public-defender work, the Committee fou…
Can an attorney who sits as an unpaid member of a regional planning board represent residents in court challenging an ordinance of a municipality that belongs to that board?
Yes. An unpaid board member may bring a court challenge to a constituent municipality's ordinance, especially where the challenge aligns with the board's own position; he simply may not appear before …
Can a law firm that serves as bond counsel to a municipality also represent private clients before that municipality's governing body or boards?
No. A firm acting as bond counsel for a municipality may not represent private interests before that municipality's governing body or agencies; the disqualification is firm-wide under RPC 1.10(a) and,…
Can a former deputy attorney general represent a private client before a licensing board he once advised, in a disciplinary matter that began during his government service but that he never worked on?
Yes. Because the former deputy attorney general had no actual or supervisory involvement in, and no knowledge of, the investigation, only the appearance of impropriety is at issue, and that is cured b…
Can a lawyer whose firm represents the government or prosecution accept a court appointment to defend a criminal case?
Possibly. The opinion found no per se conflict, but the lawyer and firm must work through Rules 1.11, 1.7, and 1.9 case by case, with screening and notice where required; simultaneous representation o…
Can one attorney be both county counsel and a township prosecutor in that county, and can another be both a township solicitor and counsel to the county welfare board?
The Committee found no conflict in serving as both county counsel (civil) and township prosecutor (criminal), but held that the township solicitor could not also be county welfare board counsel and ha…
Can a city attorney who serves on the board of a legal services corporation defend the city against suits brought by that corporation's clients?
No. A city attorney who sits on the board of a regional legal services corporation may not defend the city in suits its clients bring against the city; the Committee concluded he should leave the boar…
Can a lawyer require the other party to sign general releases of civil claims before agreeing to a mutual dismissal of municipal-court cross-complaints?
The Committee found no ethical violation. Where a defendant facing a criminal cross-complaint conditions a mutual dismissal on an exchange of civil releases, and no party threatened or used criminal c…
Can a municipal prosecutor's law firm privately represent the same municipality's judge, or take fee-sharing referrals of the judge's negligence cases?
No. Both the municipal prosecutor's firm representing that municipality's judge in private matters and accepting fee-sharing referrals of the judge's negligence cases are improper, because the financi…
Can a lawyer arrange to pay a medical expert or consulting service a percentage of the client's recovery, and how must New Jersey counsel handle fee-sharing with pro hac vice counsel?
Counsel should not participate in a contingent-fee arrangement paying a medical consulting service or doctor a percentage of the recovery, as it contravenes the policy of maximizing the injured party'…
Can a Florida lawyer send a statutory worthless-check notice on a client's behalf without it being an improper threat of criminal prosecution?
The opinion concluded that sending the statutorily prescribed worthless-check notice on a client's behalf is not an impermissible threat of criminal prosecution, provided the notice states it is given…
Can a lawyer who served as intermediary in a private adoption reveal the natural parents' identity to the adoptive parents so they can sue to recover money paid?
The opinion concluded that, where the natural parents' identity was never disclosed and was not intended to be revealed, the attorney who acted as intermediary may not reveal it to the adoptive parent…
Can a New York lawyer who is attorney for the town's zoning and planning boards also serve as a town justice?
The opinion concluded that an attorney serving by town-board appointment as counsel to the zoning board of appeals and the planning board may not also serve as a town justice, because litigants could …
Can a lawyer charge a guaranteed reasonable fee plus a higher bonus fee contingent on successfully obtaining the client's commercial development permits?
A majority of the Commission concluded the arrangement is permissible. The 'subject matter of litigation' in the proprietary-interest rule reaches administrative permit work, and a fee that is conting…
Must a New York lawyer deposit a refundable advance fee in a client trust account, and who keeps the interest it earns?
The opinion concluded that advance payments of legal fees, refundable to the extent not earned, need not be treated as client funds or deposited in a trust account, and any interest earned may be reta…
Does filing his own affidavit in a case disqualify a lawyer from continuing to appear as counsel under the lawyer-witness rule?
The opinion concluded that merely filing his own affidavit does not by itself violate the lawyer-witness disqualification rules, because an affidavit ordinarily fills an evidentiary gap on a necessary…
Must a lawyer drop a long-time client when the opposing party joins a group that the lawyer's partner represents in a completely unrelated matter?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer need not withdraw, because the two matters are entirely unrelated and the opposing party was never the lawyer's client, so continued representation is proper afte…
Is it ethical for a settlement negotiation to include terms about the plaintiff's attorney's fees, including a defense offer conditioned on the lawyer waiving fees?
The opinion held that settlement negotiations including provisions for attorney's fees are not inherently improper and may be appropriate, provided plaintiff's counsel fully advises the client of ever…
Can a lawyer's firm represent a party in a civil case arising from a traffic matter the lawyer heard as a substitute judge?
The committee concluded a firm member other than the lawyer who heard the traffic case as a substitute judge may represent an insured defendant in the related civil suit. It was decided under Virginia…
Can the attorney for a township zoning board defend both the board and the municipality when a resident sues to challenge a variance?
Yes. Where the township and its zoning board share mutual interests in defending the suit and have no grievances against each other, one attorney may defend both; RPC 1.7 does not change that result, …
Can county counsel also represent a municipal housing authority located within that same county?
No. Because a municipal housing authority is a creature of the municipality, and an attorney may not be counsel to both a municipality and the county in which it sits, the Committee held it ethically …
Can a municipal court judge share in the criminal-case fees earned by a law partner or associate who practices in counties other than where the judge sits?
No. Although a partner or associate of a municipal court judge may practice criminal law outside the county where the judge sits, the judge may not share in the fees generated from that criminal pract…
Can a group of attorneys run lender-sponsored ads promoting that they can place loans at below-market fees with a particular lender?
No. The 'power broker' arrangement, in which a lender selects attorneys and pays for ads touting their access to below-market loan placement fees, is improper: it tends to mislead readers about the at…
Can a lawyer represent both the maker of a promissory note and the guarantors in a suit, relying on the maker's authorization without ever consulting the guarantors?
No. The conflicting interests of the note's maker and its guarantors should have been apparent from the start, and a lawyer may not represent a client based on another person's purported authorization…
Can a Tennessee law firm produce a brochure with lawyer biographies, photographs, and a firm logo for clients and prospective clients?
The opinion held there is no impropriety in producing and distributing a brochure describing the firm's practice areas, lawyer backgrounds, and photographs, including a firm logo using the firm's init…
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.