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 a lawyer advertise a specific contingent fee rate, like '25% contingency fees for personal injury cases'?
The committee concluded a lawyer may advertise contingent fee rates only if the ad specifies whether the rate is computed net or gross of costs the client owes, because an unqualified rate is open…
Could a Vermont firm sue a foster agency after a partner received confidential facts when the agency sought counsel for a ward?
Opinion 94-10 required the firm to withdraw from the related claim absent the agency's consent, despite no formal representation of the agency or ward.
Can a lawyer reveal a former client's confidences to defend against the client's accusations or to collect an unpaid fee?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may, in the lawyer's discretion, reveal client confidences reasonably necessary to defend against accusations of wrongful conduct or to establish or collect a…
In 1994, could Nebraska lawyers practice through a limited liability company before the Nebraska Supreme Court specifically authorized that form?
No. The committee concluded that lawyers should wait for court authorization and that any authorized LLC would need to preserve lawyer ownership and control and personal malpractice liability.
Does a lawyer have to tell clients about frequent-flyer miles earned on travel that the clients pay for as litigation expenses?
The committee concluded that a lawyer must disclose a personal benefit accrued at no extra cost from client-billed expenses if the client could claim the benefit or if the benefit is large enough to…
Could a judge serve on a club committee seeking government bond or tax revenue for a new building?
The Committee said the judge could not serve on the described fundraising committee, as chair or member, and noted that the governments approached were likely litigants in his court.
When a firm lawyer can no longer do legal work, what must the firm do for that lawyer's clients before reassigning their matters?
The committee concluded that, even with a contract engaging the firm rather than a particular lawyer, the firm must inform the affected clients of the lawyer's condition and how their work will be…
When did Arizona Opinion 94-09 require reporting another lawyer's allegedly excessive estate fee?
Opinion 94-09 required actual knowledge of an ER 1.5 violation, a substantial question about the lawyer's honesty or fitness, and a way to report without breaching ER 1.6. The committee did not…
Could a Vermont firm require an attorney to sign a broad agreement barring future use of firm-designated information?
Opinion 94-09 rejected the broad agreement because it reached a departing lawyer's memory and experience, while allowing narrowly drawn protection of genuine firm materials.
Can a lawyer who used to be the judge on a case advise the lawyers still litigating it, and does that disqualify their firm?
The opinion concluded that a former judge may not participate, even informally and without compensation, in a matter in which he was personally and substantially involved as a judge, and that a firm…
Can one attorney represent the buyer, seller, and lender together at a real estate closing?
The committee concluded an attorney may represent all three parties to a real estate closing if the role is purely ministerial, with no negotiation, no problem jeopardizing the closing, no party…
Could an Arizona lawyer for a county commission accept a county-funded contract requiring county approval for work beyond filing an answer?
Opinion 94-08 said the lawyer could not sign because the county, which paid but was not the client, would control professional judgment for the commission. The committee declined to decide whether…
Could a Vermont lawyer act only for a mortgage lender at a closing without also representing the borrower?
Opinion 94-08 allowed a lender-paid lawyer to handle the lender's closing work if the lawyer did not directly or indirectly represent the borrower. The borrower had to understand the lender-only…
Can a lawyer pay a nonlawyer tax representative marketing or consulting fees for referring property-tax assessment cases?
The opinion concluded that it is professionally improper for a lawyer to participate in an arrangement where a nonlawyer engages in the unauthorized practice of law and the lawyer obtains referrals…
Can a defense lawyer contact an unrepresented accident victim to offer restitution and forestall criminal charges against the client?
The committee concluded the lawyer may communicate with the victim, who is unrepresented because a state prosecutor does not represent a crime victim, subject to Rule 4.3's limits: disclosing his…
Did Arizona Opinion 94-07 require a prosecutor to disclose a witness's death or destroyed evidence before a plea response?
Opinion 94-07 required prompt correction of witness and tangible-evidence disclosures when an arresting officer died or listed drugs had been destroyed, including before a plea response. It also…
Could a tenant's lawyer pursue wages and a home to collect a judgment from former landlords?
Opinion 94-07 said counsel had to pursue reasonably available collection methods if the client directed it and the objective was collecting the judgment rather than solely harassing or injuring the…
If a judge asks a lawyer ex parte to draft the order or judgment, can the lawyer do it without telling opposing counsel?
The opinion concluded that it is improper for a lawyer to engage in or respond to an ex parte request from a judge to draft an order or judgment without giving prompt notice to opposing counsel;…
May a retired judge participate in a nephew’s judicial campaign while receiving judicial retirement pay?
The Committee said a retired judge outside judicial service was not covered by the Code’s judicial-service categories and could take part in the campaign on the same terms as another attorney.
Was a former insurance company in-house lawyer barred from later representing a claimant against that insurer in Arizona Opinion 94-06?
Opinion 94-06 rejected a blanket conflict based on the same general type of insurance work or unchanged business practices. It allowed the new adverse matter if no substantial factual relationship…
Could a Vermont lawyer call a property owner to seek legal work after seeing the owner's for-sale advertisement?
Opinion 94-06 says the sale advertisement was not an initial request for legal services, so former DR 2-104 barred the lawyer's proposed solicitation call while allowing contact by letter.
Can a lawyer charge a client interest on litigation costs the lawyer advanced on the client's behalf?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may charge a client interest on advanced litigation expenses, provided the agreement is in writing before any interest accrues and the rate and amount of…
Can a law firm hire a sitting probate judge to practice law part-time outside of court hours?
The committee concluded a law firm may not hire a sitting probate judge as a part-time lawyer, because current law and Canon 4(F) of the Code of Judicial Conduct treat the probate judgeship as…
Could an Arizona lawyer put mandatory arbitration of future malpractice claims in a retainer agreement under Opinion 94-05?
Opinion 94-05 permitted the clause if it was fair and reasonable, its advantages and disadvantages including jury-trial waiver were explained in understandable writing, the client had a reasonable…
May a Vermont lawyer have a client's workers' compensation benefit draft mailed to the law office?
Opinion 94-05 permits a lump-sum benefit draft payable solely to the client to be mailed to the lawyer with the client's consent, but says the lawyer should not insist on receiving current weekly…
Can a lawyer advise a personal-injury client about, and help carry out, a company's purchase or assignment of part of the client's expected recovery?
The committee concluded that, assuming the financing is legal under South Carolina law, a lawyer may advise a client about it with candid disclosure of advantages and disadvantages under Rule 2.1,…
Could an Arizona lawyer participate in the for-profit referral program described in Opinion 94-04?
Opinion 94-04 found the described program apparently permissible because its profit came from subscriber charges rather than legal services and members selected their own lawyers. The conclusion…
Could counsel charge a contingent fee on current temporary total disability benefits?
Opinion 94-04 permitted a contingent fee calculated on current or overdue benefits if reasonable and not excessive. It distinguished that calculation from ongoing deduction of fees from each benefit…
Can a law firm team up with a health-care organization to market and run seminars on advance directives and then prepare them?
The opinion concluded that a firm may run advance-directive seminars with a health-care organization so long as the firm performs all legal services, any payment to the organization is limited to…
Could insurer-paid defense counsel file a motion that helped the insured now but might let the insurer deny coverage in later cases?
Opinion 94-03 treated the insured, not the paying insurer, as counsel's client. It allowed the proposed summary-judgment motion only after full consultation about the insurer's possible future use…
May a Vermont defense lawyer interview a represented, unindicted co-conspirator witness without that person's lawyer's consent?
Opinion 94-03 requires the witness's lawyer's consent because the witness is represented in a closely related appeal arising from the same alleged conspiracy.
Can a law firm that represents a municipality entertain the city's officials at parties or sporting events?
The opinion concluded that a firm may entertain officials of a client municipality at events such as holiday parties or picnics as ordinary social hospitality, and that individual sporting-event…
Can a part-time city judge, or a member of the judge's firm, also serve as part-time city attorney if that attorney does not prosecute in city court?
The committee concluded a part-time city judge may not also serve as part-time city attorney, because the appearance of impropriety and overlapping duties bar it, and that imputed disqualification…
Which terms in a proposed Arizona personal injury retainer did Opinion 94-02 reject?
Opinion 94-02 rejected limits on the client's right to discharge counsel, unilateral case abandonment, overbroad settlement authority, an incomplete contingent-fee calculation, and withholding the…
Could a Vermont town zoning lawyer defend alleged zoning violators in other towns?
Opinion 94-02 permitted that work on the stated assumption that the lawyer took no conflicting positions on identical legal issues; matters in other municipalities were not substantially related to…
Can a partner of a municipality's attorney represent both the attorney and the municipality as co-defendants in the same lawsuit?
The committee concluded that co-defendants may be represented together, but only if the lawyer reasonably believes neither client's representation will be adversely affected and both consent after…
Can a West Virginia lawyer refer a former client's overdue legal-fee account to a collection agency?
Yes. The opinion overruled the bar's earlier ban and held a lawyer may refer an overdue account to a collection agency, but only under eight guidelines, including exhausting other collection…
Could an Arizona lawyer with only limited judge pro tem service advertise that title without explaining the extent of service?
Opinion 94-01 said the bare statement could mislead depending on how much pro tem service the lawyer actually performed. With minimal service, clarification such as the service year or number of…
Could a Vermont lawyer prepare estate documents for customers of a financial-planning company that gathered information and paid the lawyer?
Opinion 94-01 concluded the arrangement may facilitate unauthorized practice and might involve impermissible fee sharing or third-party payment that affects independent judgment.
Can a lawyer prepare real estate closing documents but leave it to the broker to explain them and resolve legal questions at closing?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who limits the representation to drafting closing documents and leaves the explanation of those documents and resolution of legal questions to the real estate…
What did Orange County's 1994 opinion say about a prosecutor withholding known facts at an administrative hearing?
The opinion says a public prosecutor's duty to pursue and present truth transcends client loyalty and confirms that California may discipline prosecutors for professional misconduct.
Could a supervised paralegal visit estate-planning clients and discuss attorney-written living trust packages?
On its limited facts, the opinion says a paralegal's client visits and trained answers did not constitute unauthorized practice where the lawyer supervised the work, wrote the trusts, and maintained…
May a lawyer socialize with a judge before whom the lawyer has a pending case?
The opinion permits social contact if the lawyer does not discuss the pending case or give a prohibited gift, and the judge's conduct does not impair impartiality or its public appearance.
Does a lawyer have to report another lawyer to disciplinary authorities for working a case despite a conflict of interest?
The opinion concluded that a conflict of interest does not normally rise to the level of misconduct that must be reported under Rules 8.3(a) and 8.4(a)(3)-(4); because the supervising lawyer's stock…
Can a lawyer tell the other side that a win will be highly publicized but a settlement with a confidentiality agreement will keep it quiet?
The opinion concluded that proposing a settlement and confidentiality agreement as an alternative to projected media publicity if a judgment is obtained is not per se professionally improper, and…
Can a lawyer represent new clients in the same matter as a former client when the new clients' interests line up with the former client's?
The opinion concluded that representing a client in the same or a related matter as a former client is not improper under Rule 1.9 unless the clients' interests are materially adverse; where the…
Can a lawyer take attorney's fees out of escrowed funds the lawyer is holding for a client without the client's consent?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer must keep client and third-party funds in a separate trust account and may withdraw fees from them only after notice to and written consent from the client; when…
Does a lawyer have to report a client's past tax-law violations the lawyer learned about while representing the client?
The opinion concluded that where the lawyer's knowledge of a client's past tax violations is privileged or a 'secret' under Rule 1.6, the lawyer may not voluntarily disclose it to tax authorities or…
Is it unauthorized practice for a nonlawyer to represent an employer at an Illinois unemployment-benefits hearing, and do lawyers in the same hearing aid it?
The opinion concluded that an employer's use of nonlawyers to prepare and present evidence and examine witnesses at unemployment hearings is the unauthorized practice of law, but that a lawyer who…
Can a lawyer write directly to an insured opposing party who is dealing through an insurance adjuster but has no lawyer yet?
The opinion concluded that because the insured was not yet represented by counsel, Rule 4.2 did not bar the contact, and a lawyer may communicate with an unrepresented party so long as the lawyer…
Can a law firm require a lawyer to sign a promissory note that becomes payable only if the lawyer competes with the firm after leaving?
The opinion concluded that an employment agreement requiring a lawyer to sign a promissory note payable only if the lawyer competes with the firm after leaving is an improper restriction on the…
Can a prosecutor contact a judge ex parte to get an emergency stay of a bail-reduction order?
The opinion concluded that a state's attorney's ex parte communication with a judge to obtain an emergency stay of a bail reduction went to the merits and violated Rule 3.5(i) unless the bail…
Can an Illinois lawyer take a case where a non-lawyer business pays the fee and steers the client to the lawyer?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may be retained and paid by a third party so long as the third party is authorized to retain the lawyer, does not direct the lawyer's judgment, and the lawyer does not…
Can a lawyer pitch a county board in person to abolish the public defender and hire the lawyer's firm instead?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer's in-person pitch to a county board member to win a public-defense contract is improper solicitation under Rule 7.3, because in-person solicitation for pecuniary…
Can one lawyer represent both the driver and a passenger of the same car in a crash case where fault is disputed?
The opinion concluded that representing both the driver and passenger of one vehicle in a contested-liability collision is a classic conflict of interest that an attorney should generally not…
Can a State's Attorney keep a shared building investment with former partners who will appear against the office in criminal cases?
The opinion concluded a State's Attorney may keep a beneficial interest in a land trust that leases office space to former partners who become courtroom adversaries, provided each lawyer discloses…
Can a lawyer try the case if the lawyer will also testify about a conversation with the opposing party?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who knew well before filing suit that he would testify about his own conversation with the opposing party is likely disqualified as advocate under Rule 3.7,…
Can a real estate lawyer also act as a title insurance agent and keep the title insurance commissions?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may provide legal services and also conduct title insurance business as an agent, and that Rules 1.5 and 5.4 do not govern the title insurance payments themselves, but…
A lawyer represents both a corporation and one of its officers; the officer admits perjury in a pending arbitration. Must the lawyer reveal it, and can the dual representation continue?
The opinion concluded the lawyer must urge the officer to rectify the perjury but, because the admission is a protected client secret, may not reveal it to the tribunal; the lawyer may withdraw, and…
Can a district attorney prosecute a case where the defendant is represented by the DA's spouse, sibling, or a former campaign adviser?
The opinion concluded that a DA may not prosecute a case in which the defendant is represented by the DA's spouse or sibling (or their firm); whether a former unofficial adviser triggers…
How these opinions are useful
- Understand the rules: Ethics opinions interpret how the rules of professional conduct apply to real fact patterns.
- Weight varies by state: Most bar opinions are advisory, not binding like court discipline decisions, though formal opinions carry substantial weight. Some states go further: Georgia and Virginia opinions approved by the state supreme court bind lawyers there, New Jersey's bind the ethics committees that decide grievances, Rhode Island and Alabama protect the lawyer who asked for an opinion and followed it, and Utah and North Dakota protect lawyers who rely on one. Each opinion page says how much weight its opinion carries.
- 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.