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 an assistant county attorney privately charge a mother a fee to pursue child support when the Commonwealth is already pursuing the same support action?
No. The committee concluded an assistant county attorney may not charge a private fee for a support action when the Commonwealth, which he is statutorily bound to prosecute for, has already filed on t…
Can a Kentucky county attorney privately represent a landowner in a highway condemnation case the Commonwealth brings?
No. The committee concluded that a county attorney may not represent a landowner in a Department of Highways condemnation, because KRS 177.082 gives the county attorney a duty to file or assist in pro…
Can a Kentucky lawyer also run a real estate business alongside the practice of law?
Yes, with limitations. The committee concluded a lawyer may operate a separate real estate business if it is not the practice of law, is run consistently with the Canons, is not used to advertise or s…
Can a lawyer refuse all court appointments to defend indigents because he finds it repugnant to help acquit someone who may be guilty?
The opinion concluded that a blanket refusal to accept court appointments to defend indigents would violate the lawyer's professional obligations, but that a lawyer may make his objections known to th…
Can a former judge now practicing law use a 'Judge' nameplate on his office door or desk, or display old judicial certificates and photos?
The opinion concluded that a former judge in practice may not use a 'Judge' nameplate on his door or desk, but may display certificates, memorabilia, and a photograph from his judicial service so long…
When could a Minnesota lawyer stop work or withdraw over unpaid fees?
The opinion, since repealed, treated refusing to proceed until fees were paid as misconduct unless the client breached a fee agreement, and required reasonable notice, time to find new counsel, return…
Can a group of lawyers own a corporation that investigates the backgrounds of prospective jurors and sells the service to other lawyers?
The opinion concluded that lawyers may own a corporation that investigates prospective jurors' general backgrounds for a set fee available to members of The Florida Bar, finding no impropriety per se,…
Can a supervised legal assistant investigate and negotiate insurance claim settlements without engaging in the unauthorized practice of law?
The opinion concluded that a legal assistant who investigates claims and negotiates settlements with insurers is not engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, provided the assistant's nonlawyer sta…
May the attorney for a county vocational school board also represent a civil service council that negotiates contracts for employees of the same county?
No. The opinion concluded that the county school board attorney is part of the county's official family, so representing employees in contract negotiations with the county would invite the inference t…
May a lawyer who represents a county prosecutor in an ethics matter also defend people accused of crime in that same county?
No. The opinion concluded that counsel to a prosecutor should refrain from representing the accused in that county while he represents the prosecutor, because the close personal relationship invites a…
If a lawyer is counsel to a local police union (PBA), can the lawyer appear in criminal courts in that area on matters where no PBA member is involved?
Yes. The opinion concluded that counsel to a local PBA is not barred from appearing in magistrate's or county criminal courts in cases where no PBA member the lawyer represents is a complainant or wit…
Can two lawyers employed by one professional association form a second professional association that contracts to do legal work only for the first?
The opinion concluded that two attorneys employed by one professional association may form a second professional association of their own and contract to do legal work only for the first, provided the…
Can a lawyer discharged without cause from a contingent-fee case charge the client for work done before the discharge?
Yes. The committee concluded that a lawyer discharged without cause from a contingent-fee case, who through no fault of his own is prevented from earning the contingent fee, may make a reasonable char…
Can a Kentucky lawyer send other lawyers a notice that he concentrates in a particular branch of law?
Qualified yes. The committee concluded a lawyer may distribute to other lawyers and publish in legal journals a dignified announcement of his availability as a consultant or associate in a branch of l…
Can a Kentucky Commonwealth's attorney also privately represent public utility companies?
Yes, with limitations. The committee concluded there is no per se impropriety in a Commonwealth's attorney representing private utility clients where the Commonwealth is not involved, but he may not t…
Can a volunteer legal aid lawyer request a court-awarded fee that will be turned over to the legal aid program, and must the lawyer disclose the legal aid role?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer handling a legal aid case may request a court-awarded fee even though the fee will be turned over to the legal aid association, but on requesting it must disclose t…
In a divorce, must the plaintiff's lawyer disclose a retainer already paid when asking the court to order the defendant to pay temporary attorney fees, and refund it if the court's award covers the whole fee?
Yes. The committee concluded that a lawyer seeking court-ordered temporary attorney fees in a domestic case must disclose any retainer or fee advance already received, and if the court's award is inte…
Can a lawyer use law office letterhead to write to other lawyers asking them to donate to a charity?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer volunteering in a fund-raising campaign for a reputable, established charity may use law office letterhead to write to other lawyers in the community soliciting con…
Can a lawyer elected to the state legislature keep representing public bodies created by special acts of that legislature?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer elected to the Florida Legislature may not continue to represent public bodies created by special acts of the legislature, because doing so would create a conflict …
Under the Code of Professional Responsibility, may a lawyer who is also an accountant hold out and practice in both professions?
Yes, within limits. Adopting ABA Formal Opinion 328 and overruling its older Advisory Opinion 208, the committee concluded the Code does not bar a lawyer from also practicing another profession or bus…
May a lawyer be a 'designated attorney' under a for-profit motor club's plan giving members a prepaid telephone consultation on traffic problems?
No. The committee concluded that serving as a 'designated attorney' under a for-profit motor club's prepaid-legal-services plan violates DR 2-103(D), because the club is a for-profit organization that…
May a brochure advertising a small-claims seminar led by an attorney include the lawyer's photo and a short background sketch?
Yes. The committee concluded that a limited-circulation brochure advertising a seminar on a specific legal topic, containing only a brief non-laudatory background sketch and photo of the attorney lead…
Can a lawyer let a client send debt-collection letters on the lawyer's letterhead, where a nonlawyer the lawyer hired prepares the letters and the client mails and handles the replies?
No. The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not send simulated court papers to a debtor, and may not permit a client to send collection letters in the lawyer's name or on the lawyer's stationery.
When a lawyer writes articles for a trade journal, what biographical information may appear in the author byline?
Only the author's name and the fact that he is a New Jersey lawyer. The opinion concluded that adding the J.D. degree and the other proposed biographical details was self-laudatory and prohibited, bec…
Can a lawyer serve as counsel to a local board of health while, in pending litigation, he sues the same municipality on behalf of officials seeking indemnification and fees from it?
No. The opinion concluded the lawyer may not become counsel to the board of health, because he would be collecting fees from the taxpayers through the board while simultaneously suing the municipality…
Can a Kentucky lawyer serve as counsel under a group or prepaid legal services plan, such as a union closed-panel plan?
Yes. The committee concluded that a lawyer may represent members under a group legal services plan if the plan preserves the member's free choice of counsel, does not let the organization profit from …
Can a lawyer sit in on a client's own press conference about pending litigation just to advise the client?
Yes. The committee concluded that a lawyer may be present at a press conference the client calls, solely to advise the client, where the lawyer makes no statements to the press, even though restrictio…
Can a lawyer negotiate a claim directly with the insurer's lay adjuster when the insurance company is represented by counsel?
No. The committee concluded that a lawyer may not negotiate directly with a lay adjuster representing an insurer that is represented by counsel, because the adjuster is treated as the represented adve…
Can a lawyer contact the opposing party directly to gather information about a pending case without the other party's lawyer's consent?
No. The committee concluded that a lawyer may not communicate with a represented adverse party about the subject of the controversy without that party's counsel's consent, even if the purpose is merel…
What are a law partnership's ethical duties when a former partner misappropriated client funds, and can the partners plead the statute of limitations?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer must diligently investigate and fully disclose a former partner's misappropriation of clients' funds, and is ethically responsible for client funds the partner rece…
Can a lawyer who once represented both spouses later represent the husband in their divorce?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who previously represented both husband and wife is not barred by the rules from representing the husband in a later dissolution, so long as the lawyer did not obta…
When a law-firm member takes a judicial or public office that keeps the lawyer from practicing, can the firm keep the lawyer's name in its firm name and on its letterhead?
The opinion concluded that when a firm member takes a judicial, legislative, or public executive or administrative office for a substantial period during which the lawyer is not actively and regularly…
Can members of a law firm own a controlling interest in a title insurance company they refer clients to?
The opinion concluded that there was no ethical objection to members of a law firm holding a substantial interest in a title insurance company, so long as any client referred to the company is informe…
If a lawyer represents a wife-passenger injured in a car crash, can the same lawyer also handle her husband-driver's derivative loss-of-consortium claim?
Yes, with the husband's consent. The opinion concluded that, given the abolition of interspousal immunity and the relaxed driver-passenger policy for spouses, the wife's attorney may also represent th…
Can a former assistant prosecutor later represent a man he convicted, in a civil-service appeal where that conviction is the reason the man lost his retirement benefits?
No. The opinion concluded the representation is improper under DR 5-105 and DR 4-101, because the conviction he obtained is the very basis of the benefits denial, raising both a confidential-informati…
Can a law associate of a Commonwealth's attorney represent a civil plaintiff against defendants the prosecutor must criminally charge over the same events?
No. The committee concluded that an associate of a Commonwealth's attorney may not represent civil plaintiffs against defendants whom the prosecutor has a duty to charge over the same subject matter, …
Can a lawyer sell or assign a client's unpaid fee account to a third party after the legal work is finished?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may assign an account receivable for completed legal fees to a third party, provided the client is fully informed and consents and the assignment leaves only the la…
If a former assistant state attorney joins a firm, can a lawyer who is 'of counsel' to that firm defend people the new partner had helped prosecute?
The opinion concluded that an 'of counsel' lawyer is treated as part of the firm for conflict purposes, so he could not represent criminal defendants in matters the firm's new partner, a former assist…
After an associate leaves a firm, can he represent a former client of that firm in fighting the firm's bill for legal work the associate himself did while employed there?
Effectively no. The opinion concluded that while a client may always choose new counsel and the new lawyer need not collect the old firm's fee, a lawyer must not encroach on the prior attorney's pract…
Can one lawyer represent several clients subpoenaed before the same federal grand jury when the prosecutor may seek immunity for some and prosecute others?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not represent multiple clients in the same criminal matter when properly representing any one of them would require seeking immunity, because that effort create…
If a lawyer becomes an assistant state attorney, can he and his law partner keep taking court appointments to defend indigents in federal court?
The opinion concluded that, where a federal judge determines that a shortage of available attorneys creates hardship conditions, a newly appointed assistant state attorney and his partner may continue…
Can a firm accept a case referred by another firm that had to drop a conflicting client, and can it pay that firm a customary referral fee?
The opinion concluded that the receiving firm may represent the referred client where no confidences were violated and it never represented conflicting interests, but it may not pay a customary one-th…
Does an attorney signing a court's 'Recognizance Release' form to get a misdemeanor client out of jail violate the statute barring attorneys from signing bonds as surety?
No. The committee concluded that signing the court's 'Recognizance Release' form is not signing a bond as surety within the statute, but an assurance based on the attorney's personal integrity; it is …
Under a court's 'own recognizance' release system, may a lawyer enter a guilty plea or pay a client's fine to keep his OR privileges if the client fails to appear?
No. The committee concluded that entering a guilty plea without the client's knowledge and consent, and paying the resulting fine and costs to preserve the lawyer's 'OR' privileges, are both unethical…
May a lawyer represent a collection agency in suits to collect debts the agency is pursuing for creditors?
Only when the agency is itself the party. The committee concluded it is unprofessional for an attorney to represent a collection agency acting on behalf of a creditor other than itself, because the ar…
Can a lawyer let clients pay legal fees through a credit card plan?
The opinion concluded that financing fees through a credit card plan does not appear to contravene any specific canon or disciplinary rule, but the committee declined to make a final determination or …
Can a lawyer file bankruptcy for a debtor while also representing the creditors, with a creditor paying the fees in exchange for the debtor reaffirming the debt?
The opinion concluded the lawyer cannot. The interests of a bankrupt debtor and his creditors are adverse, so representing both is an inherent conflict; the arrangement to have a creditor pay the fees…
Can a lawyer publish a do-it-yourself divorce kit of forms and explanations for couples seeking an uncontested divorce?
The opinion concluded that publishing such a kit would not itself be the unauthorized practice of law, because Wisconsin permits self-representation, but it cautioned that promoting the author as a la…
Can a lawyer give a divorce handbook with general information to the lawyer's own divorce clients?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may circulate a divorce handbook of the type proposed to give general information to the lawyer's own divorce clients, while expressing no view on the accuracy of its …
Can a lawyer campaign for, endorse, and financially support a candidate for judge, and how?
The opinion concluded that lawyers may, and are expected to, inform the public about judicial candidates' qualifications, endorse candidates based on merit, and make reasonable contributions to a camp…
If a practicing lawyer runs for judge, are they held to the judicial-candidate conduct rules that apply to sitting judges?
The opinion concluded that they are. The committee adopted an advisory opinion extending the Wisconsin Code of Judicial Ethics rules on judicial-candidate conduct to attorneys seeking judicial office,…
Can a law firm send other lawyers an announcement that it is available to consult in labor law and that it has 19 years of experience in the field?
The opinion concluded that the firm could distribute a dignified announcement of availability to consult or associate in a branch of law, but the announcement could not claim special competence or exp…
After drafting a client's will, can the lawyer keep the original in safekeeping, or must it go to the client?
The opinion concluded, following the Wisconsin Supreme Court's Gulbankian decision, that the correct practice is to deliver the original will to the testator; a lawyer should keep it only on the clien…
Can a prosecutor threaten to pursue additional pending charges to discourage a convicted defendant from appealing?
The Committee concluded that a prosecutor should not take any action calculated to deny a criminal defendant the full right of due process, including the right to appeal; threatening additional prosec…
Can a Texas lawyer sell selected clients a fill-in-the-blanks 'divorce kit' so they can represent themselves in an uncontested divorce for a reduced fee?
The Committee concluded that the proposed 'divorce kit' plan was improper, resting its objection on EC 3-7 because the kit would encourage rather than discourage self-representation; it found the plan…
Can a law firm take a case in which one of its partners may have to testify as a witness?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer should not accept employment in litigation when he knows or it is obvious that he or a lawyer in his firm ought to be called as a witness, except in the limited c…
Can a lawyer list in the yellow pages of more than one telephone directory in a metro area, and what counts as a 'significant part' of the lawyer's clientele?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer may list, in both the alphabetical and classified sections, in the directories for the metro area where he resides, maintains an office, or has a significant part…
May a county bar association sponsor a plan letting clients pay legal fees with a bank credit card?
The committee concluded a bar-association-sponsored credit-card fee financing plan is not improper merely because fees are paid through a credit card, but it could not approve the unsubmitted plan and…
Does the attorney-client privilege bar a lawyer from disclosing facts about a client's immigration status that the lawyer learned in the engagement?
Under this 1972 opinion, no. Treating the client's unlawful presence as a continuing fraud on the United States, the Committee concluded the lawyer was not prevented by the attorney-client privilege f…
Can a lawyer represent a wife in her divorce after he was briefly retained by the woman named as correspondent (an adversary aligned with the husband) in an earlier phase of the same dispute?
No. The opinion concluded the lawyer should withdraw, because he had earlier represented the correspondent, whose interests were adverse to the wife, and switching sides in related matrimonial litigat…
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.