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 judge who bought gas from a defendant utility recuse from a customer rate class action?
The Commission treated a possible rate reduction or refund as an “other interest,” rather than a defined financial interest, and called for recusal if the outcome could substantially affect the…
May a full-time elected judge teach a law-related course part time?
The Commission said yes if teaching does not cast doubt on the judge’s impartiality, detract from the dignity of office, or interfere with judicial duties.
I want to mail an advertisement to potential plaintiffs to recruit them for a class action I plan to file. What rules apply?
The panel concluded that the proposed advertisement is governed by Rule 7.2, which restricts soliciting professional employment from prospective clients with no family or prior professional…
A new associate at my firm previously represented the plaintiff in a workers' comp case at another firm. My firm represents the defendant in the related product-liability suit. Can we stay in?
The panel concluded that the associate's opportunity to obtain sensitive client information about the plaintiff at the prior firm precludes the inquiring attorney's firm from continuing to represent…
My partner and I are title policy agents. One insurer wants to buy title policies we wrote for other companies. Can I 'sell' those policies?
The panel concluded that the attorney must secure the informed consent of each client for whom a title insurance policy was prepared before that policy can be 'sold' to other title insurance…
Can I sit on the board of directors of a credit union while also serving as the credit union's lawyer?
The panel concluded that the attorney may serve both as a director and as legal counsel to the credit union so long as service in one capacity does not affect the attorney's independent professional…
I was discharged before my contingency-fee case ended and I'm holding a big escrow sum for the client, who hasn't paid me. What can I recover and what do I do with the funds?
The panel concluded that, under its General Informational Opinion #4, a contingency-fee attorney discharged with or without cause before final resolution recovers the reasonable value of the…
I hold escrow funds for a client who owes me disputed legal fees but won't let me take my fee from the escrow. Can I take it anyway?
The panel concluded that under Rule 1.15 the attorney's duty is to keep the disputed funds in the escrow account until the fee dispute is resolved, rather than taking the claimed fee unilaterally.
Discovery shows the opposing party swore to income he never reported to the IRS and had his medical bills paid by welfare. Do I have to report the apparent perjury or fraud?
The panel concluded that the attorney may, but is not obligated to, disclose the information to the proper authorities, because the information is not confidential, so the Rhode Island Rules of…
My ex-partner was the town solicitor and I appeared as co-counsel for the town. Can my firm now appear before the town's boards for private clients, and am I personally barred for a year?
The panel concluded that under Rule 1.10(c) the firm may presently represent clients before the town boards so long as the subject matter is not the same as or substantially related to a matter in…
Can I put a rooftop sign on my law office that says 'Benefits for the Injured' beneath the firm name?
The panel concluded that the statement 'Benefits for the Injured' violates Rule 7.1 because it is ambiguous and lacks sufficient facts to make the phrase, considered as a whole, not materially misleading.
I was discharged from a divorce case before it ended. Can I secure my unpaid fee by recording an attorney's lien in the land records for the marital home?
The panel concluded that recording an attorney's lien in the land records to secure unpaid fees in a domestic relations matter falls outside the statutory procedures for asserting an attorney's lien…
When a government agency is the opposing party in litigation, which of its officials may a lawyer interview without the agency's counsel present?
The opinion concluded that DR 7-104(A)(1) applies when the adversary is a government agency, so a lawyer may not communicate, outside the presence of agency counsel, with officials whose acts bind…
Can a judge serve as executor of a close friend's estate?
The opinion concluded that a judge may serve as executor of a close friend's estate, when named in the will, if the relationship was characteristic of a close familial relationship under Canon 5D,…
Must a part-time referee step aside when a lawyer the referee co-counsels with in private practice appears before the referee?
The opinion concluded that a part-time referee should disqualify when a party is represented by an attorney (or that attorney's partner or associate) with whom the referee co-counsels on unrelated…
Can a lawyer make donations to a nonprofit agency that refers clients to the lawyer?
The opinion concluded that it is improper for a lawyer who does pro-bono work for a nonprofit social service agency to make periodic voluntary contributions to the agency while receiving client…
Can a law firm keep a retired or inactive attorney's name in the firm name, on its letterhead, or as of counsel?
The opinion concluded that a firm may keep a retiring attorney's name in a long-established firm name even after the attorney takes retired or inactive registration status, and may list a…
Can a lawyer write to a union asking that the firm be recommended to the union's members for legal work?
The opinion concluded that an attorney may write a union representative requesting that the firm be considered for recommendation to the union membership, provided the union is a bona fide…
Can a lawyer who once represented two corporations now sue them on behalf of a family member who was a corporate officer?
Only if the new matter is not the same or substantially related to the prior representation, or the corporations consent. The opinion concluded the entity, not its officers, was the former client,…
Could a lawyer serve as a city prosecutor while taking county felony defense assignments?
The committee said Rule 1.8(j) permitted both roles, but barred a defense likely to require an appearance in the court of the prosecutorial appointment and required case-specific conflict review.
If a law firm pledges its accounts receivable to a bank, can it give the bank its clients' names and the amounts each client owes?
The Committee concluded it cannot, absent the clients' informed consent. Both the client names and the amounts owed are confidential information under Rule 1.05, which protects all client…
If a contingent fee agreement says nothing about an appeal, must the lawyer file the client's appeal, and can the lawyer charge an additional fee for it?
Where the agreement is silent, the lawyer must file the client's non-frivolous appeal, and may not charge an additional fee for it; the total contingent fee in a personal injury or wrongful death…
My old firm represented both X and Y. I only ever worked for Y. Now Y wants me to take on a dispute against X. Can I, and does the firm still representing X have a conflict?
The panel concluded that the inquiring attorney may not represent Y against X without X's informed consent, because the attorney's former employment at the firm representing X afforded access to X's…
Can I practice law under my maiden name while using my married name for personal and family matters?
The panel concluded that the attorney may retain her maiden name for professional purposes while using her married name for personal, family, and other purposes, so long as the use of the different…
My client told me a third person confessed to a murder to the client. The confession has nothing to do with my representation. Do I have to report it?
The panel concluded that the attorney may, but is not obligated to, disclose the information, because no attorney-client privilege attaches to a third person's statement to the client on a matter…
I share office space and expenses with another lawyer, and we now represent opposing parties in a custody and support case. Can we both stay in?
The panel concluded that unless one of the attorneys withdraws, neither may proceed, because their office-sharing arrangement, with shared administrative and secretarial staff and access to each…
I regularly appear before a judge who is now hospitalized. Is it ethical for me to send the judge flowers?
The panel concluded that sending flowers to a hospitalized judge under these circumstances is a normal courtesy involving an object of minimal or no monetary value that would not create an…
I represent a title insurer, and I also prosecute actions in a bank's name to clear title defects even while defending against that bank's claims. Whose consent do I need?
The panel concluded that Rule 1.7 governs and that the attorney should obtain the bank's informed consent, even though the bank's name is only contractually invoked to bring the action and the title…
The prosecutor and judge don't seem to know about a recent change in the criminal statute that hurts my client. Do I have to tell the court about it?
The panel concluded that the attorney's ethical obligation is to bring the recent change in the law to the court's attention, relying on Rules 3.3, 8.4, and 1.2; a failure to disclose would involve…
Can my Rhode Island law firm, which is a professional corporation, form a partnership with an out-of-state law firm?
The panel concluded that it is permissible for a Rhode Island law firm organized as a professional corporation to form a partnership with an out-of-state law firm, subject to Rule 7.5(b), under…
Can a lawyer reveal a client's fraud on a federal agency when the agency's regulations require disclosure?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer is not precluded from revealing a client's fraud committed during the representation on a federal tribunal or another person where regulations of the tribunal…
May a judge give Martindale-Hubbell a professional evaluation of a lawyer?
The Committee allowed a judge to provide a professional evaluation for a legal rating publication if it remained confidential and created no public impression that the judge endorsed the lawyer.
Could a judge put a building rented to lawyers into a blind trust to avoid the conflict?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 1991-07 rejected a blind trust as an effective solution and reiterated selling the building, referring tenant lawyers’ cases, or not renting to lawyers.
Can a legal aid lawyer draft pleadings and coach an indigent person to proceed pro se without appearing as counsel of record?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may counsel a person who wishes to proceed pro se, including drafting pleadings, providing forms, and advising on litigation strategy, without entering an…
May a closing lawyer tell counsel for the mortgagee and title insurer what the lawyer and owner said about the owner's affidavit?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who represented the owner and mortgagee at a loan closing may disclose to the mortgagee's later counsel what the lawyer told the owner about the affidavit, and…
When a defense lawyer represents both the insured and the insurer, can the lawyer advise them on a settlement that helps the insured but exposes the insurer?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who represents both the insured and the insurer must communicate a settlement proposal to both, but because the proposal (a consent admission of liability capped…
When a defense lawyer represents both the insured and the insurer, can the lawyer advise on a consent settlement that adds a punitive-damages claim the insurer says it does not cover?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer representing both the insured and the insurer must communicate the proposal to both, but because allowing the punitive-damages amendment and capping enforcement…
If a criminal case ends early, must a lawyer refund part of a flat fee even though the fee was described as nonrefundable?
The opinion concluded that, because a lawyer may never charge or collect a clearly excessive fee, the lawyer must look back at all the circumstances to decide whether the flat fee was reasonable; to…
When a lawyer represents a partnership, is the client the firm or the individual partners, and can the lawyer keep information from individual partners or also represent them?
The opinion concluded that a partnership is an organization within Model Rule 1.13, so a lawyer who represents a partnership generally represents the entity rather than the individual partners…
If I am licensed in a state that bans law-firm partnerships with nonlawyers and also in D.C., which allows them, can I be a partner in a D.C. firm with nonlawyer partners without violating my home state's rule?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer licensed in both a jurisdiction that bars nonlawyer partnerships (Model Rule 5.4(b)) and one that permits them may be a partner in the permitting jurisdiction's…
Is a Michigan judge automatically disqualified when the judge and the judge's former firm are codefendants in a malpractice suit and that firm appears before the judge?
Yes. While the malpractice action is pending, the disqualification is absolute and non-waivable: the judge may not preside over any matter in which the former firm, or the firm defending them both,…
Can a lawyer pay a court-ordered security for costs on behalf of an indigent client in Michigan?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer or firm may pay a court-ordered security for costs on behalf of a genuinely indigent client, because the security is an expense of litigation that MRPC 1.8(e)(2)…
Can a Michigan law firm keep a retired shareholder's name in the firm name when that lawyer stays on as 'of counsel'?
The opinion concluded the firm may keep the retired shareholder's name where the firm name is long-established and well-recognized, the lawyer maintains a close, regular 'of counsel' relationship,…
A non-profit that helps immigrants is my client and wants to refer its members to me when they need a lawyer. Is it proper for me to accept those referrals?
The panel concluded that the mere fact that individuals are referred to the attorney by the non-profit corporation does not, in and of itself, violate the Rhode Island Rules of Professional Conduct.
A former joint client is suing my long-time client and wants to depose me. Can I be deposed, does privilege block it, and may I keep representing my client against the former joint client?
The panel concluded that the attorney-client privilege does not by itself prevent a lawyer from being deposed, though Rule 1.6 governs what may be disclosed, and that under Rule 1.9 the attorney…
Is a judge disqualified when an attorney appearing before the judge leases office space to the judge’s spouse?
The Commission found the judge disqualified when the lawyer appearing before the judge was the spouse’s landlord, although the judge was not a party to the lease. Its remission advice was later…
Did a judge’s former representation of a party in accident cases require recusal from that party’s separate property lawsuit?
On the facts presented, Opinion 91-431 found no disqualification from the unrelated property suit. The official PDF marks it modified by Opinion 99-740, which later adopted a two-year…
May a circuit judge continue serving on a county port authority board?
The Commission concluded that Canon 2A prohibited a circuit judge from serving as a port authority director because state law barred state officers from that board and the Alabama Constitution…
What could a family law master do during a spouse’s political campaign?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 1991-05 allowed a low-profile family appearance and nonleading party membership, rejected the spouse’s bumper sticker on the master’s car, and reported an even split on…
Can a lawyer's retainer agreement require mandatory arbitration of fee disputes?
The opinion concluded that a retainer agreement requiring mandatory arbitration of fee disputes before the D.C. Bar's Attorney-Client Arbitration Board is not unethical, provided the client is told…
Can a law firm hire a collection agency to chase down unpaid legal fees, and what client information can it share with the agency?
The opinion concluded that a law firm may use a collection agency to collect delinquent legal fees if it first confirms the fee is reasonable and not illegal, makes amicable collection attempts, and…
Are the things a person tells a lawyer in a consultation protected even if the lawyer is never hired, and when can that lawyer be made to testify about them?
The opinion concluded that the confidences and secrets of someone who consults a lawyer about representation are protected by DR 4-101(B) even though the lawyer is not hired. But if that person…
Does a judge have to step aside from a case where a bank is a party if the judge owns a small amount of that bank's stock in a retirement plan?
The opinion concluded that a judge's ownership of bank stock is a financial interest requiring disqualification under Canon 3 C(1)(c) when the bank is a party, even where the stock is held in a…
Must a judge step aside when a doctor or counselor who treats the judge or the judge's spouse testifies as a significant witness?
The opinion concluded that disqualification is not automatically required when a health care professional who treats the judge or the judge's spouse appears as a significant witness, but a judge…
Can an Ohio lawyer charge interest on a client's overdue bill, and can clients pay legal fees by credit card?
The opinion concluded that the Code does not prohibit charging interest on a client's delinquent account, but the lawyer should reach an agreement with the client, preferably in writing, on whether…
Can a prosecutor pursue cross-warrants where the same person is both a Commonwealth witness and a defendant, and how may the prosecutor talk to that person?
The committee concluded that because no attorney-client relationship exists between the prosecutor and the parties, conflict rules do not apply, and a prosecutor who believes each cross-warrant is…
Can a lawyer agree, as a condition of settling a client's case, not to file a grievance against the opposing lawyer?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not offer or make an agreement restricting a party or counsel from reporting a lawyer's ethical misconduct to the Attorney Grievance Commission, and may not…
Is it a conflict for a city attorney to sue a different municipality when both cities belong to the same self-funded liability pool?
The opinion concluded it is not a conflict of interest for a city attorney to sue a municipality the attorney does not represent, even though the attorney's client city and the defendant city belong…
Can a court-appointed criminal defense lawyer withdraw after the indigent client files a bar complaint against the lawyer?
The opinion concluded that once an indigent client files a bar complaint against appointed counsel, the resulting conflict of interest is great enough that the attorney may ethically request to…
May a divorce lawyer take a mortgage on the client's former marital home to secure fees, if the mortgage is taken after the divorce judgment dividing the property is final?
The opinion concluded that once the divorce judgment is final the litigation has ended, so the ban on acquiring a proprietary interest in the subject of litigation is generally inapplicable, though…
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.