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 represent both the employer and the workers' compensation claimant in a settlement without telling the claimant?
No. The committee called it a very serious violation of the Canons for a lawyer to represent both the employer and a workers' compensation claimant in a washout settlement where the claimant did not k…
If a lawyer helped one client get a loan from another client, can the lawyer later foreclose the loan for one of them?
The committee advised that a lawyer who assisted one client in obtaining a loan from another client should decline to represent either in foreclosing on the loan, and should leave them to obtain other…
Can a lawyer whose office is in a hotel use the hotel's address and telephone number for the law office?
Using the hotel's street address is not improper since the office is actually located there. Using the hotel's main telephone as the office line may be improper because business could be channeled to …
Can a former assistant U.S. attorney defend a criminal case that was pending while he was in that office if he never worked on it?
Yes. The committee found no violation of the Canons where a former assistant U.S. district attorney defends a criminal case that was pending during his term but which he never handled, was never conta…
Can a city mayor who is also a lawyer share in fees from negligence cases against the city that he refers to other lawyers?
No. The committee concluded the mayor should not serve notices on the city or share in fees in negligence cases against the city, because having an interest in litigation against the city he serves cr…
May a part-time city prosecutor in private practice defend criminal cases that arise in the surrounding judicial district but not in the city that employs him?
The committee concluded that a part-time city prosecutor engaged in private practice may not ethically represent defendants in criminal actions arising in the judicial district, even where the cases d…
Can lawyers and judges appear under their own names on a public service television program dramatizing real cases?
Yes. The committee concluded that lawyers and judges may appear on a public service television program emphasizing cases and subjects of public interest, using their own names and being identified as …
Is it improper for a lawyer to collect past-due spousal or child support on a contingent-fee basis in California?
The committee withdrew its earlier Opinion 263, which had called such a contingent-fee arrangement improper, concluding that the question turned on a doubtful determination of law that was outside the…
Can a lawyer write a letter on office letterhead endorsing a political candidate and inviting the candidate to publish it?
Yes, on these facts. The committee found no basis for discipline where a lawyer used office letterhead to endorse a candidate, but cautioned that the answer would differ if the letter was intended to …
Can a retiring lawyer sell the goodwill of his practice to a younger lawyer, and does a client get his files back?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may not sell or otherwise dispose of the goodwill of his practice, though he may sell office furniture, equipment, and library; a client has an absolute right to withdra…
Can a Texas firm employ a lawyer admitted in another state, but not yet in Texas, to work as a law clerk and to prepare patent applications under his U.S. Patent Office license?
The Committee concluded that a Texas firm does not violate Canon 43 by employing such a lawyer to do law-clerk work under a Texas lawyer's supervision and to perform patent work authorized by his Pate…
Can two members of a law firm also run a separate oil partnership out of the same offices, when the oil firm does not feed legal work to the law firm?
The Committee concluded that the arrangement does not by itself violate any Texas Canon, provided the lawyers are not advertised as lawyers in connection with the oil firm and the oil firm is not used…
Can a lawyer who serves on a city zoning board of adjustment represent clients before the planning commission and city council on matters outside the board's work?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer who acts with propriety and good judgment may serve on a city zoning board of adjustment and also represent clients before other city boards and the city council …
Can a lawyer who writes a letter to a newspaper identify himself as a lawyer, or is that improper advertising?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer generally should refrain from identifying himself as a lawyer in a published letter; doing so is unethical when the purpose or effect is indirect advertising or s…
If a law firm partner is the city's mayor, can other members of the firm represent clients before the city's corporation court whose judge the city commission appoints and can remove at will?
The Committee concluded that no member of the firm may represent clients before the city's corporation court, because the mayor's disqualification under Canon 6 is imputed to the whole firm where the …
Can a lawyer file a lis pendens against a parcel of land when he knows the client has no lien on or valid claim to it, in a suit asserting no lien?
The Committee concluded that, if the lawyer knows the client has no lien on or valid claim to the land, filing a lis pendens merely to cloud title is improper; on that assumption it amounts to abuse o…
Can a lawyer rent space in a shared-office building where non-lawyer tenants use the same receptionist, secretarial pool, and library?
The Committee concluded that renting such shared offices is not unethical, provided nothing on shingles or door signs improperly suggests the individual practitioners are a firm or that a lawyer and a…
Can a lawyer who serves as executor collect both executor's commissions and a separate attorney's fee for legal services to the estate?
The Committee concluded that, if Texas law permits it, collecting both a commission and an attorney's fee for services outside the executor's duties is not unethical, but it is unethical for the execu…
Can a full-time corporate staff lawyer who also does private practice put the corporation's name on his 'Attorney at Law' calling card?
The Committee concluded that he may not; when the card naming him as an attorney at law is used in his private practice, the corporation's name is extraneous self-laudation rather than a substitute fo…
Can a lawyer put the designation 'Proctor in Admiralty' on his letterhead?
The Committee concluded that he may not; the Texas Canons prohibit listing specialties on letterheads, and the ABA's 1961 amendment allowing a proctor-in-admiralty designation was an exception Texas h…
Can a lawyer buy, sell, or advertise the sale of a law practice that includes good will and an established clientele?
The Committee concluded that buying, selling, or advertising the sale of a law practice with established clientele is unethical under Canons 24 and 34, though advertising the library, office equipment…
Can a lawyer solicit real estate business for a friend who is a realtor, hoping to be hired to prepare the real estate papers?
The Committee concluded that soliciting business for a friend out of pure friendship does not violate the canons, but doing so in the hope of obtaining the legal work for himself is indirect solicitat…
Can a lawyer accept a fee from an insurance company in exchange for advising and encouraging his clients and friends to adopt the company's tax-saving insurance plan?
The Committee concluded that accepting and carrying out such an arrangement as submitted would violate one or all of Canons 6, 24, and 35; the plan is calculated to make the lawyer serve the insurer's…
Can lawyers who only share office expenses practice under a joint firm name like 'A, B and C, Attorneys at Law' if they are not actually partners?
The Committee concluded that it is unethical; a firm name on the door, stationery, cards, and phone listing indicates a partnership, and using it when no true partnership exists is a misleading firm n…
Can a lawyer employed full time as a bank's trust officer and vice president handle probate and other legal matters for the bank's customers?
The Committee concluded that he may not; doing so would be a clear violation of Canon 24 and would be certain or likely to violate Canons 32 and 6, especially in drafting wills and handling probate fo…
Can a law firm advertise its move to new offices and an open house in the newspaper or by mailed invitations, or let its contractors and furniture suppliers do so?
The Committee concluded that a law firm may not, directly or indirectly through contractors and suppliers, advertise to the public by newspaper or mailed announcements that an open house will be held …
Can an insurance company's salaried attorney also represent the insured for his deductible and his counterclaim in the same suit, and what conditions apply?
The Committee concluded that, on the bare facts, none of these arrangements is unethical per se, but the attorney must be candid with the court about whom he represents (Canon 19), may not use the sit…
If two lawyers share an office and use a joint 'Law Offices of A and B' letterhead, is one disqualified from a case because the other talked to and turned away the opposing party?
The Committee concluded that two lawyers who share an office and hold out under a joint 'Law Offices of A and B' letterhead are in a relationship so close that, even if they are not partners, the disq…
Can a law firm send mimeographed Christmas-party invitations on firm letterhead to its clients and their claims employees?
The Committee concluded that, although a firm may host an open house for clients and friends at Christmas, an invitation commercial in tone, here addressed to clients' (and possibly former clients') c…
Can a lawyer write to a juror after the verdict to defend himself and explain that defendants in injury cases are insured?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer's letter to a discharged juror violated Canon 24 because it contained self-laudation and indirect advertising and solicitation, and violated Canon 29 because it u…
Can a judge borrow money from lawyers who practice in his court, and can a lawyer lend money to a judge, under the Texas Canons?
The Committee concluded that a judge's borrowing from lawyers who practice before him, though it gives the appearance of impropriety, did not violate any Texas Canon because the ABA Judicial Canons ha…
Can a new attorney take over a client's civil case when the prior attorney, who filed nothing, refuses to sign a substitution of attorney over an unpaid fee?
Yes. The Committee concluded the new attorney may proceed to defend the client without a substitution, because the client's right to counsel of his own choice is paramount to any fee dispute, and the …
Can a lawyer run a law office out of his home and list his home address and phone number on a business card?
Yes. The committee found no objection to a lawyer maintaining a law office in his home, using his home telephone for business, and listing his residence address and telephone number on a professional …
Can a lawyer set up a family-owned holding company to take title to clients' property and hold their funds?
The committee found nothing unethical, on stated conditions, in a lawyer organizing a family holding company to take title to clients' real estate and hold their funds, so long as full disclosure is m…
Can a lawyer charge an attorney fee for an estate when a partner or relative is the administrator, and can a firm have its secretary serve as personal representative?
Yes to all four arrangements. The committee found none of them directly violated the Canons, so long as the appointment was informed, the attorney fee reflected the value of services and did not doubl…
Can lawyers form a professional service corporation and give its employees a profit-sharing or retirement plan without improperly splitting fees?
Yes. The committee concluded lawyers may organize and operate a professional service corporation under KRS Chapter 274, so long as the Act is carefully observed, and that a profit-sharing or retiremen…
If a lawyer learns that his client (an estate administrator who is also a lawyer) diverted estate assets, may he disclose it to the court, heirs, or a successor attorney, and what must he do with the file when he withdraws?
The committee concluded the lawyer may not disclose the client's diversion of assets to anyone, including the court or a new attorney, without the client's consent; he need not state the reason for wi…
Can a lawyer suspended from practice take a job doing legal research for a law firm while his reinstatement is pending?
The committee could not agree and declined to resolve the question, concluding it was not a clear question of ethics and that the request to interpret the suspension order should go to the Committee o…
May an attorney retained by a trade association committee accept a circular inviting individual members to call him for advice on their own problems and to remit his fees directly to him?
No. The committee concluded that a circular inviting individual members to consult the association's counsel about their own affairs violates Canon 35, and that having members pay the attorney directl…
Does a lawyer who habitually offers legal services for less than the minimum fee schedule violate the Canons of Professional Ethics?
The committee concluded that a lawyer who habitually and notoriously underbids the minimum fee schedule violates Canons 7 and 12, because chronic underbidding amounts to soliciting business and encroa…
May a lawyer publish a notice in a general-circulation legal newspaper announcing availability to serve other lawyers in a specialized field, and may the notice describe his past industry experience?
No on both counts. The committee concluded that Canon 46 permits such an announcement only in a true local legal journal sent to lawyers, not in a paper of general circulation like the Daily Legal New…
Can a lawyer be made to give the IRS the name and address of a client for whom he obtained a tax ruling on a hypothetical question?
No. The committee unanimously concluded a lawyer is neither required to nor may ethically disclose to the IRS the name and address of a client at whose request the lawyer framed a hypothetical questio…
Can a lawyer be disciplined for refusing to pay a forwarding fee to a collection agency that referred a claim?
No. The committee concluded a lawyer cannot be subjected to disciplinary proceedings for refusing to pay a forwarding fee to a collection agency, because the applicable Canons prohibit paying a forwar…
May a judge and two lawyers take part in a panel discussion before a medical association about medical testimony and negligence cases?
Yes. The committee saw no objection to a judge and two lawyers appearing in a panel discussion before the local medical association so long as no actual cases are discussed and the discussion stays li…
Can a lawyer let a collection agency put the lawyer's name or signature on a summons the agency's lay staff prepared without the lawyer's involvement?
The opinion concluded that it is unethical for a lawyer to consent to an arrangement in which the lawyer's name or signature appears on a summons that is in fact prepared by the client collection agen…
May a lawyer take the state real estate broker examination and hold a non-active broker license in order to teach real estate law?
Yes. The committee found no objection to a lawyer taking the Florida Real Estate Commission examination and holding a non-active broker license in order to teach real estate law in a registered school…
Can a lawyer apply fees and costs from one settled case against settlement money held for a separate case?
The committee declined to approve charging fees and expenses from both cases against the proceeds of the one case the client closed, calling it more a question of law than of ethics and suggesting the…
Can a lawyer who represented a crash victim's widow later represent one pilot against the other pilot and the plane owner?
The committee saw no conflict of interest in counsel who had represented the widow later representing the pilot of plane B against the pilot of plane A and the plane owner, where no claim would be mad…
Can a lawyer who is a corporation's general manager have his corporate salary reduced by his outside law-practice fees over a threshold?
The committee said the arrangement, reducing the manager's corporate salary by law-practice fees above a set amount, is subject to criticism and open to interpretation as dividing legal fees with a la…
Can a law firm keep its offices inside the premises of a financial-institution client when a firm member is also an executive of the institution?
The opinion concluded that a firm may locate its offices in a financial-institution client's premises even when a firm member is an executive there, but the firm must take great care that the close co…
Can an insurance company select and pay the lawyer who represents a minor's guardian in getting court approval of an injury settlement?
The opinion concluded that it is unethical for a lawyer to represent a minor's guardian in obtaining court approval of an injury settlement when the lawyer was selected or employed by the insurance co…
May a lawyer write a regular newspaper legal column and answer readers' general questions?
Yes, within limits. The committee found it not improper for a lawyer to write articles for a weekly newspaper and answer general questions from subscribers, so long as the column deals only with gener…
May the law partner of a city commissioner who appoints the municipal judge practice before that municipal court?
No. The committee concluded it would be improper for the partner of a municipal officer who has power to appoint municipal judges to practice before those judges, applying the principle that a lawyer …
Can a Florida lawyer split a fee with an out-of-state lawyer who no longer practices and did no work on the case?
No. The committee concluded it would be highly improper for a Florida lawyer to divide any portion of a fee with an out-of-state lawyer (a former New Jersey lawyer now a minister) who was not in pract…
May a lawyer who has moved offices send invitations to an 'open house' along with the announcement of the new location?
No. The committee concluded that coupling an 'open house' invitation with an office-move announcement goes beyond the truthful, dignified announcement Canon 27 allows and is personal publicity that am…
Must a lawyer who sells a client title insurance and keeps part of the premium disclose his interest?
Yes. The committee said a lawyer who sells his client title insurance through the Lawyers' Title Guaranty Fund and retains a portion of the premium should disclose to the client both his interest in t…
Can a lawyer charge a workers' compensation claimant more than the fee fixed by statute?
No. The committee concluded that where a statute fixes the attorney fee for claims before the Workmen's Compensation Board and bars the Board from denying or reducing it except for solicitation, the l…
Can a lawyer who serves as both administrator and attorney settle a wrongful-death claim the heirs have rejected because he thinks the case cannot be won?
No. The committee concluded that where a lawyer acting as both administrator and attorney believes a wrongful-death case cannot be proven but the heirs reject the settlement, he should, after due noti…
Can a lawyer who drafted and witnessed a will later represent heirs trying to defeat that will in probate?
No. The committee concluded under Canon 6 that a lawyer who prepared and witnessed a will may not represent the next of kin in opposing its probate, because a lawyer should not attempt to nullify his …
May a lawyer sign and allow publication of a petition endorsing an incumbent judge for reelection?
Yes. The committee found no impropriety in a lawyer signing and allowing publication of a petition, circulated by lawyers, endorsing an incumbent judge for reelection, but said a lawyer should not sig…
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.