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 law firm let a collection agency's staff, or place its own paralegal at the agency's office, to field collection calls in the firm's name?
The opinion concluded both arrangements are improper: a client's own employee fielding calls in the firm's name aids the unauthorized practice of law, and the firm's own paralegal taking calls at…
Can a former village attorney sue the village over a matter he worked on, if he says the information he learned is now public?
The opinion concluded it is improper: a lawyer may not take a matter where a former client's confidences could be used against it without consent, and information stays confidential until the client…
May a Kentucky lawyer subscribe to a 'Talking Yellow Pages' telephone advertising service?
Yes. The opinion concluded a lawyer may subscribe now that the service dropped the features that made it resemble a for-profit referral service, and it directed subscribers to submit their ads to…
Can a state agency hearing officer negotiate for a private-practice job with law firms that appear before her?
The opinion concluded that under ER 1.12(b) an adjudicative officer may not negotiate for employment with a law firm representing a party in a matter in which she is participating personally and…
Does Opinion 89-355 still require a municipal judge to resign when running for nonjudicial office?
No. The Commission withdrew this opinion on May 31, 1991. Later Opinion 94-525 expressly says its resignation conclusion for municipal judges was erroneous; it discusses the governing constitutional…
Could a part-time active retired circuit judge who accepted occasional assignments practice law?
Yes, under the Compliance Section discussed in the 1989 opinion. The Commission advised avoiding legal work likely to produce disqualification in circuits where the retired judge expected assignments.
Must a judge recuse whenever an assistant city attorney from the spouse’s office represents the city?
No automatic recusal follows from an assistant’s appearance. The judge must determine at the outset whether the spouse participated directly as counsel or actively directed that particular case; if…
Which employees or officials of a represented municipality may an opposing lawyer contact directly without going through the municipal attorney?
The opinion concluded Rule 3.6(j) bars contact only with the officials who make decisions on the litigation and those who relay municipal policy to and receive advice from the municipal attorney;…
I represent an injured passenger, and the driver I'm suing now claims he once called me for advice. Will the ethics panel decide whether that phone call created a conflict?
No. The panel declined to render an opinion, holding that whether an attorney-client relationship arose from the driver's phone call was a contested question of fact better resolved in the pending…
I represented both spouses in an adoption years ago, and now I represent the husband alone in their marital dispute. The wife says I have a conflict from the adoption representation. Will the ethics panel rule on whether I can continue?
No. The panel declined to rule, holding that whether continued representation would be proper turns on a contested factual question, whether privileged information from the wife was actually…
My firm wants to give legal opinions on liability to a claims-adjustment company client, for use in that company's dealings with its own customers. Does it matter whether the opinion goes out on my firm's letterhead versus the client's own letterhead?
Yes, according to the panel: providing the legal opinion on the firm's own stationery, having the client incorporate the firm's opinion into its own customer correspondence, or delivering the…
I've been offered part-time work representing the state against claims under a specific statute, and I want to keep my associate job at a firm that represents claimants under that same statute. Can I take the state job if I withdraw from my own firm's cases under that statute, or if the firm walls off one isolated associate to handle them instead?
No, under either scenario. The panel held that accepting the part-time state position would be improper under Rule 1.7 because the attorney would be representing a client directly adverse to another…
Could a judge serve as trustee of a trust created by a late uncle’s will?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 1989-01 allowed the judge to serve as trustee for the uncle’s family trust subject to former Canon 5D’s restrictions and no interference with judicial duties.
What did Colorado Ethics Opinion 80 require when opposing counsel made an obvious commercial-closing mistake that benefited the lawyer's client?
The revised opinion required the lawyer to advise disclosure when silence would be a knowing misrepresentation about a basic contract term. If the client refused, the lawyer had to withdraw, and the…
Can a Colorado lawyer send a paralegal or other nonlawyer assistant to appear at a deposition, hearing, or administrative proceeding to represent a client?
The opinion concluded that using a nonlawyer legal assistant to represent a client at a deposition, or at a hearing or administrative proceeding where the task is the practice of law, aids the…
Can a lawyer be listed in the phone book under a 'Fields of Practice' heading, and can the listing say the lawyer specializes in an area?
The Board concluded that a lawyer may be listed in a telephone directory under an 'Attorneys-Fields of Practice' heading and may state that the practice is limited to or consists in large part of a…
Can two lawyers who share office space represent opposing parties in the same contested divorce?
The Board concluded that the Code does not flatly prohibit two lawyers who share office space from representing opposing sides in a contested divorce where they practice independently and do not…
Can a legal services program's governing board set priorities that limit the kinds of cases its staff lawyers handle?
The Board concluded that a legal services program's governing board may set priorities for allocating the office's resources, including limiting representation to certain matters, without violating…
Can an Ohio judge serve on the board of trustees of a college or university?
The Board concluded that a judge may serve as a trustee of a college or university, with two limits: the judge should not serve if the institution is likely to appear before the judge or to be…
Can a lawyer pay a now-suspended or disbarred lawyer a share of a fee under a referral or fee-sharing agreement made before the suspension?
The Board concluded that a lawyer may share fees with a suspended or disbarred lawyer if the fee-sharing agreement was made before the suspension or disbarment and the fee is divided on the basis of…
Is it nepotism for a court to keep a long-time employee who married the court's judge, or for a judge to appoint the qualified spouse of a current court employee?
The Board concluded that retaining a long-term court employee who is now married to the judge of that court may create the appearance of impropriety but is not per se nepotism under Canon 3B(4), and…
Can a lawyer send a statutorily required document, like a medical-records release request, directly to an adverse party the lawyer knows is represented by counsel?
The opinion concluded a request the statute commands be served personally on the party is 'authorized by law' and does not violate Rule 3.6(j), but counsel must mail a copy to the represented…
Can a lawyer require the client to pay copying costs for the file's work product before releasing the file?
Where no fees are owed and no lien arises, the committee concluded the client owns the entire file, including work product purchased by paying fees, so the lawyer must surrender it and may not…
Can a Michigan lawyer join a prepaid legal services plan run by a financial company whose nonlawyer president resolves disputes between the lawyer and members?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may not join the plan, because letting the organization's nonlawyer president control client disputes interferes with the lawyer's independent professional judgment…
Can a lawyer who sits on the city council represent clients before judges the council appoints if the lawyer abstains from the appointment vote?
No, and abstaining is not the answer. Georgia FAO 89-2 advised that an attorney who is also a city council member should avoid representing private clients before Recorder's Court judges the council…
Can a lawyer run a for-profit adoption referral and consulting business alongside a law practice, and advertise the two together?
The Committee concluded a lawyer may operate a separate for-profit referral business, but the law office and the other business must be kept entirely separate; advertising the referral service in…
Can a Michigan judge go door-to-door or sell items on the street to raise money for a charity?
No. A judge may not individually solicit funds for a charitable, religious, educational, fraternal, or civic organization, which includes door-to-door or on-the-street sales and solicitation; a…
Can a lawyer who serves on a school board take private work opposing a development the board supports?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may not accept private employment opposing the school district's annexation position: it is a direct personal-interest conflict, a public official may not oppose…
Can a lawyer who sits on one lending institution's board also represent a competing lending institution in the same community?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may represent two competing institutions in substantially unrelated matters, and may represent a competitor of an institution on whose board he serves only with the…
If a client disappears after a case is settled, can the lawyer sign the settlement draft, take his fee, and hold the rest in escrow?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may not settle, sign settlement papers, or deduct a fee without the client's authority; if settlement was authorized before the client vanished, separate authority is…
Can a lawyer withdraw from a litigated case when the client cannot afford to pay the fee, and does the lawyer need the court's permission if the client consents to the withdrawal?
The opinion concluded that nonpayment due to a client's inability to pay can be a deliberate disregard of the fee obligation that warrants permissive withdrawal, but in a litigated matter the lawyer…
Did a secretary’s distant relative or a former custody adversary require the judge’s recusal?
The distant relative did not require recusal by itself. The former adversarial relationship could reasonably raise impartiality concerns, but the Commission said elapsed time plus written party and…
Did a judge’s proposed financial winddown of a former law firm violate the Alabama Canons?
The Commission found no violation under the described plan, which included transfer of the firm interest and recusal from former firm matters while remaining ties continued.
Can a lawyer sign a contract agreeing to pay a client's medical provider and expert-witness fees out of the client's recovery?
The committee concluded a lawyer may advance or guarantee medical and reasonable expert-witness fees only if the client remains ultimately liable and never as a contingent fee to a witness; while…
Can a Michigan lawyer put a clause in the retainer agreement requiring that any fee dispute with the client go to arbitration?
Yes, the opinion found no ethical bar to an arbitration clause for fee disputes, but it applied the malpractice-liability rule and required that the client first obtain independent counsel about the…
If a lawyer serves part-time as a domestic relations referee, can the lawyer's firm appear before the referee, and can the lawyer act as referee or counsel in matters from the other role?
A part-time referee may later represent a party in a matter handled as referee only with all parties' consent (and firm screening), may not hear matters the referee handled as a lawyer, and is…
Can a Michigan judicial candidate's campaign committee solicit and accept contributions from political action committees?
A campaign committee may solicit no more than $100 from a PAC that is the alter ego of a lawyer or firm, and may accept unsolicited PAC contributions unless they appear motivated by a desire to…
Can a legal-services lawyer personally give or solicit money or goods for a client's living and medical expenses during litigation?
The opinion concluded that the prohibition on a lawyer providing financial assistance to a client in pending litigation applies to legal-services lawyers, so the lawyer may not personally donate or…
Can a lawyer pay an advertising service that runs generic ads and sends all responders in an area to that lawyer, and does naming the participating lawyers in the ad change the answer?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not use an advertising service that places ads omitting the lawyer's own name, address, and phone number or that operates as an unapproved lawyer referral…
Can a lawyer defend criminal defendants when other lawyers in the same firm prosecute municipal code violations for a city, even if the prosecutions and defenses are entirely unrelated?
The committee concluded that a firm may not represent criminal defendants in misdemeanor or felony cases while the firm prosecutes municipal code violations on behalf of a city, reaffirming the…
Can two lawyers in the same firm represent class-action plaintiffs and, in an unrelated case, a defendant being sued by one of those class members?
The opinion concluded both representations may continue only with the affected clients' informed consent under DR 5-105(C) (or court authorization for the class), plus confidentiality safeguards; a…
Does the rule allowing a metropolitan bar association's referral service to charge a percentage fee also apply to a statewide trial lawyers association's referral service?
The opinion concluded that the financing rule approved in Opinion 88-F-115 extends to any lawyer referral service operated by a bar association representative of the general bar of its geographical…
May a Maryland judge accept an unpaid commission on the state militia Adjutant General staff?
No. The Committee treats the commission as another office because the militia could be mobilized to exercise state power, despite its usually advisory work and lack of salary.
Can one assistant attorney general represent a state hospital's patients in Medicaid appeals against a state agency that another assistant attorney general represents?
The opinion concluded that the hospital attorney may handle the Medicaid appeals against the agency, provided no confidential information is shared with the agency's attorney, because the…
Can a lawyer who represents the county school board seek confiscated cash for the board when the same lawyer also represents the criminal defendant from whom the cash was seized?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer may not, without the criminal client's consent, pursue the confiscated funds for the school board, because the client could have a superior claim if her…
When a lawyer's partner sits on a city council, can the lawyer sue the city for a client whose claim the council denied, if the partner is screened?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer may continue to represent the contractor in a civil action against the city if the council-member partner is screened from the litigation and apportioned no…
After being appointed to defend an indigent criminal client, can the lawyer accept private payment from that client to keep representing them in the same case?
The opinion concluded that appointed counsel may not accept payment from the client because appointment rules and the illegal-fee rule limit compensation to what the court awards; if the client…
Can a law firm treat a single all-inclusive fee as earned, deposit it all in its general account, and pay litigation costs from there if the client agreed in writing?
The opinion concluded no: part of an all-inclusive 'fee' that is really intended to cover litigation costs is an entrustment, and the trust-accounting rules require funds received in a fiduciary…
Can a law firm require all clients to pay a nonrefundable retainer, and how is a true retainer different from an advance fee deposit for trust-accounting purposes?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may charge a reasonable nonrefundable retainer as consideration for the exclusive use of the lawyer's services and, because the arrangement is unusual, should…
Can lawyers who are minority owners of a real estate brokerage refer clients to it, and can their firm close transactions the brokerage brokered?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer-owners may refer clients to the brokerage if they disclose their ownership and reasonably believe the referral is in the client's best interest, but their firm…
Can a lawyer join a title company's network and conduct loan closings using documents the lender prepared, and what must the lawyer tell the borrower?
The opinion concluded that because the lender has a primary interest in the closing documents, the lender may prepare them and the lawyer does not assist the unauthorized practice of law by…
Can a lawyer who jointly represented both spouses for years later represent one of them in their divorce, and can a former associate of that firm represent the other spouse?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who had represented both spouses in numerous financial matters may not, over the other spouse's objection, continue representing the husband in the divorce,…
Can I buy corporate surety bonds for my clients through my relative's insurance agency, if I don't get paid anything for it?
Yes. The panel held that such bond purchases are perfectly proper, assuming the clients are not placed at any disadvantage by having their bonds purchased through the attorney's relative's agency.
Can I advertise that I handle divorce, annulment, or alimony cases in Rhode Island?
Not without risk of a rule violation, according to this opinion: R.I.G.L. Section 11-27-20, a 1905 statute, makes it a crime for a lawyer to advertise services regarding a suit for alimony, divorce,…
I want to team up with two of my clients to buy real estate from two other clients of mine, who've agreed to get independent legal and accounting advice for the deal. Can I participate as a purchasing partner?
Yes, according to the panel, provided the attorney complies with Rule 1.8(a)'s requirements: the transaction and its terms must be fair and reasonable to the selling clients and fully disclosed to…
Someone told me my client is 'a fraud' and filed a disciplinary complaint against me for continuing to represent the client. I have no personal knowledge of any dishonest conduct by my client. Can I keep representing the client?
Yes. The panel held that continued representation was proper, since the attorney had no personal knowledge of dishonesty on his client's part, there is no requirement that lawyers represent only…
I asked for reconsideration of the panel's opinion that my accident-victim solicitation letters violated the old Code. Rhode Island has since adopted the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Does that change the answer?
No, and the analysis is now independently confirmed under new Rule 7.3: the panel held that the same sample letters both failed Rule 7.3(b)(1)'s advertisement-labeling and Disciplinary Counsel copy…
Can a lawyer file suit before the statute of limitations runs without yet having full factual support for the claim?
Yes, within limits. Georgia FAO 87-1 concluded that filing suit before complete factual support exists is not improper if a reasonable attorney would conclude there is a reasonable possibility that…
Does a judge’s earlier role as fact finder in a capital murder sentencing automatically disqualify the judge on retrial?
No. The Commission said the prior judicial role alone did not require recusal on a second or third retrial, citing Canon 3C and the Alabama Whisenhant decisions.
If a lawyer is genuinely unsure whether the confidentiality rule requires revealing a client's confidences to prevent the client from causing substantial financial or property harm to someone else, will the lawyer be disciplined either way?
The opinion concluded that SCR 20:1.6(b) requires disclosure only when the client's act is criminal or fraudulent and is reasonably believed likely to cause substantial financial or property injury…
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.