Legal Ethics Opinions
Free state and local bar legal ethics opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and source links on every page.
No opinions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could the spouse of a common pleas judge serve as a prosecuting attorney in the same county, and was the judge required to disqualify from all cases prosecuted by that office?
The Board concluded that the judge's spouse could not appear as counsel in the judge's courtroom (Canon 3C(1)(d)(ii)) but could appear before other judges in the county; the disqualification of one…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, was an incumbent judge automatically disqualified from hearing cases in which an election opponent, or members of the opponent's law firm, represented one of the parties?
The Board concluded that the incumbent judge was not automatically disqualified; under former Canon 3C(1) the judge should disqualify himself only when his impartiality might reasonably be…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could a son who was a law partner of a part-time municipal court judge serve as city law director and prosecute all city matters in his father's court?
The Board concluded that a conflict of interest existed both because of the father-son relationship and because the two men were law partners; under former Compliance Section A(2) a part-time…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could a part-time domestic relations referee in a common pleas court practice law in the general, probate, and juvenile divisions of the same common pleas court?
The Board concluded that referees were considered judges under the former Code Compliance Section because they performed judicial functions, and as part-time judges under Compliance Section A(2)…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could a common pleas judge serve on a county hazardous-materials task force whose purpose was to make recommendations on the county's ability to respond to hazardous materials incidents and spills?
The Board concluded that membership on the county Hazardous Materials Task Force would violate Canon 5G of the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, because Canon 5G prohibited a judge from…
Can a Mississippi lawyer drafting a will let the existing client name the lawyer in the will as attorney for the client's estate?
The opinion concluded yes; where an existing client asks the lawyer to perform the additional service, no conflict of interest, solicitation, or attorney-client problem arises.
When could a Colorado lawyer contact current or former employees of a represented adverse organization without its counsel's consent?
The 2010 revision barred contact with specified current constituents who dealt with counsel, could bind the organization, or whose conduct could be imputed to it. Former constituents and mere fact…
Can a lawyer take an ongoing referral fee from an investment advisor for steering a client's funds there?
The Committee concluded that the conflict in a lawyer taking an ongoing fee from an investment advisor who manages a client's funds is not waivable, because the lawyer cannot keep acting as the…
Can a lawyer cut his fee in half if the client donates the savings to the lawyer's church?
No. The Committee concluded that offering to waive half a fee on the condition the client donates the savings to a church is impermissible fee-splitting with a nonlawyer under SCR 188, even though…
Can a lawyer charge a reduced hourly rate plus a contingent bonus, and split the bonus with out-of-state counsel?
The Committee concluded a combined fixed/contingent fee (a reduced hourly rate plus a success bonus and a share of punitive damages) does not violate the rules so long as the total fee is not…
Can an attorney pay for a follow-up letter from a client's physician if the client stays responsible for the cost?
The committee concluded it was not improper for an attorney to pay for a physician's follow-up letter on a client's behalf so long as the client remained ultimately responsible for the cost, and it…
Did justices’ interests in public retirement systems require recusal from litigation about legislative pension credit?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 1987-03 treated the remaining justices’ potential reciprocal retirement-credit interests as remote and insufficient for disqualification, while emphasizing individual…
Can two unrelated law firms list each other as "of counsel" on their letterheads and pay a 10 percent origination fee on referred work without telling the client?
The committee concluded that it was improper for each firm to list the other as "of counsel" on its letterhead and improper to permit a 10 percent origination fee, and it retracted an earlier…
Does the reporting-immunity for lawyer-assistance committee members extend to volunteer participants, and to similar programs run by other Tennessee bar associations?
Vacated. As originally issued, the opinion expanded Formal Ethics Opinion 83-F-48's reporting immunity beyond officially elected Nashville Bar Association Alcohol and Drug Abuse Committee members to…
Could a law firm avoid disqualification by screening a paralegal who had performed substantive work on pending matters for the opposing party's former counsel?
Vacated; overruled in part by Opinion 89-F-118. As originally issued, the opinion concluded that screening and isolation procedures could not avoid an attorney's ethical disqualification when the…
After Tennessee courts rejected blanket per se rules for government-lawyer conflicts, how does the Board decide whether a governmental attorney or public official, or a law partner, has a disqualifying conflict?
The opinion vacated and set aside Formal Ethics Opinion 86-F-107's sweeping per se prohibitions on governmental attorneys, public officials, and their associates representing other clients,…
Can a part-time municipal judge serve as a criminal defense lawyer in Circuit Court on matters that originated in, and that he handled as judge in, his own Municipal Court?
No, for matters he handled. The opinion concludes that a part-time municipal judge may not represent a criminal defendant in Circuit Court where the judge participated in the lower-court…
Can an incumbent judge use campaign materials that show the judge wearing judicial robes?
The opinion concluded that an incumbent judge who is lawfully entitled to wear judicial robes may use campaign materials depicting the judge in robes, whether or not the judge customarily wears…
Can a bar association pay the expenses of sitting judges who attend its luncheons and annual dinner as invited guests?
The opinion concluded yes; a bar association may bear the cost of having judges attend its functions as guests, because open exchanges between an organized bar and the judiciary do not raise the…
If a non-client buys a former client's interest in the matter a lawyer once handled, can that buyer invoke the lawyer's duties to disqualify the lawyer or claim the former client's confidences?
The opinion concluded no; a lawyer's duties of confidentiality and loyalty run to the client, not to a stranger who later succeeds to the client's substantive rights, so the successor cannot…
Can a Kentucky lawyer whose office is set back from the road place a dignified nameplate on a sign or post shared with other businesses?
Yes. The opinion concluded a lawyer whose office is not visible from the main road may place a dignified nameplate on a post or display used by other businesses in the same or adjacent buildings.
Can a Kentucky firm add to its letterhead the name of a deceased relative, or a retired or disabled lawyer, who never practiced with the firm?
No. The opinion concluded that listing on a firm's letterhead a deceased relative, or a retired or disabled lawyer, who never practiced with the firm is misleading and impermissible.
Can a public defender director follow a funding agency manager's directions in representing indigent clients?
The opinion concluded that the director of a public defender agency may follow the funding body's manager only where professional judgment, client confidences, and conflicts are not implicated.…
Can a law firm send targeted direct-mail letters to people with known specific legal problems?
The opinion concluded that a firm may not send direct mailings targeted at individuals known to have specific legal problems, even if truthful, because such targeted contact is solicitation for…
Can an Arizona lawyer who is not board-certified put a practice 'specialty' on the firm letterhead?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer not certified by the Arizona Board of Legal Specialization may not use 'Commercial Law and Litigation Specialty' or any 'specialist'/'special' wording on…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could opposing candidates for a judicial office engage in a public debate immediately before a partisan primary election, and what restrictions applied to the format?
The Board concluded that the former Code did not specifically prohibit or allow public debates between judicial candidates, but that Canon 7B(1)(c) limited candidates to promising faithful and…
What must a lawyer do if a workers' comp client plans to spend a lump-sum award differently from how it was represented to the court?
The opinion concluded the lawyer must not participate in or aid an improper expenditure or knowingly mislead the court about the intended use of the funds; under Rules 1.2(d) and 3.3, the lawyer…
Can a legal services nonprofit keep clients' unclaimed trust-account funds under its retainer agreement?
No. The Committee concluded a nonprofit legal services corporation cannot contract to take clients' unclaimed trust funds after three years, because that is not a reasonable fee and gives the lawyer…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could a probate-juvenile judge serve on the board of trustees of a not-for-profit fund-raising foundation whose proceeds went to agencies that appeared in the judge's court?
The Board concluded that the judge could serve only if the membership avoided fund-raising solicitation, did not lend the judge's name or office to solicitation, and did not interfere with the…
If a lawyer represents a partnership, can the lawyer sue a partner who was expelled from it?
Yes. The opinion concluded that under the entity theory of Rule 1.13, the lawyer represents the partnership as a separate legal entity, not the individual partner, so suing an expelled partner does…
Is it unethical for defense counsel to condition a civil rights settlement on the plaintiff waiving statutory attorneys' fees?
The opinion concluded that, after the Supreme Court's decision in Evans v. Jeff D., it is not unethical per se for defense counsel to propose settlements conditioned on a waiver of statutory…
Can lawyers and an accountant co-own a corporation that markets combined legal and financial services to clients?
The opinion concluded the proposed venture would violate Rule 3.2(a)(2), because a business that holds out lawyers as providing legal services may not share proprietorship with non-lawyers, whether…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could a retired judge eligible for recall to judicial service serve as a member or co-chairperson of a courthouse restoration committee whose function included raising one million dollars in private donations?
The Board concluded that under Compliance Section C and Canon 5B(3) of the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, a retired judge eligible for recall could not solicit funds for any charitable or…
Can a New York lawyer keep the interest a client's settlement check earns between the day it is deposited and the day it clears?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not retain the interest earned on a client's settlement check between the date of deposit into an escrow account and the date the check clears; that interest…
May an incumbent New York judge be shown wearing judicial robes in campaign material for re-election or for another judicial office?
The opinion concluded that there is no restriction on an incumbent judge being shown in judicial robes in campaign material, whether or not the judge customarily wears robes; being depicted in robes…
When the opposing party is a government agency with counsel, which of its employees can a lawyer interview without the agency lawyer's consent?
The opinion concluded that the no-contact rule applies to government-agency parties the same way it applies to corporations: a lawyer may not contact management or any employee whose act or omission…
Can one lawyer represent several codefendants in the same lawsuit when they could point fingers at each other?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may represent multiple codefendants with a potential conflict only if the lawyer reasonably believes no client's representation will be adversely affected and…
Can a Florida lawyer donate legal services, like a will, to be auctioned or given as a door prize by a charity?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may donate a will or other specified legal service for a charity auction or door prize, overruling earlier contrary opinions, provided the lawyer ensures the…
If a malpractice insurer can settle without the physician's consent, can one lawyer represent both the physician and the insurer?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may represent both only after consulting each about the policy's settlement clause and obtaining consent, may not negotiate a settlement for the insurer when the…
When an associate leaves a law firm, may both the associate and the firm contact shared clients about continuing representation, and how are the fees divided?
The opinion concluded that both the departing associate and the firm may seek the clients' consent to continue, and that fees earned during employment are divided per the employment agreement, but…
Can one lawyer represent both the buyer and the seller in a real estate transaction if both consent after full disclosure?
The opinion concluded that dual representation of an arm's-length buyer and seller is generally improper even with consent, because it is rarely obvious one lawyer can adequately represent both; in…
Can a lawyer who sits on a not-for-profit association's board also represent the association, including suing fellow members for unpaid dues?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may represent the association if he abstains from any board vote on his own employment, guards the client's confidences, and, because he is also a dues-paying…
Must a criminal defense lawyer withdraw if subpoenaed to testify about the client's prior conviction?
The opinion concluded that when a lawyer defending a client on a DWI-with-prior charge is properly subpoenaed by the prosecutor to prove the prior conviction, the lawyer must ordinarily seek to…
Must a government agency lawyer who also represents a discrimination complainant disclose information adverse to the complainant that the complainant confided?
The opinion concluded that when the agency lawyer also represents the complainant, the lawyer need not disclose the adverse confidence to the employer so long as no misrepresentation is made to the…
May a district judge assigned to circuit court hear an appeal of a case the judge decided in district court, including a jury appeal?
No. In the combined Opinions 87-300 through 87-302, the Commission disqualified the judge from appeals from the judge’s own court regardless of who heard the original case or whether a jury would…
May a district judge assigned to circuit court hear an appeal from the judge’s district court when another judge heard the case below?
No. The Commission said the assigned judge was disqualified from hearing appeals from the judge’s own court even when another judge had decided the original district court case.
Must a judge recuse when an appearing attorney bought the judge’s former law practice and is paying a debt still recorded in the judge’s name?
Yes. In the combined Opinions 87-300 through 87-302, the Commission found disqualification because the judge depended on the appearing attorney to pay a debt for which the judge remained liable.
Could a lawyer represent an engineering firm against a former resort-owner client on the facts presented?
The committee found no present conflict on the stated facts, but warned that use of knowledge from the former resort-owner representation could create one. It recommended discussing potential…
Can a real estate closing lawyer file IRS Form 1099 disclosing the parties' sale price and tax IDs without violating client confidentiality, and must clients be told?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer may disclose the Form 1099 information because tax law requires it, so client consent is not needed, but the lawyer should inform the clients and other affected…
Can one lawyer represent an estate administratrix in both her official fiduciary capacity and her individual capacity when creditors sue her in both roles?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer may not represent the administratrix in both her official and individual capacities where her personal interests may be adverse to the estate, including the…
Can a lawyer send an initial demand letter to an adverse party without naming the client when revealing the client's identity could expose the client to retaliation?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer may send a demand letter for an undisclosed client, because nothing in the rules bars negotiating for an undisclosed principal and the client's identity is…
Can the father or brother of an assistant prosecutor practice criminal law in the county where she serves as a prosecutor?
Yes. The Committee held that the family relationship alone does not bar criminal practice where the relatives never practiced together with the assistant prosecutor, who is one of more than twenty…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could the Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court write a foreword for a book on the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution without remuneration?
The Board concluded that writing a foreword to a book on the U.S. Constitution's bicentennial, without remuneration, did not violate the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, because Canon 4(A) and…
Did an attorney’s federal official-capacity lawsuit against all justices require their recusal from another case in which the attorney appeared?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 1987-02 found no grounds for disqualification on the stated motion and lawsuit; the mere official-capacity suit did not establish bias.
Can court-appointed counsel withdraw when an involuntarily committed client insists on appealing a decision the lawyer thinks lacks merit?
The committee concluded it was not improper for the attorney to move for leave to withdraw under DR 2-108(C) if existing law supports the circuit court's decision and the attorney has properly…
Can an attorney deposit a cashier's check into the trust account after the bank has closed and immediately write a trust-account check against it?
The committee concluded it is not proper for an attorney to deposit a cashier's check payable to the firm's trust account after the bank has officially closed and then immediately write a check on…
Can an attorney pay a court reporter's costs if the client remains ultimately responsible for them?
The committee concluded it was not improper for an attorney to pay a court reporter's costs so long as the client is ultimately responsible, and it said whether the attorney has a duty to pay was a…
Can an in-house lawyer get an indemnity agreement from the corporate employer covering legal malpractice?
The committee concluded that an attorney may not solicit indemnification from a corporate employer that limits liability for the attorney's own legal malpractice, but may solicit indemnification for…
Can a lawyer who serves as a part-time state hearing officer also represent private clients in matters before that same agency?
The committee concluded a part-time hearing officer may represent clients before the agency in substantially unrelated matters but not in matters substantially related to those he hears, and may not…
Must a foreclosure lawyer withdraw if the other side will call him to testify about the attorney fees claimed in the judgment?
The opinion concluded withdrawal is not required, because the lawyer's expected testimony relates solely to the legal services he furnished (a Rule 3.4(j) exception), and in any event a partner…
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.