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 print a business card that identifies the lawyer as both an attorney and a real estate agent?
The committee concluded that a card may identify the lawyer as both an attorney and a real estate agent if both are true, but RPC 7.4 bars the phrase 'specializing in land sales and development,'…
Can a lawyer designate another lawyer to take over contacting clients if the lawyer becomes unavailable for an extended period?
The committee concluded that a lawyer could name another lawyer to be responsible during an extended absence, where that lawyer would simply contact the clients and tell them to find new counsel;…
If two people with adverse claims arising from one person's death each consulted the same firm, can the firm represent either of them?
The committee concluded that RPC 1.9 prohibited any lawyer in the office from representing either potential claimant, because the office had an attorney-client relationship with each side and might…
Can a Washington lawyer charge a probate fee set as a percentage of the estate's value and split it with another lawyer?
The committee concluded that a fee set solely as a percentage of the estate's value is not a contingent fee; before any fee-splitting agreement, the lawyer must comply with RPC 1.5(e) on dividing…
Can a parent direct a lawyer to stop representing the parent's minor child, and what should the lawyer do?
The committee concluded that, guided by RPC 1.13, the lawyer should withdraw and may seek appointment of a guardian for the minor child; if the guardian then chose to re-employ the lawyer, the rules…
Which state's trust-account rules apply when a lawyer practices in more than one state?
The committee concluded that the trust-account rules do not resolve conflicts between different states' rules for multi-state practitioners, but that, generally, if trust funds accrue from a…
Can a lawyer who formed and represented a closely held corporation or partnership take a matter adverse to its owner or in a partnership dissolution?
No. The committee concluded that a lawyer who formed and represented a one-shareholder professional services corporation cannot represent others in a dispute with its owner, who could reasonably…
Can a Washington lawyer prepare a will that names the lawyer as a beneficiary or as executor?
The committee concluded that RPC 1.8(c) prohibits a lawyer from preparing an instrument giving the lawyer or a close relative a substantial gift unless the client is related to the lawyer, but that…
Can a lawyer serve as the trustee in a deed-of-trust foreclosure while also representing the lender (beneficiary)?
The committee concluded that a lawyer-trustee who also represents the beneficiary can serve both roles only when the trustee's duty to the grantor does not materially limit the representation of the…
Can a lawyer use an outside advertising service that runs a toll-free number, takes calls, and forwards messages to the lawyer?
The committee concluded that nothing in the Rules of Professional Conduct would prohibit a Washington lawyer from participating in the proposed advertising service, under which an advertising firm…
Could married or closely related Nebraska lawyers represent opposing parties?
Yes, not automatically barred, if each client received full disclosure and consented and the relationship did not threaten loyalty, judgment, or confidentiality; any actual disqualification was…
Under this 1986 Nebraska opinion, could a lawyer serve as deed-of-trust trustee while representing the lender against the borrower?
Yes. The opinion treated the trustee as the lender's agent in a security transaction rather than as a fiduciary for the borrower, provided the lawyer avoided fraud or misrepresentation and followed law.
Under this 1986 Nebraska opinion, could a lawyer charge interest on overdue legal bills?
Yes with an early written client agreement stating a reasonable rate and when interest began; the opinion required the bill to remain unpaid at least 30 days before interest.
Can a West Virginia prosecuting attorney later represent, in private practice, a person the prosecutor previously investigated for criminal charges?
Not when the later private matter is connected to the earlier investigation. LEI 86-3 concluded a prosecutor should not have taken a former criminal client's fee-dispute case because that civil…
Can a law firm hold an educational seminar for clients and non-clients, hoping it brings in business, without it counting as prohibited solicitation?
The committee concluded that a law firm may hold an educational seminar for a mixed audience of clients and non-clients, and mail a brochure inviting them, without violating the solicitation rules,…
Could a Nebraska lawyer participate in a prepaid legal-services plan?
Yes, but the plan could not enable unauthorized practice, breach confidentiality, impair judgment, solicit improperly, or share legal fees with nonlawyers.
Can a town's lawyer represent both the town and its police officers as co-defendants in a Section 1983 civil rights lawsuit?
The committee concluded that a town attorney may jointly represent the town and its officers in a Section 1983 suit only if it is objectively obvious he can adequately represent both and each…
Could a Nebraska city attorney and firm handle criminal defense when the city contract assigned only civil duties and no prosecution?
Yes under the 1986 opinion. An express contract eliminating all prosecutorial duties removed the earlier restriction, and rural access to counsel outweighed appearance concerns.
Can a lawyer being sued for malpractice by a client keep representing that same client on other, unrelated matters?
The committee concluded that a lawyer sued for malpractice by a longstanding client is not subject to a per se bar on continuing to represent that client on unrelated matters or taking new ones, but…
How did Vermont Opinion 86-07 address an agency lawyer’s conflicts between the agency and service recipients, client fraud, and a large caseload?
Opinion 86-07 rejected conflicting simultaneous representations, barred disclosure of a client’s pre-representation fraud learned in confidence, and required adequate work despite a caseload of 2,000.
Could a Vermont city grand juror prosecute defendants represented by a defense lawyer who also served as a city alderman?
Opinion 86-06 found no ethical bar to the prosecutor’s work on the stated facts because the prosecutorial role did not create competing interests with the lawyer’s legislative city role.
May a Vermont lawyer continue representing a custody client who left the state in violation of a visitation order?
Opinion 86-05 says the lawyer may continue representation without actively assisting the client's misconduct or misrepresenting that the client remains in Vermont.
Would Vermont's ethics committee decide whether another law firm could hold client files over a fee dispute?
Opinion 86-04 declined to answer questions about a former firm's file release and fee demands because the conduct belonged to lawyers who had not requested advice. The committee limited its advisory…
May a Vermont legal-services organization warn potential victims about violent threats made during an intake interview?
Opinion 86-03 permits the organization and interviewer to warn potential victims of a client or applicant's threats under former DR 4-101(C)(3), but declines to set a general threat-assessment duty.
Could a Vermont law office rehire a former state employee while handling cases adverse to the state?
Opinion 86-02 allowed the hire and continued cases because the lawyer had no substantial state responsibility in them and, on the stated assumption, held no state confidences or secrets.
Could a former Vermont Department of Public Service lawyer represent a company before the same regulator without a waiting period?
Opinion 86-01 allowed immediate representation where the former government work was on discrete, unrelated matters and no protected department information would be used.
Can a Washington lawyer make telephone calls or send mass-mailed brochures soliciting business from people the lawyer has no existing relationship with?
The committee concluded that the Code's DR 2-102, and the solicitation rule (RPC 7.3) then being proposed in Washington, would prohibit telephone solicitation of business from entities the lawyer…
Can a prosecutor have police interview a jailed represented defendant about another person's crimes without the defense lawyer's consent?
The committee concluded that such an interview about an unrelated matter would not violate RPC 4.2 unless the prosecutor, or an officer acting at the prosecutor's direction, led the defendant to…
Can a law firm put its non-lawyer business administrator's name on the firm's outside sign?
The Committee concluded that a law firm may list a non-lawyer business administrator on its outside sign only if the person is designated as 'business administrator' and the sign also indicates that…
Can a law firm put a legal assistant's name and certification on its letterhead if it also notes the person is a legal assistant and not licensed to practice law?
The Committee concluded that the Code does not prohibit an accurate and dignified listing of a legal assistant's name and any certification on the firm's letterhead, with a designation that the…
Can a lawyer join a barter exchange that gives the lawyer's name to other members and keeps part of the lawyer's membership fees and trade credits?
The Committee concluded that an attorney may not participate in a barter exchange that provides the attorney's name to other members on request while the attorney pays the exchange membership fees…
Can a lawyer who was famous in TV and radio under a stage name practice law under that stage name, or add it as an 'also known as' to his legal name?
The Committee concluded that the attorney must practice under his legal name and may not use the assumed name, because DR 2-102(A) prohibits practicing under a trade name or a name misleading as to…
Can a lawyer charge a flat amount for a traffic-ticket case where the lawyer pays any fine out of that amount and keeps whatever is left?
The Committee concluded that an attorney may not enter into either fee arrangement, because the lawyer's net fee depends on the outcome of the case, making it a prohibited contingent fee in a…
Can the lawyer who takes over a case pay the original lawyer, who was disbarred during the appeal, a share of the contingent fee or quantum meruit?
The Committee concluded that, where the original attorney was disbarred before completing a contingent fee contract, paying him on the contract or in quantum meruit would violate DR 3-102, because…
Can a lawyer charge a non-refundable retainer, and can the lawyer always keep it?
The Committee concluded that a non-refundable retainer is not unethical per se, but a fee is not earned simply because it is labeled non-refundable; a true retainer that secures availability may be…
Can one lawyer in a district attorney's office defend a colleague from that office in a federal suit when a lawyer in the office will be a witness?
The Committee concluded that an attorney in a district attorney's office may represent a colleague who is the defendant if no office lawyer other than the defendant is expected to be a witness; but…
With client consent, may a lawyer have the interest on client trust funds paid to a charitable or trade-association tax-exempt entity instead of to the state IOLTA program?
Only partly. The committee concluded that, with the client's written consent after full disclosure, a lawyer could cause interest on nominal or short-held client funds to be paid to a third-party…
Can a lawyer represent a client both individually and in his capacity as executor of an estate when both the client and the estate are defendants who might shift liability to each other in the same lawsuit?
The opinion concluded that, because the client and the estate were co-defendants who might each try to shift liability to the other, the lawyer could not represent both; the executor could not…
When a lawyer moves to a new firm, is that firm disqualified from a matter against a client of the lawyer's old firm, and can screening the lawyer off avoid disqualification?
The opinion concluded the new firm is not disqualified unless the matter is the same or substantially related to one the old firm handled while the lawyer was there, and even then only if the lawyer…
Can a lawyer co-sign or guarantee a bank loan covering a client's living expenses when the loan is to be repaid from the client's pending, unliquidated claim?
The opinion concluded it was improper for the attorney to guarantee a client's promissory note when repayment was anticipated from an unliquidated claim the attorney was handling, because Rule…
Can a former assistant city attorney who once investigated an employee's discrimination complaint later represent that employee in a retaliation claim against the city?
The opinion concluded the retaliation claims did not appear to meet the substantially-related test of Model Rule 1.11, so the former assistant city attorney was not disqualified, subject to caveats…
Can solo practitioners who only share office space advertise under one firm name, and can a firm keep a departed partner's name?
The committee concluded that sole practitioners who merely share office space may not advertise under a joint firm name without each disclosing that he or she is a separate sole practitioner, and…
If a client gives a lawyer stolen property, what can the lawyer reveal, and can the lawyer trade its return for the victim not prosecuting?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may not disclose the fact of a client's theft, which is a protected confidence, but if the lawyer takes possession of the stolen property the lawyer must reveal…
Can one law firm be listed as 'of counsel' to another, including an out-of-state firm?
The committee concluded that one law firm may be 'of counsel' to another, including an out-of-state firm, with no per se bar, but the designation must not confuse or mislead the public (the…
Must a criminal defense lawyer reveal a client's prior conviction at sentencing if it's a public record and the court doesn't know?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may not reveal the client's prior conviction without consent, because it is a protected confidence and secret even though it is a public record, but the lawyer…
When a client (or former client) asks for the file, what must the lawyer hand over, and can the lawyer hold it back over unpaid fees?
The opinion concluded the file belongs to the client: subject to the statutory attorney's lien, a lawyer must surrender to the client (on request) materials the client furnished and original…
May a Common Pleas judge teach a class at a state university and accept reimbursement for it?
The opinion concluded that a Common Pleas judge could serve as a visiting lecturer at a state university so long as the activity did not interfere with judicial duties, and could accept…
Does a local bar's grievance committee have to tell law-enforcement about criminal conduct it uncovers while investigating an attorney?
The opinion concluded that under EC 1-4 of the former Ohio Code of Professional Responsibility, a Certified Grievance Committee had a duty to notify law-enforcement authorities of criminal conduct…
Did the WSBA committee revisit its opinion on employing a disbarred attorney?
No. The committee declined to reconsider Formal Opinion 171, which addressed the employment of a disbarred attorney; this archived entry records that decision rather than restating the underlying rule.
Can a lawyer hold a client's papers until the fee is paid, and does a bankruptcy discharge wipe out that lien?
The committee said whether a bankruptcy discharge extinguishes an attorney's lien is a legal question it could not answer; if the lien survives discharge, a lawyer may assert it subject to the…
Does a lawyer representing a corporation against its employee's unemployment claim face a former-client conflict or a lawyer-as-witness problem?
On the limited facts, the committee could only say the lawyer representing the corporation contesting the employee's unemployment claim had to comply with RPC 1.9, and noted that if the lawyer would…
What are a government agency lawyer's ethical duties when advising collection staff about debts that may be unenforceable or collection methods that may be unfair?
The committee adopted a memorandum concluding that the agency lawyer's duty under RPC 2.1 is to advise the client agency candidly about the facts and law, including unenforceability and offset…
Can legal services provided by Rule 9 interns be advertised, and whose name must appear in the ad?
Per the opinion, ads for legal services by Rule 9 interns through a legal aid society had to comply with RPC 7.2 and name at least one lawyer responsible for the content; the staff attorney's name…
Can a lawyer who left a firm stay on its letterhead, or be listed as 'retired,' while practicing at a new firm?
No. The committee found it misleading to keep a departed lawyer on the old firm's letterhead or to list him as 'retired' while he practiced elsewhere; only if he was 'of counsel' to both firms could…
Can a Washington lawyer keep a client trust account in a Canadian bank?
Per the opinion, only if the Canadian bank meets the description in RPC 1.14(c); if it does there is no difficulty, but otherwise the lawyer must comply with the rule as written.
Can a lawyer sue the State when another lawyer in the same office previously served on a state commission dealing with a related subject?
Per the opinion, yes; the committee found no conflict or breach of confidences, and no RPC 1.11 violation, because of the narrow definition of 'matter' in RPC 1.11(d).
Can a lawyer negotiate an employment contract to become a corporation's full-time legal counsel and take part of the pay in company stock?
Per the opinion, negotiating such an employment contract, with stock as part of the compensation, did not violate RPC 1.8 because it appeared to be an arm's length transaction and the lawyer was not…
Can a lawyer take a deed of trust and promissory note from a client to secure fees for future legal work?
Per the opinion, the lawyer could take the security if the assignment conveyed only a security interest, not a proprietary interest, so it did not conflict with RPC 1.8(j); but the lawyer then had…
Will the WSBA ethics committee resolve a conflict-of-interest question when the inquiry sets out only limited facts?
No. Because the inquiry set out only limited facts, the committee declined to say more than that the lawyer had to comply with RPC 1.7.
Can a lawyer represent the law firm in a lawsuit against a former client when firm lawyers would be witnesses?
The committee concluded that a lawyer could not represent the firm in litigation with a former client because the firm witnesses' testimony would not relate to the nature and value of legal services…
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.