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 write a general-interest legal article for a newspaper with an author credit, and publicize the firm's attendance at CLE seminars?
The opinion concluded yes to both; a lawyer may cooperate in publishing a general legal article with an authorship credit, and lawyers may release news of their attendance at continuing legal…
Can a lawyer let his name appear on a project billboard stating that he provided the legal work for a construction project?
The opinion concluded yes; a lawyer may permit his name to appear on a billboard noting that he did the legal work for a project, as long as the advertisement is not misleading, which here meant…
Can a lawyer let a client send out collection letters on the lawyer's stationery and name when the client, not the lawyer, runs the collection process?
No. The opinion concluded a lawyer should not lend his name to a client's collection work at all, and disapproved a scheme of escalating form letters on the lawyer's stationery where the client…
Can an assistant county counsel have a partner who serves as a municipality's counsel in the same county, and can the assistant county counsel also be a municipal prosecutor there?
No to the first, yes to the second. The opinion concluded an assistant county counsel's partner may not be counsel to a municipality in the same county, but the assistant county counsel may also…
Can a Texas lawyer keep client escrow or trust funds in an interest-bearing account and retain the interest for himself?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer may not use client money to earn interest for himself; doing so violates DR 9-102 because a lawyer who holds client funds is a fiduciary with no right to the…
Can a part-time city prosecutor also defend criminal cases and handle civil litigation in state court as a private lawyer?
The opinion concluded a city prosecutor may defend criminal cases and represent civil litigants in state court as a private lawyer, provided no municipal police officers are involved, the criminal…
Can a California lawyer who is also a licensed real estate broker act in both roles in the same real property transaction for a client?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may also act as a licensed real estate broker in the same transaction, but the broker work is so law-related that the lawyer must meet State Bar standards…
Can a collection lawyer let the creditor-client's own employees prepare demand letters sent on the lawyer's letterhead?
The committee concluded that a lawyer retained for collection work may use the creditor-client's employees to help prepare form demand letters sent on the lawyer's stationery and over the lawyer's…
Can a California lawyer mail nonclients letters quoting fees for routine services and describing the firm's qualifications?
The committee concluded that mailing nonclients letters that state fees and costs for routine legal services and describe the firm members' qualifications is not prohibited, so long as the letters…
Can a California law office practice under a trade name instead of the lawyers' own names?
The committee concluded that the 1979 repeal of former Rule 2-103(B) permits California attorneys to practice under a trade name, so long as the name is not false, deceptive, or misleading under…
Can a lawyer donate legal services to be auctioned off by a charity as a fundraiser?
The committee concluded that nothing expressly prohibits a lawyer from donating legal services for a charitable auction, but the lawyer must observe several rules: accurately describe the services,…
Does a lawyer's duty of confidentiality under RPC 1.6 continue after the client dies?
The committee concluded that the RPC 1.6 confidentiality obligation continues after the client's death. After death, the lawyer may disclose protected information only with the client's prior…
Can an attorney who is not competent to handle criminal cases accept a court appointment to represent an indigent criminal defendant?
No. The opinion concluded that an attorney who is not competent to handle criminal cases should respectfully decline appointment by the court to such cases, because Disciplinary Rule 6-101(A)(1)…
Can a firm whose member serves as City Attorney defend a person the City Police Department is prosecuting in Criminal Court?
No. The opinion concluded it is improper for a firm to defend a person prosecuted by the City Police Department when a firm member serves as City Attorney and is available to advise the police…
Did a judge’s relative working as a paralegal for counsel’s firm automatically require recusal?
No. The Commission said the employment alone did not require recusal, though the relative’s connection to the case and other facts could cause impartiality reasonably to be questioned.
Can a New York firm list a foreign correspondent or associated firm on its letterhead?
The opinion concluded that a New York firm may not list a foreign 'correspondent,' 'associated,' or 'affiliated' firm on its letterhead, because those terms have no settled meaning and are…
Can an assistant county counsel also defend a municipality in the same county in a civil-rights suit that does not involve the county?
Yes. The opinion concluded there was no inherent or potential conflict in an assistant county counsel defending a municipality, its mayor, and council in a civil-rights action that did not include…
Can a lawyer send fee-schedule information to a registered group legal-services plan without committing improper solicitation?
Yes. The opinion concluded that furnishing the fee information allowed by the advertising rule to a group properly formed and registered under the legal-services-plan rule is proper advertising, not…
May the lawyer who drafts a will name himself as the estate's attorney, executor, or a beneficiary, and does it matter whether the client asked for it?
A scrivener who inserts a clause retaining himself for the estate without the client's request acts unethically; where the testator directs such a designation or a legacy, the opinion treated…
May Maryland judges receiving payments from successor law firms hear cases involving an associate hired by those firms?
No. The Committee applied Courts Article § 1-203(c) to the associate, including cases handled under a public-defender contract, while successor payments continued.
Can a Tennessee lawyer send a pre-suit demand letter, with a copy of a proposed complaint, or an excess-liability letter to an insurer, before the adverse party is represented?
Yes, in good faith. The opinion concluded there is no impropriety in sending a demand letter stating the facts, legal theories, and a proposed complaint, or an excess letter to the insurer noting a…
Did the modified Opinion 81-124 require a municipal judge to resign before seeking elective nonjudicial office?
No. In its May 1982 modification, the Commission said the cited constitutional provisions controlled and neither the Constitution nor the Canons required that resignation.
Must a judge teaching part-time at a university recuse when the university is a party to a proceeding?
Yes. The Commission said the judge should disqualify himself under Canon 3C from proceedings involving the institution that employed him because impartiality might reasonably be questioned.
Can a Kentucky lawyer employ a disbarred or suspended lawyer specifically as a paralegal?
No. The opinion concluded that KBA E-255 is dispositive: a disbarred or suspended lawyer is not a paralegal within SCR 3.700 and so may not be employed in that role.
Can a Kentucky lawyer employ a disbarred or suspended lawyer to do work, and what can that person do?
Qualified yes. The opinion concluded a disbarred or suspended lawyer may be employed for preparatory or ministerial work that a layperson could do, but only under strict provisos: no client contact,…
May a Maryland judge hear cases involving a successor law firm still owing the judge referral fees?
No. The Committee reaffirmed that the judge could not hear cases involving the firm while the referred matter remained open and the judge’s share of the fee remained unpaid.
When an associate leaves a law firm, may the associate keep representing the firm's clients, and who is entitled to the client files?
The committee concluded it is not improper for a former associate to represent clients of the former firm if they agree, and both the associate and the firm may access the relevant files. Who keeps…
Can one law firm represent both the substitute trustee under a deed of trust and the lender in a bankruptcy adversary proceeding seeking relief from the automatic stay?
The opinion concluded the firm may not represent both, because the trustee must preserve the interests of both lender and borrower while the lender is an adversary of the debtor, so advocating for…
If a lawyer sits on a city council, county board, or legislature, what must the lawyer and the lawyer's partners do when the firm appears before that body?
The opinion set out recusal duties for a lawyer-member when his firm appears before his board, and barred the firm from representing that board; it was later overruled in part by RPC 130, which…
May a Maryland judge hear a challenge to traffic regulations adopted by the subdivision where the judge owns property?
No. The Committee concluded that the judge should recuse because the public could reasonably perceive an interest in the validity of the subdivision’s rules.
Did sharing an airplane with a litigant’s relative require the judge’s disqualification?
The Commission said the indirect business relationship alone did not require recusal under Canon 3C, though the judge could choose to disqualify himself.
Can a lawyer employed as a Public Service Commission staff attorney also take private work as a consultant or expert witness in utility rate cases for outside consumer groups?
LEI 81-4 concluded that a Public Service Commission staff attorney should stop accepting any private employment related to utilities and utility regulation while employed by the PSC, to avoid…
Can a lawyer representing one spouse in a contested divorce alleging cruel and inhuman treatment also prepare the answer for the other spouse to sign?
No. The opinion concluded that Canon 5 bars an attorney from accepting employment that involves representing differing interests, and preparing the opposing spouse's answer in a contested…
Can a prosecutor campaign for other candidates while running for re-election?
The opinion concluded that a prosecuting attorney may not actively campaign for other candidates for public office, even during the year the prosecutor is himself a candidate for re-election.
Could a district judge called for jury duty receive the same expense allowance as other jurors?
The Commission said the Canons did not prohibit a district judge serving as a citizen juror from receiving the same expense allowance as other citizens.
May a law firm keep the name of a deceased or retired partner in the firm name?
Yes. The committee concluded that DR 2-102(B) permits a firm to continue using the name of one or more deceased or retired members 'if otherwise lawful,' which it read to mean permitted unless…
May a lawyer charge a contingent fee in a divorce case, tied to obtaining the decree or to the property and alimony the client recovers?
No. The committee, readopting a 1932 opinion, concluded that a contingent fee contract in a divorce case is against public policy and void, because it gives the lawyer a personal interest in…
If a lawyer promised a client's creditor that a debt would be paid from a settlement, and the client then wants to renegotiate, can the lawyer pay the creditor instead of the client?
The opinion concluded that whether the lawyer must turn the settlement proceeds over to the client or to the creditor depends on legal questions, such as the common law of agency, that fall outside…
If a state investigative subpoena demands a law firm's entire trust account records, must the firm resist disclosure of information about clients who did not consent and are not the target of the investigation?
Yes. The opinion concluded that although the client who is the subject of the T.B.I. investigation consented to release of information, the firm is ethically obligated to resist disclosing…
Can a lawyer who serves as conservator and must testify against a bank in his conservator suit be represented by his own law firm?
No. The opinion concluded that where a lawyer-conservator will be required to testify in his own suit against a bank that dishonored the conservatorship account after a non-lawyer employee forged…
Can a Kentucky lawyer disclose the names, addresses, or credit history of clients, and when is that information confidential?
Qualified yes. The opinion concluded a client's identity and the existence of the relationship are usually confidential; a lawyer may reveal a client's name only via public record, where…
Can a Kentucky lawyer send a nonlawyer instead of a lawyer to sit in on the lawyer's own client's deposition?
No. The opinion concluded the lawyer (or another lawyer in the firm) must at least observe the client's deposition in every case; sending a nonlawyer in a lawyer's place neglects the matter under DR…
Can a Kentucky public defender appointed for an indigent client also take a paid retainer to defend that same client in a separate criminal case in another county?
Qualified yes. The opinion concluded the lawyer may continue only if four conditions are met, including that the fee come from someone other than the accused and that a signed affidavit be…
Could a judge run a part-time distributorship and sponsor other distributors?
The Commission said business ownership was possible if it did not conflict with Canon 5C, and that a definite answer required the specific facts of the operation.
Could a part-time municipal judge advise or represent the same municipality as its attorney?
The Commission said the cited statute appeared to bar the additional municipal employment; if so, such employment would also violate Canon 2A, but it left statutory application to the Attorney General.
Are members of a firm that serves as general counsel to a law enforcement officers association disqualified from practicing criminal defense?
Not automatically. The opinion concluded that firm members who serve as general counsel to the Tennessee Law Enforcement Officers Association, handling corporate, tax, regulatory, and death-benefit…
Can a Tennessee law firm produce and hand out a manual about the firm, covering its policies, facilities, fees, and attorney biographies, with no advertising disclaimer?
No, not as proposed. The opinion concluded that the proposed firm manual, distributed to clients and prospective clients with no disclaimer and no restriction on further distribution, did not fall…
Can one attorney represent both spouses in an irreconcilable differences divorce?
Yes, if there is no dispute and both parties give informed consent. The opinion concluded that an attorney may represent both parties in an irreconcilable differences divorce where no dispute or…
Can a law firm defend coal mining clients against federal surface-mining violations when one of the firm's partners sits on the state's quasi-judicial Board of Reclamation Review?
No. The opinion concluded that a lawyer who holds a quasi-judicial position on the state Board of Reclamation Review, adjudicating state surface-mining violations, is barred, along with the rest of…
If a prosecutor convicts a drunk driver, can the prosecutor's law partner sue that driver in a personal injury case for the passenger who was a witness in the criminal case?
The opinion concluded no; the lawyer had to withdraw from the civil case. Maine Bar Rule 3.4(h) bars private employment in a matter where the lawyer (here the prosecutor partner) held substantial…
Is it unethical for a lawyer to bill in minimum time increments, like a tenth or a quarter of an hour, even when a task took less time than the full unit?
The opinion concluded that billing in reasonably accurate minimum time units is not an ethical impropriety. The Commission found that the small deviations from exact precision are de minimis in…
A lawyer watched police search his office and his clients' files; can he testify for those clients at a suppression hearing without withdrawing, and can he still try the case?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer may not testify at the motion-to-dismiss hearing without first withdrawing as counsel, because his eyewitness testimony about the search would be on a contested…
May an attorney charge a contingent fee based on a percentage of a lump-sum property settlement awarded in a domestic relations case?
The committee concluded it is ethically improper to base a legal fee on a percentage of the court-awarded lump-sum property settlement. Decided under Virginia's former Code of Professional Responsibility.
If defending a putative father in a paternity case requires attacking the legal basis of the state's paternity program, can the same attorney who prosecutes paternity cases for the state under that program still take the defense appointment?
No. On the additional facts supplied after Opinion 81-F-12, the Board concluded that because defending the putative father would require attacking the statutory and constitutional bases of the…
Can a city attorney who prosecutes juvenile cases also accept appointments, or a retainer, to defend juveniles in court?
LEI 81-3 concluded that a city attorney whose duties include prosecuting juvenile cases should not defend juveniles, whether retained or appointed, in a state court of record, because the…
May a Tennessee lawyer record a deposition for later voice stress analysis without disclosing either the recording or its purpose?
No, as originally decided. Adopting ABA Formal Opinion 337, the opinion concluded that secretly recording conversations is unethical regardless of its legality under federal law, though a lawyer who…
Can a lawyer who is the trustee under a deed of trust represent one of the parties in a partition proceeding that involves the lender and the trustee?
The opinion concluded the lawyer-trustee may not represent the party unless he first resigns as trustee, because the trustee is a fiduciary to both lender and borrower and cannot be both a party in…
Can a plaintiff's divorce lawyer prepare and give the unrepresented defendant an 'Acceptance of Service and Waiver' form that waives the right to answer and to notice of trial?
The opinion concluded the plaintiff's lawyer may not send or make available a form waiving the defendant's right to answer or to notice of trial, because that has the same effect as drafting an…
Can a firm represent private clients before city boards and negotiate city contracts while also doing case-by-case trial work defending the city and its police officers?
Yes. The opinion concluded that a firm that is not on retainer to a city and is not its municipal attorney does not violate the Canons of Ethics by representing private clients before city boards,…
Can an attorney who is under contract to prosecute paternity cases for the state also accept court appointments to defend indigent putative fathers in other paternity cases?
Generally yes, with safeguards, as originally decided. The opinion concluded there is no inherent conflict of interest barring the arrangement per se, but Canon 5 required the attorney to explain…
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.