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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May a Missouri lawyer answer a former client's negative online review using information the client already posted?
Generally no. An online review is ordinarily not a Rule 4-1.6(b)(3) controversy, and confidentiality covers all representation information regardless of source and facts that could lead to it; a…
Must a Missouri lawyer report opposing counsel who appears intoxicated and impaired?
Yes if the lawyer knows opposing counsel was intoxicated while representing a client and obtains the reporting lawyer's client consent for representation-related disclosure. Suspicion is…
May a court vendor pay for a judge and court employees to visit its offices for e-filing training?
A majority in West Virginia JIC Opinion 2018-07 permits the trip with the existing court vendor to improve the statewide system, provided costs are reasonable and the judge reports their total value…
May a Missouri lawyer report a bogus-check scam by someone posing as a prospective client?
It depends on relationship status. Client information remains confidential with no Missouri crime-fraud exception; prospective-client information receives Rule 4-1.18 protection. If neither…
May a Missouri lawyer pay an out-of-state lawyer a percentage of a contingent fee solely for referring the case?
No referral fee may be paid. A fee may be divided only under Rule 4-1.5(e): proportional services or joint responsibility, written-confirmed client agreement to the association, and a reasonable total fee.
May a Missouri lawyer hire a nonlawyer assistant from opposing counsel's firm without creating a conflict?
Yes, absent other facts, if the nonlawyer is properly screened from affected matters under Rule 4-1.0(k) and supervised under Rule 4-5.3. Nonlawyer involvement does not itself impute the former…
May a Missouri lawyer represent a parent when the lawyer's partner formerly served as guardian ad litem in related custody matters?
Only with all parties' informed written consent, or with a timely screen, no fee share for the former guardian ad litem, and prompt written notice to the parties and tribunal allowing verification…
May a Missouri lawyer advance the cost of a required medical affidavit and expert case evaluation?
Yes. Rule 4-1.8(e) permits the lawyer to advance both litigation costs, and repayment may be contingent on the outcome.
What must a Missouri lawyer do with trust-account funds belonging to a deceased client?
The lawyer holds the funds, reasonably monitors for an estate, and pays the estate. If lawful distribution or an estate is unavailable or unjustified, the opinion directs use of Missouri's…
Can a lawyer use a third-party financing company to help clients borrow money to pay legal fees, and do the fees the lawyer pays the company count as sharing fees with a non-lawyer?
Yes. A lawyer may associate with a third-party financing broker that loans clients money to pay fees, and the reasonable fees the lawyer pays the broker are not prohibited fee-sharing because they…
Can a lawyer accept client earnest-money deposits through PayPal, and when must those funds be moved into a trust account?
Yes. A lawyer may take earnest-money deposits through PayPal if the account holds no funds of the lawyer's own and records are kept; nominal or short-term funds must then move to an IOLTA account,…
Can a registered investment adviser (RIA) firm in Utah employ a lawyer to provide estate-planning services to the RIA's clients and pay the lawyer a share of the firm's advisory fees?
The opinion concludes a lawyer's duties run to the client; a non-client may pay the lawyer's fee if Rule 1.8(f) is met, but an RIA cannot employ a lawyer to deliver legal services to its clients and…
If opposing counsel copies their own client on an email to me, can I hit reply-all and include that represented client in my response?
No, not without consent. Copying a represented party on an email is a communication governed by Rule 4.2, and the mere fact that opposing counsel copied their own client does not, by itself, imply…
Can a Utah lawyer put an indemnification clause in a retainer agreement, and can the lawyer use it to make a client pay the lawyer's malpractice insurance deductible if the client's malpractice claim fails?
The opinion concludes a lawyer may include an indemnification provision covering third-party claims arising from the client's own conduct, but using such a clause to recover the lawyer's malpractice…
Can a lawyer accept a substantial gift in a client's will if the lawyer does not prepare the will, and refer the client to another lawyer to draft it?
Yes. The opinion concludes Rule 1.8(c) lets a lawyer accept a substantial testamentary gift from an unrelated client so long as the lawyer neither solicits the gift nor prepares the document, and…
When a lawyer works for a state enforcement agency, can the same office both prosecute a complaint and advise the agency panel that decides it, and who decides whether to appeal?
An agency lawyer who was substantively involved in investigating a complaint should not later serve as advice counsel to the panel adjudicating it. The decision whether to seek reconsideration or…
Can a law firm represent a party on appeal when one of its own lawyers testified as an expert witness for the opposing party in the same case?
The opinion concludes that if the testifying lawyer truly had no attorney-client relationship with the party who engaged him, the firm's later representation of the adverse party on appeal is not…
If someone already has a lawyer for a matter contacts a second lawyer about that same matter, can the second lawyer talk to them without notifying the first lawyer?
Yes. The opinion concludes Rule 4.2 does not bar a lawyer with no involvement in the matter from communicating with a represented person who seeks new counsel, and no notice to or consent from the…
Can a lawyer let a chiropractor pay part of the lawyer's advertising costs in exchange for client referrals?
Yes. A non-lawyer such as a chiropractor may fund a lawyer's advertising in exchange for referrals, but the arrangement creates a Rule 1.7 conflict that requires the lawyer to disclose the…
If a Utah lawyer is hired by another law firm to consult on a narrow area of law using only hypotheticals, does the lawyer take on a client-lawyer relationship or a duty of confidentiality?
The opinion concludes the consultation alone does not create a client-lawyer relationship between the consulted lawyer and the consulting firm's client, but the consulted lawyer may acquire a duty…
Can a firm use screening to avoid imputing one existing partner's conflict to another partner in the same firm?
No. The opinion concludes the Illinois screening rule applies only when a lawyer becomes newly associated with a firm; it cannot insulate existing firm members from each other's conflicts, so the…
Can a lawyer who is also a licensed insurance agent sell auto insurance for carriers that the lawyer's firm may file claims against?
Yes, provided the lawyer does not perform legal work as an insurance agent and does not represent clients against any carrier where that agency relationship would materially limit the…
Can a Utah law firm keep a founding partner's name in the firm name when that partner is a part-time state legislator who does very little legal work but has not formally retired?
The opinion concludes the name may remain during the seven-week legislative session because that period is not a substantial enough interruption to violate Rule 7.5(c), provided the lawyer is…
Can a lawyer use hidden email tracking software ('spymail' or 'web bugs') when emailing other lawyers or clients?
No, not without consent. The opinion concludes the undisclosed use of email tracking software is dishonest and deceitful under Rule 8.4(c) and invades the client-lawyer relationship; the sender must…
Can a lawyer contact someone who is represented by another lawyer in a different, unrelated matter?
Yes. SCR 20:4.2 only bars communication about the matter in which the person is represented, so a lawyer who represents no one in that matter may contact a represented witness, give a second opinion…
May circuit judges appoint an interim clerk who is running for that office in the coming election?
Yes. The candidate’s election plans do not bar appointment, but the judges must base their selection on merit and proper administration of justice, without considering election prospects or…
When can a lawyer use a former client's information because it is 'generally known'?
Only when the information is widely recognized by the public in the relevant area or within the former client's industry or trade. The opinion concludes that information is not 'generally known'…
When a law school clinic and a legal services group serve as co-counsel, must they clear conflicts across all their clients?
No. Separate firms acting as co-counsel on particular matters are not 'associated in' one firm under Rule 1.10, so they must clear conflicts only for the shared co-counsel matters, not across all…
May incumbent Maryland judges wear robes in individual or slate campaign photographs?
Maryland Judicial Ethics Opinion 2017-37 permits an incumbent judge to appear robed in campaign photos and permits a slate of incumbent judges to pose together in robes.
If a lawyer at a firm that represented a government body leaves to join the firm on the other side, can the new firm keep the case by screening her?
Yes, where she did not have primary responsibility. The Committee held that RPC 1.11's government-lawyer screening does not apply to a private firm's outside counsel; the analysis is under RPC 1.9…
Must a magistrate judge follow a district court remand order for a jury trial despite a local no-incarceration rule?
Yes. The committee concluded that the district court’s appellate ruling bound the magistrate court under the law-of-the-case doctrine, so the judge had to proceed with a jury trial.
When a New York lawyer jointly represents two clients without a conflict, what must the lawyer tell them about how joint representation works?
Even without a conflict requiring informed consent, the opinion concludes Rule 1.4 requires the lawyer to explain the implications of joint representation, including that information material to the…
Can a law firm draft a will for an expert it regularly calls to testify for its clients, and must it disclose that relationship?
Yes, and generally no disclosure is required. Drafting a will for a treating provider the firm calls as a witness does not create a disqualifying conflict, and the firm need not volunteer the…
May a judge serve as conservator for an aunt and administrator of an uncle’s estate and receive a statutory fee?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2017-24 permits both family fiduciary roles and statutory compensation on the stated facts, with compensation reported on the judicial extrajudicial form.
I represent a client against an opponent while job-hunting at a nonprofit that counts the opponent's parent company as a dues-paying member. Is that a conflict of interest?
The panel concluded no. Because the opponent's parent company is merely a dues-paying member with no governance role in the prospective employer, and that organization is autonomous and even takes…
Can a law firm amend its retainer mid-case to secure unpaid fees with a confession of judgment and a mortgage?
Yes, if it complies with Rule 1.8(a). Securing accrued, fixed-amount fees by a confession of judgment and collateral mortgage during a pending matter is a business transaction with differing…
Can a judge look up facts about a case or the parties on the internet, like checking Google, Yelp, or social media?
No, not for disputed adjudicative facts. A judge may not independently research facts about a pending matter online under Model Code Rule 2.9(C); the judge may only use the evidence presented and…
May a Maryland judge write to local attorneys encouraging them to take pro bono clinic cases?
Maryland Judicial Ethics Opinion 2017-35 permits the judge to send the Committee’s revised pro bono invitation to attorneys, provided the encouragement is neither coercive nor an abuse of judicial…
Must a newly appointed judge recuse after a senator who is a defendant agreed to introduce the judge to legislative colleagues?
The committee recommended disqualification because the senator-defendant’s promised introductions could reasonably call the judge’s impartiality into question, even though the judge did not pursue them.
May a magistrate also serve as a county fiduciary commissioner?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2017-23 bars the concurrent role because the commissioner’s estate-supervision duties and resulting case conflicts are prohibited by Rule 3.8.
When could a former corrections agency general counsel hear inmate claims as a judge?
Nebraska Judicial Ethics Opinion 17-3 required recusal from challenges to policies the judge helped draft and supported avoiding claims arising during or soon after the tenure; later application…
When Kentucky law firms discuss a merger, or a lawyer moves laterally, what client information can be shared for a conflicts check without client consent?
Firms and lateral lawyers may exchange basic client information (names, current/former status, adverse parties, and if needed a brief description of the matter) to check conflicts, but not…
If a lawyer cc's their own client on an email to opposing counsel, can the other lawyer 'reply all' to the client, and does cc'ing the client reveal confidential information?
No, cc'ing a client is not, by itself, consent for opposing counsel to 'reply all' to the client; doing so without consent violates Rule 4.2. And cc'ing the client does reveal information relating…
Does recusal when a lawyer acquaintance is a party require a Maryland judge to recuse whenever that lawyer later appears as counsel?
Maryland Judicial Ethics Opinion 2017-28 says no: recusal from the lawyer’s own case does not automatically extend to cases where the lawyer is counsel, and the initial recusal does not violate the…
May a judge privately discuss a criminal defendant’s competency evaluation with the appointed evaluator?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2017-22 finds the proposed private conversation improper under Rule 2.9 and directs a competency hearing with notice to counsel of the evaluator’s request to speak.
If a New Hampshire lawyer agrees to be paid in a client's goods or services instead of cash, what does Rule 1.8 require?
A barter arrangement is a business transaction with the client, so the lawyer must comply with Rule 1.8(a), including fair written terms, advising the client in writing to seek independent counsel,…
Can I represent a client in a deal with a company that is an affiliate of my former firm's client, when my prior work for that client was unrelated to the current deal?
The panel concluded yes. Even assuming the former client and its affiliate share substantial operations and interests, the current transaction is not the same as, or substantially related to, the…
Can a lawyer use an English translation of their own surname as the firm's name?
Under the rule the committee applied, no: a solo admitted under an actual surname could not use an English translation of that surname as the firm name, because it was a trade name and was…
If an insurance company's staff attorney defends an insured, and the same insurer also insures the plaintiff and took a pre-suit statement from her, can the staff attorney keep defending the insured and use that statement?
Per the Committee, the staff attorney's duty runs only to the insured client (loyalty, zeal, and independent judgment); the attorney may use the plaintiff's statement, but if the representation…
When two law firms negotiating a merger agree not to solicit or hire each other's lawyers for a set period, does that no-poach clause violate Rule 5.6(a)?
No. A short, defined non-solicitation clause limited to employment with the one other firm imposes only a de minimis restriction on lawyer mobility, does not impair client choice, and is reasonable…
When a North Carolina lawyer serves as executor or otherwise handles an estate account, when do the Rule 1.15 trust-accounting rules apply and what reviews are required?
Rule 1.15 governs an estate account to the extent the lawyer controls it. A lawyer with signatory authority must run it as a designated fiduciary account and perform the monthly and quarterly…
If a lawyer is personally a party in a case, can the lawyer talk directly to the represented opposing party without going through that party's attorney?
It depends on whether the lawyer is representing himself or herself. The opinion concludes that a lawyer who appears pro se is 'representing a client' and so is barred by Rule 4.2 from contacting…
Can a solo principal call the firm 'A & Associates' when the only other lawyers are 'of counsel'?
Yes. A firm with one principal and two properly designated 'of counsel' lawyers may call itself 'A & Associates,' because 'of counsel' lawyers are 'associated' with the firm, so long as those…
Must a family judge recuse from every case involving the lawyer representing the judge’s daughter in her divorce?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2017-21 rejects automatic disqualification, but calls for disclosure of the relationship on the record and use of Trial Court Rule 17 where applicable.
When must a Connecticut lawyer hold client funds claimed by a third party, and what if the claim is not documented?
A mere claim is insufficient. The lawyer may request reasonable proof; if none arrives within 60 days, the funds may be released to the client, but a substantiated interest requires safeguarding the…
May a Connecticut lawyer put a client's Social Security number on the required real-estate conveyance tax form?
Yes. Assuming the revenue department acts within its stated authority, Rule 1.6 permits the lawyer to supply the number as impliedly authorized to carry out the representation or required by other law.
Can a law firm sponsor parties, sporting events, or raffles to promote its name?
Yes. Sponsoring receptions, sporting events, and raffles is permissible branding outside the advertising rules if the primary purpose is name recognition. The firm may not use those occasions for…
May a county court join other county departments in a United Way fundraising drive?
The committee said the judge and court employees may not hold donation-solicitation meetings or post fundraising fliers in court. Individuals may make their own donations without court involvement.
Can a lawyer who is also a CPA make unsolicited cold calls offering accounting services that overlap with legal work?
No. When the accounting services are not distinct from the lawyer's legal services, Rule 5.7(a)(1) makes all the Rules apply, including Rule 7.3's ban on in-person and telephone solicitation of…
Can a divorce lawyer's retainer authorize charging the client's credit card for bills left unpaid?
The committee cannot say; it turns on a question of law. Rule 1.5(d)(2) bars a fee prohibited by law or court rule, and whether a credit-card authorization is a 'security interest' under 22 NYCRR…
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.