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 an Ohio court set up and fund a self-help clinic staffed by appointed lawyers for self-represented litigants, and what duties do those lawyers owe?
The opinion concluded that a court may establish and fund a self-help center and appoint and compensate lawyers to give limited scope assistance to self-represented litigants, as long as the court…
May a lawyer who took custody of another lawyer's client files solicit those clients for legal work?
Yes. A lawyer who holds a prior lawyer's client files only as a custodian, not through a sale of practice, may offer legal services to those clients if the lawyer reviews the files only as needed to…
What are a Utah local counsel's duties when the lead lawyer is admitted pro hac vice and wants local counsel to do as little as possible?
The opinion concludes that serving as local counsel is not a perfunctory role; under Rule 5.1 local counsel must supervise the pro hac vice attorney, provide Utah-law expertise, and remains…
After a client dies, can the lawyer who drafted the will disclose the client's confidential information to family or the personal representative?
Usually not. The opinion concludes the duty of confidentiality and the attorney-client privilege survive a client's death, so a lawyer ordinarily may not disclose protected information to family…
Must a Maryland judge disclose that an appearing attorney once served as the judge’s law clerk?
Maryland Judicial Ethics Opinion 2017-21 says a former clerk relationship alone requires neither recusal nor disclosure when impartiality is objectively sound; disclosure in that situation remains…
May a circuit judge appoint the probate court’s former special administrator as special master in the same estate cases?
No. The former administrator’s case knowledge and involvement disqualify that person as master. Preliminary interviews with another candidate may address qualifications and availability, but not…
Must Utah Supreme Court justices recuse when a litigant's case names three of them as defendants?
The three named justices had to recuse. The Committee allowed the two unnamed colleagues to hear this appeal because it involved judicial acts and the opinion found no personal-bias factor…
Could a part-time Utah justice court judge also adjudicate workers' compensation or labor cases?
Yes, subject to constitutional limits and avoiding overlap with justice-court cases. The Committee required recusal from related small-claims matters and an end to the outside job if recusal became…
May a judge publish an article offering volunteer help to strangers and invite requests by email?
The committee rejected the proposal: the article tied the offer to the judge’s office, abusing its prestige, and the email invitation risked ex parte contacts from parties before the judge.
What duties apply when a Colorado lawyer represents an allegedly incapacitated adult or serves as guardian ad litem in a protective proceeding?
Counsel must maintain a normal lawyer-client relationship as far as reasonably possible, follow the client's expressed objectives, and preserve confidentiality. A guardian ad litem is an independent…
Can a lawyer suing the government contact a represented government official directly to discuss settlement or policy?
Yes, within limits. The opinion permits a lawyer to contact a represented government decision-maker about policy related to the litigation, including settlement, but only after giving the…
Can a Maine lawyer view or request access to the social media of opposing parties, jurors, and judges?
Yes for public content. A lawyer may view publicly available social media of represented parties, jurors, and judges, but may not request access to the private portions of a represented party's or a…
May a judge request reassignment of a courtroom clerk whose partner is the assistant district attorney assigned to the docket?
Yes. The committee found an appearance of impropriety from the clerk’s relationship and said the judge may request a different clerk for cases involving that prosecutor when multiple clerks are available.
What confidentiality and competence duties apply when a California lawyer discusses a client matter on social media, including blogs and online discussion boards?
A lawyer must take reasonable steps to avoid revealing client information through online posts, even when the client is unnamed; aggregated posts plus pretexting may identify the client and waive…
May a judge accept appointment to a public university’s board of governors?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2017-18 rejects the appointment under the state constitutional bar on another public-trust office and Judicial Conduct Rule 3.4.
Can a New York lawyer subpoena a current client for evidence in another client's lawsuit?
Ordinarily not without consent. Subpoenaing a current client on behalf of another client usually creates a Rule 1.7 conflict that requires informed written consent from both clients; absent that,…
I represent a former city employee suing the city. Can I also serve as legal counsel to that city's council without a conflict of interest?
The panel concluded it is a conflict under Rule 1.7 to represent a client suing the city and also serve as counsel to the city council, because the lawyer would be directly adverse to a current…
Can a New York lawyer pay Avvo Legal Services' marketing fee to participate in the program?
No. Avvo's marketing fee is an improper payment for a recommendation under Rule 7.2(a). By advertising its ratings as identifying 'the right' lawyer, touting participants as 'highly qualified,' and…
Can a lawyer pay a for-profit online service a flat fee for leads to potential clients?
Yes. A lawyer may pay a for-profit lead service for client leads if the service picks lawyers by transparent, mechanical methods, does not analyze the client's problem or recommend any lawyer, and…
Can a court hire someone who also works for a nonprofit treatment center under contract with the court, and can court staff fundraise for that nonprofit?
The opinion concluded that, under the Ohio Ethics Law, a court may not employ a person simultaneously employed by a nonprofit drug treatment center that contracts with the court, unless a statutory…
Is a judge automatically disqualified when a campaign opponent’s law partner represents a litigant?
No. The opponent’s campaign activity is not automatically imputed to partners. If the judge is not disqualified, the partner may also be appointed to represent indigent defendants.
May a judge appoint a current election opponent to represent indigent defendants in new cases assigned to the judge?
No. The Commission said the judge would be disqualified from new cases involving that attorney and therefore could not appoint the attorney as indigent counsel in cases assigned to the judge.
Can a Kentucky lawyer provide limited-scope ('unbundled') services and ghostwrite pleadings for a pro se litigant, and what has to be disclosed?
Yes. Under Rule 1.2(c) and the Persels decision, a lawyer may limit representation to defined tasks with the client's written informed consent, and may ghostwrite an initial pleading that is…
When may a Maryland judge identify a suspected human trafficking victim in court and seek assistance?
Maryland Judicial Ethics Opinion 2017-01 permits limited inquiry and assistance for a suspected trafficking victim, with safeguards for counsel, impartiality, timing of referrals, and probation law.
If a client tells a North Carolina lawyer not to pay a medical provider out of settlement funds, may the lawyer disburse those funds to the client instead when the provider has a perfected statutory lien?
No, if the lien is perfected. A perfected statutory medical lien means the client is not currently entitled to the disputed funds, so the lawyer must segregate and retain them, and must pay the…
Can a North Carolina lawyer run a billboard or other ad that shows only a website URL, without the firm name, lawyer names, or office address?
Yes. An advertisement that includes only a URL satisfies Rule 7.2(c) so long as the firm's website contains the firm's official or trade name, or a responsible lawyer's name, on the homepage and the…
May Maryland judges accept free Orioles tickets for seats in the Governor’s Box?
Maryland Judicial Ethics Opinion 2017-12 says judges may not accept the free Governor’s Box tickets because the appearance of closeness to the executive branch could undermine confidence in judicial…
Does a judge violate the Judicial Conduct Code by rejecting disciplinary counsel’s informal view on assistant public defender conflicts?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2017-17 says a judge may apply a sincerely held interpretation of unsettled conflict law even if it differs from disciplinary counsel’s informal view; such a decision does…
What must a lawyer do to protect client confidences when crossing the U.S. border with a laptop or phone?
Before crossing, a lawyer must take reasonable steps to avoid carrying or exposing confidential client data; at the border the lawyer may comply with an agent's lawful-authority demand only after…
Could a judge hear cases prosecuted by a deputy supervised by the judge’s brother, the elected county attorney?
Nebraska Judicial Ethics Opinion 17-2 required recusal from the brother’s office cases and barred the judge from appointing the brother as counsel; a properly recorded waiver could permit some…
Can a lawyer represent a private applicant before a town planning board when partners in the same firm serve as the town's attorney?
No. This is a nonconsentable concurrent conflict. When firm lawyers serve as Town Attorney and Deputy Town Attorney advising the planning and zoning boards, no lawyer in the firm may represent an…
Can a New York law firm send an educational newsletter to a broad audience, and accept payment from a real estate brokerage to offset the cost?
Yes to both, with limits. An educational newsletter is not advertising and may go beyond current and former clients; if it primarily promotes the firm it is advertising and must meet Rules 7.1 and…
Does a party’s suit against a judge in official capacity or ethics complaint automatically disqualify the judge?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2017-16 rejects automatic disqualification in either situation, but calls for disclosure on the record and Trial Court Rule 17 procedure where applicable.
When a lawyer takes over a deceased lawyer's cases, may the lawyer pay the deceased lawyer's estate a share of the fee, and how may fees be split if the case is referred to a third attorney?
The lawyer may pay the estate only the portion of the fee that fairly represents legal services the deceased lawyer actually performed; paying for a bare referral, where the deceased did no work, is…
When a law firm receives a settlement check covering the client's money, a referral fee, a staff bonus, and the firm's own fees, which payments must come out of the attorney trust account, and how fast?
Money in which a client or third person has an ownership interest must be paid from the trust (Special) account; money owed to someone who has only a claim against the lawyer may be paid from either…
May a judge or the judge’s spouse contribute community funds to the spouse’s campaign for public office?
A judge may not contribute to a spouse’s campaign. The committee concluded that the spouse may use community funds to contribute, provided the judge avoids public association with or apparent…
May a judge dance in a charity contest where the public pays to vote for contestants?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2017-15 rejects the judge’s participation because paid public votes for the judge’s dance team would raise funds.
May a part-time municipal judge keep representing an entity whose legal work is directed by the city department that prosecutes in the judge’s court?
No. The Commission said that arrangement would erode the court’s independence and require disqualification in all municipal cases; it limited the judge’s role in pending former-client matters to…
Can a Florida lawyer split fees with an out-of-state lawyer whose firm has nonlawyer owners?
Yes, if the out-of-state lawyer is authorized to provide the services, nonlawyer ownership is permitted and complied with in that firm's home jurisdiction, and the fee split follows Florida's…
Can a New Jersey lawyer participate in online legal-services platforms like Avvo, LegalZoom, or Rocket Lawyer?
No. The Committees held that New Jersey lawyers may not participate in Avvo's legal services because it requires impermissible fee sharing and referral fees (RPC 5.4(a), 7.2(c), 7.3(d)), and may not…
When a legal aid lawyer gives brief advice through a social worker for a low-income client, what ethics rules apply?
If the brief help creates an attorney-client relationship with the individual, the lawyer must avoid conflicts, get informed consent to a reasonable limited-scope representation, and provide…
Can a lawyer threaten to report an opposing party to a regulatory or administrative agency to gain leverage in a civil settlement?
Rule 3.4(e) bars only threats of criminal charges, so threatening a non-criminal proceeding is not barred by that rule; but such a threat can still violate extortion law (and Rules…
May a Maryland judge attend a fundraising event held by a charitable or educational organization on whose board the judge serves?
Maryland Judicial Ethics Opinion 2017-14 permits mere attendance, including at fundraisers, while distinguishing that from formal program appearances or speaking at events unrelated to the law or…
May a judge host an unpaid podcast about professional sports for a commercial radio station?
The Committee allowed the proposed sports podcast subject to limits on judicial identification, advertising, online content, sports wagering advice and comments on pending or impending cases.
May a lawyer who drafted a couple's trust tell the beneficiaries that the surviving spouse, as trustee, misappropriated the trust assets, when the lawyer learned this from the successor trustee who consulted as a prospective client?
No. The successor trustee was a prospective client, so the lawyer owes her the same confidentiality owed to a former client under Rules 1.18 and 1.9. The information is confidential and no exception…
May a Maryland judge organize public education on heroin laws using judicial stationery and a law clerk?
Maryland Judicial Ethics Opinion 2017-13 permits limited judicial participation and initial letterhead outreach, but restricts court-time demands, coercion, clerk work, and fundraising.
May a full-time Maryland District Court commissioner work part-time for a private security company?
Maryland Judicial Ethics Opinion 2017-11 says the commissioner may not take the described security-guard job because Rule 18-203.11 bars full-time judicial appointees from employment by an unrelated…
Can an Ohio lawyer run a virtual law office, and what office address must the lawyer list if there is no traditional physical office?
The opinion concluded that an Ohio lawyer may operate a virtual law office, provided the lawyer is competent in the technology used, takes reasonable efforts to prevent inadvertent disclosure of…
May a Maryland judge include the judge’s home in a public charity fundraising tour if publicity omits the judge’s title?
Maryland Judicial Ethics Opinion 2017-10 says no: the proposed home tour would still link the judge to a public fundraiser, and omitting the title or naming only the spouse would not remove the…
Can I serve on the board of a law-reform organization when my firm represents a client (a board of elections) that the organization has filed complaints against?
The panel concluded yes. Rule 6.4 lets a lawyer serve as a director, officer, or member of a law-reform organization even though the reform may affect a client's interests; the lawyer need only…
Does a lawyer have to respond to a query from the disinherited son of a deceased client, who is neither a client nor a party to the will, asking the lawyer to confirm she drafted it?
No. The New York Rules impose no general duty to communicate with third parties, only two narrow exceptions that do not apply here. The lawyer has no obligation to respond to the son, and disclosing…
Must a D.C. court-appointed criminal defense lawyer also enter the client's parallel civil protection-order case, and can the lawyer advise the client there without appearing?
The opinion concludes that a Criminal Justice Act (CJA) lawyer appointed in a criminal domestic violence matter is neither required nor barred from entering an appearance in the client's parallel…
Must a lawyer follow opposing counsel's instructions to communicate only in writing and to copy opposing counsel's client on every message?
No. A lawyer may communicate with opposing counsel in any manner he chooses, though opposing counsel need not respond to that method. With opposing counsel's prior consent, a lawyer may, but is not…
Can a lawyer email clients without encryption, and when is stronger security required?
Usually yes. The opinion concludes that unencrypted routine email generally remains acceptable if the lawyer makes reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized access, but stronger measures such as…
May a judge hear cases involving a lawyer who rents office space from the judge’s spouse?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2017-14 disqualifies the judge from cases involving the lawyer who rents commercial space from the judge’s wife.
Can a West Virginia lawyer pay a fact witness for the time the witness spends testifying or preparing to testify?
A lawyer may pay a fact witness reasonable compensation for time lost preparing for testimony and being interviewed, but not for attending court or a deposition beyond the statutory witness fee, and…
If a divorce lawyer learns after the judgment that the client omitted a material asset from a sworn Statement of Net Worth, must the lawyer do anything about it?
Yes. The lawyer must take reasonable remedial measures that are still available, even after the case has ended, starting by urging the client to correct the statement. If the client refuses, the…
Must a judge recuse from future cases involving a former judge whose discipline named the judge as a witness?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2017-13 rejects automatic disqualification from future cases, but calls for full disclosure of the relationship and applicable Family Court Rule 58 and Trial Court Rule 17…
May a Maryland District Court commissioner work for a nationwide sexual assault support hotline?
Maryland Judicial Ethics Opinion 2017-09 says no because hotline counseling could overlap with criminal or protective-order matters and lead to frequent disqualification and apparent partiality.
May a Maryland judge install officers of a local chamber of commerce at its annual dinner?
Maryland Judicial Ethics Opinion 2017-05 permits the nonpartisan, nonfundraising chamber ceremony if the judge acts privately without robes, checks political ties, and considers recusal if chamber…
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.