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 assert a retaining or attorney's lien over a client's documents and funds in the lawyer's custody when the client refuses to pay fees?
The opinion concluded that it is not unethical for a lawyer to exercise a retaining or attorney's lien to which he is entitled by law over a client's documents and funds properly in his custody, but…
Can a wife's divorce attorney enforce a court-ordered fee against the husband when doing so might interfere with the support payments the wife and children depend on?
The opinion concluded that the attorney may move to enforce the court-ordered fee, but if the husband cannot pay both the fee and essential support, the attorney should subordinate enforcement of…
Can a municipal attorney do the legal work on a developer's project if the developer deposits the fees with the municipality instead of paying the attorney directly?
The opinion concluded it would be unethical. A municipal attorney cannot perform a developer's project legal work, even when the fee is routed indirectly through a deposit with the municipality,…
If a lawyer is subpoenaed to testify about a client's assets, can the lawyer refuse to answer questions he believes call for privileged communications?
The opinion concluded that whether a particular communication is privileged is a question of law for the court; a lawyer may refuse to answer matters he in good faith believes privileged unless the…
Can a lawyer form a partnership with a nonlawyer to represent clients before regulatory agencies the nonlawyer is authorized to practice before?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not form a partnership with a nonlawyer to practice before state and federal agencies, even where the nonlawyer is authorized to appear there, unless the…
Can a municipal attorney also serve as attorney for the planning board, zoning board, or other boards in the same municipality?
The opinion concluded that a municipal attorney cannot serve as attorney for any board or agency of the same municipality if there is or may be a conflict of interest in a particular situation, but…
Can a lawyer represent someone whose business is to acquire other people's claims and then sue on them?
It depends on how the claims were acquired. The opinion concluded that where claims are merely assigned, an earlier opinion bars the lawyer from acting (intermediary exploitation under Canon 35),…
After winning a judgment, can the plaintiff's lawyer contact the defendant directly about settling it, or must he go through the defendant's lawyer?
The opinion concluded that entry of judgment and expiration of the appeal period do not automatically end the attorney-client relationship, so the plaintiff's lawyer may not communicate directly…
If an assistant city attorney's law partner is appointed to the state road board, what matters must the city attorney and his firm avoid?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer may continue as an assistant city attorney, but should not personally deal with the state road board or road department on the city's behalf and should not…
Can a Florida lawyer write directly to insurance companies to place mortgage loans for clients?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may write directly to life insurance companies to obtain loans for clients, provided the letter does not directly or indirectly suggest that the lawyer or his…
Can a Florida law firm affiliate with a corporation solely to qualify for group health insurance rates?
The opinion concluded that a firm may affiliate with a corporation it represents purely as a technical step to obtain group medical and hospitalization insurance, provided the firm keeps its…
Can a Florida lawyer write a general-interest legal column for a local newspaper?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may write a newspaper column that discusses general matters of law, so long as it does not advise on any specific or individual problem and the lawyer is not…
Can a lawyer regularly employed by a title insurance company examine titles the company is required to insure, without aiding unauthorized practice?
Yes. The committee concluded a title insurance company, like a lender, may choose its own attorney to examine title, so a lawyer regularly employed by the company who renders that legal service is…
When a lender hires a lawyer to examine title and the borrower pays the fee, whom does the lawyer represent if the title turns out defective?
The lawyer is responsible primarily to the lender that hired him and secondarily to the borrower only insofar as the loan security is affected. The committee found no conflict-of-interest violation…
Can a lender's lawyer take a fee the borrower is required to pay, even though the borrower never hired that lawyer?
Yes. The committee concluded that a lawyer the lender employs to examine title is rendering a legal service to the lender, so requiring the borrower to pay that fee as a loan cost does not make the…
Can a lender insist on its own lawyer examining title instead of the borrower's lawyer, and is that aiding unauthorized practice?
No, it is not unauthorized practice. The committee concluded a building and loan association may insist that its own attorney examine the title to property it will take as security, and that the…
Can a lawyer employed by an accounting firm provide legal services, such as estate planning, to the firm's customers?
The opinion concluded the lawyer cannot. A lawyer-employee who supplies legal advice that enables a lay employer to render legal services to the employer's customers aids the unauthorized practice…
Can a district attorney represent a private landowner in a condemnation case brought by the state, while the county and state are his public clients?
The opinion concluded the district attorney may not. A full-time or part-time district attorney represents the county and state at all times, and taking a condemnation case against the state highway…
Can the plaintiff's lawyer later represent the defendant insured in a Stowers bad-faith suit against the insured's own carrier?
The Committee concluded that the plaintiff's attorney may represent the insured in a later Stowers suit against the carrier if the plaintiff's judgment has been satisfied, but not if it remains…
Can a district attorney's law firm represent the surety in a county's civil suit over a misappropriation the DA first presented to a grand jury?
The Committee concluded that the firm of a district attorney who presented the misappropriation facts to a grand jury may not ethically represent the bonding company defendant in the county's later…
Can a lawyer who is a retired army officer put his military rank and retired status on his professional calling card?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer's professional calling card may not include his military rank and retired status, such as "Colonel John Doe, USA (Ret)," because that use of the title violates…
Can a lawyer print practice areas like "Land Titles, Wills and Probate Matters" at the top of his letterhead?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer may not list specialties such as "Land Titles, Wills and Probate Matters" on his letterhead, because listing fields of practice that way is advertising…
Can lawyers run a paid newspaper ad endorsing a political candidate that identifies the endorsers as lawyers?
The Committee concluded that lawyers may publicly endorse candidates, and whether the ad may identify the endorsers as lawyers turns on whether their dominant purpose is to advertise themselves or…
Can a lawyer let a church directory list his photo, home address, phone, and firm name when the directory carries no advertising?
By a 4-3 vote the Committee concluded that an attorney may permit a church-directory listing with his photograph, home address and phone, firm name, and business phone, where the directory goes only…
Can a lawyer plead guilty to a traffic charge, pay the fine by check to the judge, then stop payment on the check after leaving?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer who pleaded guilty to speeding before an out-of-state justice of the peace, paid the fine by check, and then stopped payment on the check engaged in conduct…
Can a lawyer serving as executor take a referral fee or split the fee of a law firm he hired to defend a will contest?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer acting as an estate's executor may not accept a referral fee or a division of the fee paid to a law firm he hired to defend the will, because he employed the…
Can a lawyer accept adoption cases when the placement agency hands prospective parents a circular naming him and his fee?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer violates Canon 24 if he permits or acquiesces in an adoption agency distributing a "Legal Adoption" circular naming him and his fee, or knowingly accepts…
Can a lawyer sue a defendant in a personal-injury case while the lawyer's firm represents that same person as a comp claimant from the same collision?
The Committee concluded that it is a clear violation of Canon 6 for a lawyer to prosecute a personal-injury suit against a defendant while the lawyer's firm represents that same defendant as a…
Can the insurer's lawyer defend the insured in a damage suit and at the same time sue the insured for a declaratory judgment that the policy was canceled?
The Committee concluded by a 7-1 vote that an attorney violates Canon 6 by defending the insured under a non-waiver agreement in a collision damage suit while filing a separate declaratory-judgment…
Can plaintiff's counsel deal directly with the insurance adjuster to settle a case, and can the defense lawyer consent to that?
The Committee concluded that plaintiff's counsel violates Canon 9 by negotiating directly with the defendant's adjuster without defense counsel's consent; defense counsel may consent in a workmen's…
Can a plaintiff's lawyer interview a manager of the defendant organization without the consent of the organization's counsel?
The committee concluded that, where the chamber of commerce was a represented adverse party and not a public body, plaintiff's counsel could not interview its manager about the case without opposing…
How does the State Bar of California committee process requests for legal ethics opinions?
Formal Opinion 1965-1 set out the committee's procedural ground rules: where to send requests, screening for any pending discipline, assignment and drafting, quorum and voting, the standard advisory…
Can a former municipal attorney who is still handling the town's tax-foreclosure cases take on a private client's tax-assessment appeal against that same town?
The opinion concluded he cannot. While he is still representing the municipality on its tax-sale foreclosures, he cannot at the same time represent a private taxpayer in an appeal whose interests…
Can a lawyer who serves on a municipal parking authority represent private clients in that municipality's municipal court or before its other agencies?
The opinion concluded he cannot. An attorney who is a member of a municipal parking authority cannot represent private clients before the municipal court or any other public agency of that…
Can a county-court prosecuting attorney also defend criminal cases, whether in the same county's circuit court, in other counties, or in federal court?
A majority of the committee concluded that a prosecuting attorney for a county judge's court may not act as defense counsel in criminal cases in the same county's circuit court, may not continue a…
Can a lawyer hired and paid by a bank draft and submit a corporate client's pension plan to the IRS when the lawyer must represent the corporation's interests?
The opinion concluded that the arrangement was improper because the firm, though employed and paid by the bank, would have to represent the corporate employer's interests before the IRS; the better…
Is it a conflict for a lawyer to represent a bank while being paid by a client whose business the bank and an insurance company solicited?
The opinion concluded that the arrangement created a conflict of interest and was improper, following its companion Opinion 64-71; it also flagged that the lawyer's set fee had to bear a reasonable…
Can a lawyer prepare estate analyses for insurance agents to use with their prospects, with the fee tied to insurance sales?
The opinion concluded that preparing the analyses for the agents was improper as practice through an intermediary, and that, even otherwise, a fee made contingent in whole or part on the sale of…
Can a lawyer who sued in his own name as his client's assignee keep the money collected to pay off fees the client owes him in other matters?
The opinion concluded he cannot. Suing as an accommodation assignee is not itself a violation, but taking the assigned claim or the money collected as payment of fees earned in other matters amounts…
Can a municipal attorney who heads the town's law department represent a pedestrian injured in an accident within the municipality?
The opinion concluded he is not precluded on these facts, where the police took no action and no member of the law department was involved, but the Committee reiterated that an attorney in such…
Can a lawyer take part in a real estate closing run at a title company's office where the buyer has no lawyer and the title company handles the paperwork?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer may participate, because the title company's described activities do not clearly amount to the unauthorized practice of law, but if the title company prepares…
Can a lawyer serve as a board of education's attorney when his law partner is the attorney for the township?
The opinion concluded that he may, because the township and the board of education are distinct and separate entities with neither able to interfere with the other, so no conflict exists, but both…
Can a lawyer let his name be listed under 'Lawyers' in a chamber of commerce business directory that urges readers to patronize its members?
The opinion concluded that the listing was professionally improper. Because the directory's purpose was promotional, with slogans urging readers to patronize its members, the attorney listing fell…
Can a lawyer's firm defend a wrongful-death action when a partner once represented the deceased in a marital dispute with the plaintiff widow?
The Committee concluded the representation was improper. The partner's knowledge from representing the deceased husband in the prior marital separation was chargeable to the firm and would be used…
Can the attorney for a residential developer, who also represents the construction lender, represent an individual buyer purchasing a home in the tract?
The Committee concluded that, unlike an isolated sale, a developer's attorney generally cannot also represent a home buyer, because the desire to keep the developer's and lender's business and his…
Can a lawyer hire an independent non-lawyer adjuster to negotiate and settle a client's accident claim, and pay that adjuster a percentage of the settlement?
The Committee concluded that engaging the lay adjuster to settle the claim was improper under Canons 33, 35, and 47. It did not reach the conditional question about a percentage fee.
May a former judge or a sitting magistrate be addressed as 'Judge' while practicing law, or use the title 'Judge' on stationery?
The Committee concluded that calling an advocate 'Judge' during a trial was improper because it could suggest preferential treatment, and that a magistrate could use 'Judge' on stationery for…
Can two law partners each represent a different municipality when the municipalities take opposing positions in the same county-tax litigation?
The Committee concluded a conflict of interest existed. Because the litigation could reduce one municipality's county tax while increasing the other's, the two partners could not represent the…
Can a local bar association keep a shared file listing clients who are delinquent on attorney's fees, and may a lawyer take on a client who still owes another lawyer?
A majority of the committee found a bar-association reference file of fee-delinquent clients unprofessional and possibly contrary to the confidentiality canon; it also stated it is not unethical for…
Can a lawyer notify former will clients that a change in federal tax law may affect the wills the lawyer drafted for them?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may notify clients whose wills the lawyer prepared of changes in federal tax law that may affect those wills, subject to conditions, and that any indirect…
Can a law firm give its will clients a printed memorandum, bearing the firm's name, explaining events that could affect their wills?
The opinion concluded that a firm may give testators of wills it prepared a printed memorandum bearing the firm's name that generally explains how asset changes or family events could affect a will,…
Can a lawyer do a savings and loan association's general legal work for free or a nominal fee in exchange for its title-examination work, and how are the title fees handled?
A majority concluded that a lawyer may do an association's non-title legal work gratuitously or for a nominal fee, treating the title-examination fees as aggregate compensation; the title fees must…
Can a full-time assistant city attorney who also leads a city-employee association present the association's pension-plan changes to city officials?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer could not ethically present the association's pension proposals to city officials because of the conflict between his duty to the city and his leadership of the…
Can a mortgage company's attorney charge the seller a fee at a closing where the attorney represents the lender and the seller has no lawyer?
Three responding members concluded that the lender's attorney may not charge the seller a fee absent an agreement with the seller, but may collect a reasonable fee, as part of the closing costs,…
Can a municipal prosecutor represent his own client on appeal to the county court, challenging a conviction from the same municipal court he serves?
The Committee concluded it would be improper. A municipal prosecutor is in effect the municipality's attorney, so appearing on a county-court appeal that challenges the municipal court's…
Can the counsel to a municipal parking authority also represent private clients before that municipality's court or its other public agencies?
The Committee concluded he cannot. Although a parking authority is largely autonomous, it is by statute an agency and instrumentality of the municipality, so its counsel may not represent private…
Can a Florida lawyer list an out-of-state lawyer's name on the firm letterhead when they work together but are not partners?
The opinion concluded that it is improper to list an out-of-state lawyer's name on a Florida firm's letterhead when no partnership exists between them, even though they work jointly on many matters.
Can a lawyer take over a retiring attorney's cases and pay him a share of future fees, or a lump sum, for the goodwill of the practice?
The Committee concluded both arrangements were improper. Paying a retiring attorney a percentage of future profits or a lump sum for his practice and goodwill violated the canon against dividing…
Can one attorney represent both defendants accused of adultery in two separate divorce suits arising from the same conduct, where each defendant consents?
The Committee concluded there was no impropriety. Assuming the adultery involved the same facts and each defendant gave full, unequivocal consent, the defendants had a common interest with no…
Can a lawyer belong to a Chamber of Commerce and let his name be listed in a booklet the Chamber publishes for advertising?
The Committee concluded the lawyer could be a member of a Chamber of Commerce, but could not permit his name to be listed in the booklet because the booklet's purpose was, at least in part,…
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.