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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Does a subrogated insurer become a client of the lawyer who represents the insured plaintiff?
No. The opinion concludes that pursuing an insurer's subrogated claim on the insured's behalf does not, standing alone, make the insurer a client of the insured's lawyer; the insurer's financial inter…
Does a lawyer have to withdraw because opposing counsel calls the lawyer a 'necessary witness,' when others in the firm know the same facts?
No. The committee concluded that a lawyer is a 'necessary witness' under Rule 3.7 only when the lawyer is the sole available source of material testimony on a contested issue, so as long as others can…
In a small community with few lawyers, can a Texas lawyer advise the client to hire all of them so the opposing party can't find local counsel?
It depends on purpose. The Committee concludes that counseling a client to retain all local lawyers to deprive the opposing party of representation violates Rule 4.04(a) if the conduct has no substant…
Can a Texas lawyer keep representing a client when a former client's conduct turns out to be material to the case?
Yes, if the new matter is not adverse to the former client, or if it is adverse but does not question the lawyer's prior work, is not the same or substantially related, and carries no reasonable proba…
Can a Texas lawyer agree to mediate a divorce between two unrepresented spouses and also draft the divorce decree and documents if they settle?
No. The Committee concludes a lawyer-mediator may not agree up front to both mediate and provide legal services, which violates Rule 1.11(b); and because a divorce is litigation, the lawyer cannot rep…
Can a lawyer whose law partner is a city law director represent criminal defendants?
The opinion concluded that a city law director or assistant city director, having prosecutorial duties for the state, could not represent criminal defendants where the state is plaintiff; a firm colle…
Can lawyers in the same county public defender's office represent co-defendants, even at a preliminary hearing or in unrelated cases?
The opinion concluded that an assistant county public defender should not represent co-defendants at a felony preliminary hearing, or one co-defendant in a felony while representing the other in an un…
What does an Ohio lawyer do with money in a client trust account when the client cannot be found or identified?
The opinion concluded that when the identity or whereabouts of the owner of funds in an IOLTA or client trust account is unknown, the lawyer follows Ohio's unclaimed-funds statute (R.C. Chapter 169) a…
Can a lawyer outsource legal or nonlegal work, including to overseas providers, and what duties apply?
Yes. The opinion concludes a lawyer may outsource legal or nonlegal support services if the lawyer remains ultimately responsible for competent representation under Rule 1.1 and supervises the provide…
Can a lawyer who represents a judge also appear before that judge for other clients in unrelated matters, and what must the lawyer do about disqualification?
Representing the judge is a conflict that the non-judicial client can consent to, but if the judge does not raise disqualification as the Judicial Code requires, the lawyer who continues the matter vi…
Can a lawyer hire a nonlawyer to organize and speak at estate-planning seminars, and what can the nonlawyer say or do?
Yes, a lawyer may hire a nonlawyer to give estate-planning seminars presenting general information, but the nonlawyer may not exercise independent legal judgment, give legal advice, or meet individual…
Can a lawyer deliver or manage client files through a password-protected website instead of on paper?
Yes. A lawyer may upload closing documents to a secure website and email the client a password to download them, and may use a web-based management system that gives clients online access to their own…
Can a lawyer subpoena documents from a non-party without scheduling a hearing, deposition, or trial?
Yes. The opinion concludes a lawyer may issue a subpoena to a third party to produce records without a pending hearing, deposition, or trial, so long as the subpoena complies with the current North Ca…
Can a New York lawyer provide legal services by phone to employees referred by an Employee Assistance Program that pays the lawyer, and later take private work from those employees?
Yes to both, if the Code is otherwise honored. The committee concludes a lawyer may serve EAP-referred clients by telephone and be paid by the EAP, and may accept ancillary private retention, subject …
Can a Montana lawyer charge a fixed or flat fee, and can such a fee be called 'nonrefundable' or 'earned on receipt'?
Yes to flat fees, with conditions. The opinion concluded Rule 1.5 permits a fixed or flat fee if the agreement meets disclosure, reasonableness, refund, and trust-deposit obligations, and discouraged …
I have a medical-payment check for my former client, but she won't endorse it, her new lawyer wants me to forward it, and the chiropractor who has a lien wants me to hold it. What do I do with the check?
Hold it or interplead. The panel held that under Rule 1.15(d) and (e), where a client and a third-party lienholder both claim an interest in the same funds and the client has not consented to payment …
My client, who was insured through the carrier that retained me, is giving an account of the accident that's flatly contradicted by the police report and eyewitnesses. Do I have to withdraw?
It depends on what the lawyer actually knows. The panel held that Rule 1.16(a) requires mandatory withdrawal only if the lawyer knows the client is lying in furtherance of a fraudulent claim; if the l…
Can a New York lawyer monitor a client's investments for potential claims for free, then handle any resulting lawsuit for a fee?
Yes. The committee concludes a lawyer may review a client's portfolio for potential securities-fraud claims without charge, even though the lawyer may later be retained, for a fee, to litigate any cla…
Must a lawyer keep client emails and electronic documents, and can the lawyer charge the client to retrieve and produce them?
A lawyer must retain emails and electronic documents the client may later need, the same as paper files, and a client has a presumptive right to the lawyer's entire file subject to narrow exceptions. …
Can a D.C. lawyer pass on to the client the interest the firm pays on a line of credit it used to advance the costs of the client's case?
The opinion concludes a lawyer may pass along the interest charges incurred by using the firm's line of credit to advance a client's litigation costs, so long as the client is fully informed in advanc…
How do the D.C. conflict-of-interest rules apply to a lawyer who lobbies, and can a lawyer-lobbyist avoid them by treating lobbying as a law-related service?
The opinion concludes that the D.C. Rules treat lobbying as a 'matter,' so most conflict rules apply. Rule 1.7(a) absolutely bars a lawyer or firm from advancing opposing positions in the same lobbyin…
If two jointly represented clients want opposite litigation strategies, can the lawyer keep representing one of them?
Not both. The committee concludes a lawyer must withdraw from joint clients whose strategies significantly diverge, and may continue for one only with the other's informed consent and if the lawyer ca…
Can a New Mexico lawyer pay an expert witness a fee that is contingent on the outcome of the case?
The opinion concluded that paying a fact witness on a contingency basis violated the rules, while whether paying an expert witness contingently violated them turned on undeveloped New Mexico substanti…
Can an Alabama lawyer advertise the ability to communicate in a foreign language when a nonlawyer employee, not the lawyer, will actually do the communicating?
Yes, but the advertisement must make clear that the employee, not the lawyer, will communicate in the foreign language. Any Rule 7.2(e) disclaimer must appear in the advertised language (and in Englis…
Can a Maine lawyer communicate with clients by unencrypted email without violating the duty of confidentiality?
Yes, as a general matter and subject to appropriate safeguards. The opinion concludes lawyers have a reasonable expectation of privacy in unencrypted email, but reasonable judgment may require a more …
Can a Maine lawyer use off-site vendors for transcription and computer backup if their technicians can access confidential client data?
Yes, with appropriate safeguards. The opinion concludes a lawyer may use remote transcription and server-backup services outside the lawyer's direct supervision if the vendor has an enforceable duty t…
When a New York lawyer must report another lawyer's misconduct, who counts as the right authority, and does telling a lawyer assistance program satisfy the duty?
The report must go to a tribunal or a grievance/disciplinary committee with investigative power. The committee concludes that reporting to a lawyer assistance program, while salutary, does not satisfy…
Can a Kentucky lawyer join a for-profit group marketing service that sends prospective clients to participating lawyers through an 800 number or website, and how can the lawyer pay for it?
Qualified yes. The opinion concluded a lawyer may participate and pay reasonable advertising costs (including per-'hit' charges) so long as the arrangement is advertising and not a disguised for-profi…
Can a lawyer who sits on a company's board, but is not its counsel, or anyone in that lawyer's firm, sue the company for a client?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who sits on a corporation's board but is not its counsel has a Rule 1.7(a)(2) material-limitation conflict barring the lawyer from representing a client suing that …
I'm a sole practitioner and I also volunteer as a court mediator. Can I rename my firm 'Smith Law and Mediation' to promote both services?
No. The panel held that including 'Mediation' in a law firm name is misleading under Rule 7.1 because it implies the lawyer's private mediation practice is regulated by the Rhode Island Supreme Court …
When a lawyer represents an organization in a dispute, does the lawyer also represent the organization's officers and employees, and what must the lawyer tell them?
No. The opinion concludes that representing an organization does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship with its constituents, and a lawyer may not assert otherwise without a reasonable …
What are a Colorado lawyer's duties for metadata, both when sending electronic documents and when receiving them from the other side?
A sending lawyer must use reasonable care, grounded in competence and confidentiality, to avoid transmitting metadata containing confidential information. A receiving lawyer generally may search and r…
When a city attorney represents the city as an organization, does the lawyer owe confidentiality to individual officials like the mayor or council members, and can separate office lawyers be screened from each other?
The city attorney's client is the city, not its individual constituents, so information from one official generally need not be kept from another and may have to be shared to keep the city informed. T…
Can one lawyer in a firm present the administration's case to a school board while another lawyer in the same firm advises the board?
Yes, there is no conflict of interest, because both lawyers represent the school board and owe no duty of loyalty to the student or employee appearing before it; but the opinion strongly urges lawyers…
If a lawyer learns a client filed court documents under an alias, must the lawyer correct the record despite confidentiality?
It depends on materiality. The opinion concludes a lawyer has a duty under Rule 3.3 to correct previously filed court documents that contain the client's alias only if the client's name is a material …
Can a lawyer collect contact forms at a seminar, give gifts for referrals, and hand out business cards for others to distribute?
The opinion concludes a lawyer may conduct and advertise educational seminars and collect attendee feedback forms, but may not follow up by in-person or telephone solicitation and must wait for the at…
Where must the 'advertisement for legal services' notice go on a targeted direct-mail letter and envelope, and what else can appear?
The opinion concludes the required advertising notice satisfies the 'beginning of the body of the letter' requirement if it appears anywhere from the top of the page down to immediately below the salu…
Can a lawyer outsource legal support work to nonlawyers or foreign-licensed lawyers abroad?
Yes. The opinion concludes a lawyer may outsource legal support services to nonlawyers or foreign-licensed lawyers, and the assistant's location is irrelevant, so long as the lawyer satisfies the same…
When a lawyer switches firms in Nevada, when is the new firm conflicted out, and can screening cure it?
The Committee concluded that a lawyer who moves firms is personally disqualified under Rule 1.9 from a matter adverse to a former client he represented or about which he gained confidential informatio…
Can a Virginia lawyer who practices only patent law before the USPTO form a partnership or share fees with a non-lawyer registered patent agent?
Yes, in this narrow setting. Although Rule 5.4 bars partnering or sharing fees with a non-lawyer, federal patent regulations preempt that rule for a practice devoted solely to patent law before the US…
When an agent under a durable power of attorney hires a lawyer to get a client onto Medicaid, and the agency claims the agent mismanaged the client's money, does that create an unwaivable conflict?
The committee concluded the only client is the Medicaid applicant, not the agent, so the agency's claim that the agent mismanaged funds does not by itself create an unwaivable conflict. It is at most …
If a lawyer represents two clients in the same matter, can the lawyer share one client's confidential information with the other?
Not without informed consent. The opinion concludes that Rule 1.6 protects each client's information separately, so a lawyer may not reveal one client's confidential information to a co-client where i…
Can a Utah lawyer ghostwrite pleadings or give substantial behind-the-scenes help to a self-represented litigant without telling the court, and what duties still apply?
The opinion concludes that, absent a court rule requiring disclosure, it is not dishonest for a lawyer to give extensive undisclosed limited-scope help to a pro se litigant, including drafting pleadin…
Can a Texas lawyer have a client agree in advance that the lawyer may charge the client's credit card for invoices unpaid after 30 days?
Yes. The Committee concludes a lawyer may charge a client's credit card for earned fees if the client consents and the client's right to challenge a disputed bill is preserved; but a disputed amount c…
Can a Texas lawyer's engagement agreement require the client to pay the lawyer's defense costs if the lawyer gets joined as a defendant in the client's case?
Yes, with conditions. The Committee concludes such a clause is permissible if it does not prospectively limit the lawyer's malpractice liability under Rule 1.08(g) and if the defense-cost obligation p…
Can a Utah lawyer who represented a party in a guardianship case go on to represent the guardian the court appoints?
Only after analyzing it as a current-or-former-client conflict under Rules 1.7 and 1.9; if the facts show direct or material adversity, or the guardian's fiduciary and statutory duties would materiall…
Can a lawyer licensed in another state represent Social Security claimants in Nevada without being admitted there?
The Committee concluded that an attorney admitted in another state but not in Nevada does not commit the unauthorized practice of law by representing Social Security claimants in proceedings before th…
Can a lawyer join a for-profit business networking group that requires members to exchange client referrals?
No. The opinion concludes that a lawyer's commitment to give business referrals in exchange for client referrals is 'giving something of value' to solicit employment, barred by Rule 7.3(f). A for-prof…
Can the New York office of a multi-state law firm be run by a non-partner New York lawyer supervised by an out-of-state partner who is not admitted in New York?
Yes, under the Code. The committee re-examines and overrules N.Y. State 175 and concludes the Code does not require a multi-state firm to have a partner admitted in New York; the New York office may b…
If a Texas lawyer agreed to binding arbitration of a fee dispute and loses, is refusing to comply with the award a disciplinary violation?
It can be. The Committee concludes that refusing to obey the award violates Rule 1.14 or 1.15(d) if the lawyer keeps client funds contrary to the award, and violates Rule 8.04(a)(3) if the lawyer ente…
If a Colorado lawyer already took earned fees out of the trust account and the client then disputes the bill, must the lawyer put the disputed money back into trust?
No. The opinion concludes that once fees are properly withdrawn from trust under Rule 1.5(f) and the fee agreement, a later client dispute does not turn the money back into client property, and return…
Can a prosecutor tell someone that criminal charges will be deferred if they settle a civil claim, like repaying alleged welfare overpayments?
Only with probable cause. The committee concludes a prosecutor may propose a civil resolution as an alternative to prosecution only if, after due investigation, the prosecutor has formed an opinion th…
Can a nonprofit trade association run an attorney-staffed legal hotline that disclaims any attorney-client relationship and waives conflicts for its members?
No, it cannot disclaim the relationship. The Committee concludes an attorney-client relationship ordinarily arises in one-on-one hotline advice, so the association cannot disclaim it; RPC 6.5 relaxes …
Can a lawyer use a free email service, like Gmail, that scans message content to display targeted ads, given client confidentiality duties?
Yes. The committee concludes a lawyer may use an email provider whose computers scan messages to generate targeted advertising, so long as no humans other than sender and recipient read the messages a…
What makes an 'of counsel' designation proper, and how does it affect firm names, fee division, and conflicts of interest?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may be 'of counsel' to a firm only where there is a continuing, close, regular, and personal relationship that is more than a partner/associate role, a mere forward…
Can a D.C. lawyer take on a matter adverse to a former client by limiting the scope of the new representation so that it is not substantially related to the prior matter?
The opinion concludes that, under certain conditions, a lawyer may limit the scope of a new representation, to a discrete legal issue or a discrete stage of litigation, so that the new matter is not '…
Can a lawyer keep required business records electronically instead of on paper?
Yes. The opinion concludes lawyers may keep electronic copies of the business records required under Rules 1.4, 1.15, and 7.2, but may not destroy or alter original client documents entrusted for safe…
Must a lawyer who ghostwrites pleadings or provides unbundled, limited-scope help to a pro se litigant disclose that assistance to the court?
It depends. The Committee concludes limited-scope assistance is permitted under RPC 1.2(c) with informed consent, and disclosure to the court is required only when the help is part of an organized non…
Can a lawyer take a flat fee from an insurer to defend its insured, and can the lawyer agree to keep that fee arrangement secret from the insured?
The opinion concludes a fixed-fee insurance-defense arrangement is permissible so long as it does not impair the lawyer's independent judgment, competence, or diligence. Disclosure of the fee basis to…
Can a criminal defense lawyer who is an elected city councilor or county commissioner cross-examine police officers in the same district?
Yes, where the lawyer holds office in a council-manager or county-manager form of government in which the governing board has no direct control over a law enforcement officer's salary or employment. T…
How these opinions are useful
- Understand the rules: Ethics opinions interpret how the rules of professional conduct apply to real fact patterns.
- Persuasive authority: Not binding like court discipline decisions, but state bar formal opinions carry substantial weight.
- 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.