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 part-time probate judge run for trustee of a member-owned electric cooperative?
The committee found no Code provision barring the part-time probate judge from seeking election to the cooperative's private trustee position. Because the trustee duties were unspecified, it left…
Can a lawyer take a finder's fee for introducing a client who needs capital to potential investors the lawyer also knows?
Yes. A finder's fee for matchmaking is a nonlegal service the rules permit, but only if the lawyer satisfies the confidentiality, conflict, business-transaction-with-client, and reasonable-fee…
Must a judge recuse or disclose when a school board funds a court-employed probation officer?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2013-04 finds no recusal or disclosure necessary in Board of Education cases because the board has no supervisory authority over the probation officer, who remains a court…
Can a replacement lawyer who knows of a letter of protection the prior lawyer signed to a healthcare provider disburse settlement funds to the client without paying the provider?
Per the Committee, no. Because the successor lawyer knows the healthcare provider claims an interest in the settlement funds under the letter of protection, Rule 1.14(c) requires keeping the…
Can a Texas lawyer take a misdemeanor client's advance authorization to enter a no-contest or guilty plea in the engagement agreement, and can the lawyer do so while also being the client's bail bondsman?
Per the Committee, a lawyer may take advance plea authorization in the engagement agreement if, at that time, the client can make an informed decision about the plea. But if the lawyer is also the…
Can a Texas lawyer phone a real estate agent's client who asked the agent to have the lawyer call, even when the lawyer gives the agent ordinary holiday gifts?
Per the Committee, yes. Because the client requested the call through the agent, the lawyer is not soliciting someone who has not sought the lawyer's services, so Rule 7.03 and the barratry rule…
May a judge hear cases involving firms that employ the judge’s daughter and her fiancé?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2013-03 bars the judge from cases directly involving the daughter or fiancé but permits other lawyers at their firms to appear if the judge discloses both relationships and…
Can a North Carolina lawyer who mediated a dispute then draft a business contract for the two unrepresented parties who settled in the mediation?
No. The opinion concludes that a lawyer-mediator drafting a business contract jointly for the two pro se parties is a non-consentable concurrent conflict under Rule 1.7, even though Rule 1.12(a)…
When does a North Carolina lawyer become a 'necessary witness' who cannot act as advocate at trial under Rule 3.7?
The opinion explains that a lawyer is a 'necessary witness' disqualified under Rule 3.7(a) only when the lawyer's testimony is relevant, material, and unobtainable by other means, and that whether a…
Does a North Carolina lawyer have to include an office address when the firm name appears on a promotional item like a pen, mug, or vanity license plate?
No. The opinion concludes that the Rule 7.2(c) requirement to include the name and office address of a responsible lawyer does not apply to a gift or promotional item that displays only the lawyer's…
Is a fee-division agreement between a departing lawyer and the firm enforceable under the ethics rules, or is it a forbidden restriction on the right to practice?
The opinion concludes the agreement complied with the rules. Because it was negotiated after the associate announced his departure, was not a condition of continued employment, did not deter him…
Can a North Carolina lawyer join an online company's 'network' of lawyers that provides litigation or administrative support, like mortgage-default or eviction processing software, and takes a cut of each matter?
Only under conditions. The opinion concludes a lawyer may participate in such a network if the company is not practicing law or holding itself out as a legal-services provider, is not operating as a…
Can a Florida lawyer store client files in the cloud using services like Dropbox or Google Drive?
Yes, if the lawyer takes reasonable precautions: confirming the provider's security, retaining adequate access to the data, and researching the provider before use.
May a justice hear an unrelated case argued by attorneys who briefly represented the justice before election?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2013-02 permits the justice to hear the unrelated case but requires disclosure of the prior attorney-client relationship to all parties and an opportunity to object.
Can a New Hampshire lawyer advertise that they are a "Million Dollar Advocate" or a member of the "Million Dollar Advocates Forum"?
Yes, but only with an appropriate disclaimer. Without one, the opinion concludes the claim is likely to create unjustified expectations about results and violates Rule 7.1(b) and (c).
May a Connecticut lawyer pay a contingent-fee share to a lawyer currently suspended for unrelated conduct?
Yes, when the suspended lawyer's right to the fee accrued before suspension, the suspension is unrelated to the client or case, and payment complies with Rule 1.5 and applicable law.
Can a lawyer depose a person who is a named defendant but does not yet know about the lawsuit, without telling them the lawyer's client is adverse to them?
No. Under Rule 4.3 the lawyer must disclose that he is not neutral and that the deponent's interests are adverse, and advise the deponent to get counsel; deposing under a false pretense would…
Can a New York law firm list a lawyer admitted only in another state as 'of counsel,' and how must the firm show that lawyer's jurisdictional limits on its letterhead and website?
Yes. A New York firm may have an of-counsel relationship with a lawyer not admitted in New York and need not state the precise nature of the relationship, but Rule 7.5(d) requires disclosing the…
If a firm markets practice-succession planning to solo lawyers, is that advertising, and does a lawyer's agreement to take over a colleague's matters trigger the fee-sharing rule?
No on both. Communications only to other lawyers are not advertisements or solicitations, and a referral or take-over agreement does not make two lawyers 'associated' for fee-sharing unless their…
Can a lawyer contribute to a bar association fund that commissions a courthouse portrait honoring a retiring judge who will keep serving?
Yes. The portrait is a gift to the court, not to the judge, and the honor is not a 'thing of value' to the judge under Rule 3.5(a), so a lawyer may contribute and the bar association may solicit the…
May a magistrate remain on a county emergency ambulance authority board?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2013-01 precludes the magistrate from board service because ambulance personnel regularly appear as witnesses in injury cases.
Could an Illinois judge’s spouse be named as a contact for a school fundraiser?
Yes. The Committee found no Code violation when the spouse independently appeared on a school flyer to receive reservations and payments, without invoking the judge’s office.
Can a Maine lawyer use cloud computing and online storage for confidential client data?
Yes, if the lawyer uses reasonable care to safeguard client information. Cloud computing triggers the same duties of competence, confidentiality, and safekeeping that always applied; the opinion…
How long may a new judge retain a financial interest in a transferred law practice, and which related cases require recusal?
On the facts presented, the committee found a fourteen-year financial tie to the successor lawyer unreasonable and said the judge could and should end it within five years. It also required recusal…
Can a Texas lawyer check a potential client's payment history in a lawyer-shared database, set fees based on it, and later report the client's payments back to the database?
Per the Committee, yes, with the client's informed consent. Rule 1.02(b) lets the lawyer and client agree at the outset that the lawyer may check the database and adjust or end the representation,…
When a former client files an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim, how much confidential information may the defense lawyer disclose to defend the representation?
The opinion concludes that D.C. Rule 1.6(e)(3) lets a lawyer whose former client raises an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim disclose protected information without first getting judicial…
Can a lawyer employed by a nonprofit credit-counseling agency provide legal services to the agency's clients and help the agency seek grants to fund those services?
Yes, if the agency lawfully offers legal services under Judiciary Law 495 and the lawyer gets each client's informed consent to third-party payment, keeps the agency from controlling his…
Can a lawyer investigate a party, witness, or juror on social media, request access to their nonpublic posts, or use a fake name to do it?
A lawyer may view publicly available social-media information about anyone, and may request access to nonpublic information if the person is unrepresented and the lawyer does not falsely claim to be…
In a transactional negotiation, does a California lawyer have a duty to alert opposing counsel to (A) an apparent material error opposing counsel made or (B) a material change the lawyer made in revised contract language?
Per California Formal Opinion 2013-189, no duty arises in Scenario A if the lawyer did not induce opposing counsel's error; in Scenario B, once the lawyer realizes that an unintended defect in the…
If a California lawyer receives from a third party what appears to be a privileged communication between opposing counsel and opposing counsel's client, can the lawyer read it under a crime-fraud theory?
Per California Formal Opinion 2013-188, the lawyer may not read the communication even if she suspects the crime-fraud exception applies; she must promptly notify opposing counsel and may not use…
May a judge publicly respond to an attorney’s letter to the editor about a case in the judge’s court?
The Committee said the judge should not comment on the letter. It based that conclusion on the rule against public statements affecting pending or impending matters, without deciding whether a…
May a Colorado judge donate a mask identified with the judge's title for a hospice charity auction?
No. The Board treated the identified mask as passive solicitation for a non-law-related charity and held that Rules 3.7(A)(2) and (4) prohibited the proposed contribution.
May counsel for a three-member LLC tell one member confidential information over the majority’s objection?
The opinion treats the LLC as the client. If majority action is required for the LLC, counsel may disclose protected information to one member only when the majority instructs it or the disclosure…
May a lawyer reveal former-client information to establish the lawyer’s claim in the former client’s bankruptcy?
Rule 4-1.6(b)(3) permits disclosure to establish the lawyer’s claim, including proof of services in a fee action when fees are owed. The opinion limits disclosure to what the lawyer reasonably…
May opposing counsel contact unrepresented former managers of a represented company without its lawyer’s consent?
The opinion says Rule 4-4.2 does not prohibit contact if counsel does not know the former managers are represented. Counsel must identify their role and ask about representation; represented…
Can an Alabama lawyer share legal fees with an accountant or other non-lawyer for referring or working on a BP oil-spill claim?
No. Prosecuting a BP claim is the practice of law, so sharing the fee with a non-lawyer, or paying a non-lawyer for the referral, violates Rules 5.4(a), 5.5, and 7.2(c).
Can a criminal defense lawyer give the defendant client a copy of the prosecution's discovery materials?
No. Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 415(c) the lawyer may not give the defendant a copy of discovery, but Rule 1.4 still requires the lawyer to review and discuss the contents with the client.
Can a lawyer pay a real estate agency a monthly fee to be listed as a 'Preferred Closing Attorney' with access to agents and meetings?
No. Paying for 'Preferred Closing Attorney' status violates Rule 7.2(c), because everything bought (the listing, advertising placement in the agency's office, and access to agents and meetings) is…
Can a lawyer contact a represented government official directly to discuss a matter without the government attorney's consent?
Only for general policy issues. A lawyer may contact a represented government decision-maker about underlying policy without notice or consent, but may not contact them to settle or resolve the…
Can a lawyer represent clients against the agency where the lawyer's spouse used to work as agency counsel, when the spouse has left and they practice in different firms?
Yes. A lawyer may represent or serve as guardian for clients adverse to the Department of Social Services even though the lawyer's spouse formerly litigated those cases for DSS; Rule 1.8(k) does not…
May a lawyer not admitted in Illinois run an Illinois immigration practice using a nonlawyer assistant?
Yes. Although Rule 5.5(b) bars an out-of-state lawyer from a systematic Illinois practice presence, the Rule 5.5(d)(2) federal-law exception lets an out-of-state lawyer practice immigration law (a…
Can a firm ask a foreclosure court for attorney fees based on a percentage of the debt when its actual contract with the client is a smaller flat fee?
The firm may apply for such fees, but if it petitions for more than the client is obligated to pay under the engagement, Rule 3.3 requires disclosing the contract terms to the court. The committee…
Can a lawyer be both the prosecutor and an administrative hearing officer for the same Illinois municipality?
No. Serving as the municipality's prosecutor while also acting as its administrative hearing officer is a Rule 1.7(a)(2) conflict: the lawyer's duty of impartiality as a quasi-judicial hearing…
Can a furloughed government lawyer defend her own agency against other employees' furlough complaints, and may she do so if she is also pursuing her own furlough complaint?
She may defend the agency from furlough complaints if she reasonably believes she can provide competent and diligent representation under Rule 1.7(b)(1), even though her own furlough creates a…
In an Illinois adoption case, must a lawyer serving as guardian ad litem get the petitioners' lawyer's consent before contacting the petitioners or the children?
Yes. A guardian ad litem in an adoption proceeding is treated as representing a client for purposes of Rule 4.2, so the GAL must obtain the petitioners' attorney's consent before interviewing the…
May a furloughed Nebraska government lawyer defend the government in employee appeals challenging the same furlough?
The shared financial impact creates a likely personal-interest conflict. The lawyer may proceed only if every Rule 1.7(b) condition is met, including written informed client consent and an…
Can a lawyer join a for-profit company's co-op TV ad campaign that rotates incoming calls among participating lawyers?
Yes, if carefully structured. A rotation-based group TV ad with a for-profit company is the reasonable cost of advertising under Rule 7.2(c)(1), not a prohibited for-profit referral service,…
What must an Illinois lawyer do after learning a client submitted false material evidence in an administrative hearing?
The lawyer must try to get the client to correct or withdraw the false evidence, explaining that the lawyer may have to disclose it. If the client refuses, the lawyer should seek to withdraw, but…
May a Nebraska lawyer continue representing a detained client after learning that government authorities may have monitored earlier consultations?
Yes, if the lawyer takes reasonable precautions, reasonably concludes future communications are not being monitored, fully explains risks and alternatives, and obtains the client's informed consent…
When a nonprofit pays into a lawyer's trust account to fund a client's representation, who owns and controls the money, and what must the lawyer tell the client?
The payor and client must sort out ownership between themselves; the lawyer must not arbitrate disputed funds. The lawyer decides how to apply the funds to the matter and cannot let the third-party…
What may a buyer's lawyer say to a seller at closing when the seller's lawyer is absent?
Opinion 2013-4 required the seller's lawyer's consent for substantive transaction communications if the seller remained represented. If representation had ended, the buyer's lawyer had to clarify…
Can a lawyer who owns a stake in and chairs a bank serve as city attorney for a municipality that banks there?
No. The lawyer's ownership and board role trigger the Rule 1.8(a) business-transaction safeguards, and the representation is a Rule 1.7(a)(2) material-limitation conflict. The opinion concludes the…
Does transferring a Nebraska law practice to an existing associate trigger Rule 1.17, and may a selling lawyer continue practicing or serve as of counsel?
A transfer to an existing associate or owner is not a Rule 1.17 sale. Even after a covered third-party sale, Nebraska does not require the seller to stop practicing, so continued practice or an…
Can a law firm rent space from a real estate agency to become a 'preferred attorney,' and jointly own a title insurance agency that splits premiums with the agency?
Yes to both. Renting office space at fair market terms to be a preferred attorney does not violate Rule 7.2(c), and a law firm may co-own a title insurance agency LLC with a real estate agency and…
May a Vermont lawyer pay interest on a client's loan for litigation costs?
Opinion 13-03 allowed the lawyer to advance or pay interest when the loan financed court costs or litigation expenses, subject to Rule 1.8(e)'s different treatment of indigent and other clients. It…
Is it the unauthorized practice of law in Illinois for a nonlawyer to represent a party in a FINRA arbitration, and what must a lawyer-arbitrator do about it?
Generally yes. A nonlawyer representing a party in a typical FINRA arbitration is engaged in the unauthorized practice of law in Illinois, because the work (pleadings, discovery, briefs, examining…
Under Nebraska Ethics Opinion 13-02, may an experienced lawyer without Parenting Act training mediate cases involving parenting functions?
As originally issued, the opinion said no because the Parenting Act's training requirements define who may mediate those matters. Opinion 17-02 later modified this holding, especially for private…
Must appointed defense counsel personally pay an investigator for work the indigent-defense commission refused to cover?
No. Where the lawyer incurred no contractual obligation, the Rules of Professional Conduct do not require appointed counsel to supplement what the Commission on Indigent Defense pays; In re Jackson…
May an Arizona criminal defense lawyer withhold physical documents from an incarcerated client when possession threatens safety?
The opinion permits a limited exception when the lawyer reasonably believes the incarcerated client's possession of documents is likely to jeopardize the client or a third person's safety. The…
May an out-of-state lawyer represent a Vermont resident in a Social Security administrative proceeding, and may a Vermont lawyer represent an out-of-state resident?
Yes. The opinion concludes that federal authorization permits both forms of representation under Vermont Rule 5.5(d)(2).
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.