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 court's general receiver keep serving when the receiver's child takes office as a circuit judge?
A majority of the West Virginia JIC concluded in Opinion 2024-21 that the general receiver parent could no longer serve once the child took office as circuit judge in the same county.
Can a Mississippi lawyer use generative AI in practice, and what duties of confidentiality, competence, billing, and client disclosure apply?
Yes. The opinion concludes a lawyer may ethically use generative AI if the lawyer safeguards confidential information, is competent in the tool, verifies the accuracy of its output, bills…
May a court hold a holiday luncheon for courthouse staff and local lawyers and ask attendees for food or monetary contributions?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2024-20 permits the court to hold the luncheon and ask attendees to bring a dish or dessert, but says the court and its staff may not solicit or accept monetary donations.
Opposing counsel in my client's divorce is also a probate judge before whom I represent a different client in an unrelated matter. Is that a conflict of interest that forces me to withdraw?
The panel concluded no concurrent conflict of interest exists, so the attorney need not withdraw from either representation. The two clients are unrelated parties in unrelated matters, so the…
Can a district judge preside over early criminal proceedings when the judge’s spouse is a deputy prosecutor handling civil forfeitures?
The committee declined to decide definitively whether the proposed arrangement creates a conflict or requires recusal. It identified disclosure and separation steps but said they may help dissuade a…
May a judge who serves as an SSAC football referee preside over litigation involving the SSAC?
A majority of the West Virginia JIC concluded in Opinion 2024-19 that the judge was disqualified from presiding over any matter involving the SSAC.
Can a North Carolina lawyer use artificial intelligence, including generative AI, to help provide legal services?
Yes. The opinion concludes a lawyer may use AI if the lawyer does so competently, protects client confidentiality, supervises the AI's work product, and bills honestly; the lawyer remains fully…
Can an Oregon lawyer use a client's name or matter in marketing, a CLE, or to confirm a public news story without consent?
Generally no without informed consent. The opinion concludes information relating to a representation is broadly protected under Oregon RPC 1.6; Oregon has no generally-known exception, and the…
May a Colorado judge serve as a county election judge in a partisan election?
No. The Board found that the required public party-affiliation oath would undermine impartiality, and that election judge duties were outside the governmental appointments permitted by Rule 3.4.
Which state's rules govern a New York-admitted lawyer's duty to report misconduct when she mainly practices immigration law in another state?
The rules of the state where she principally practices. Under Rule 8.5(b)(2)(ii), a NY lawyer who is deemed licensed in another state and practices there almost exclusively must comply with that…
Must a judge recuse from a state criminal case because the judge's spouse serves on the arresting city's council?
Alabama JIC Opinion 24-963 says city-council service alone does not disqualify the judge from a state prosecution involving city police, even for search-warrant or high-bail requests. The judge is…
Does a lawyer have any ethical duty to act when unknown scammers create fake social media accounts impersonating the lawyer to defraud the public?
No. The opinion concludes a lawyer who knows that an unknown person is creating fake social media accounts to scam the public has no duty under the Rules to take any action against the fake…
May a Maryland judge consider a U visa certification request without notifying the parties if the case is closed?
Maryland Judicial Ethics Opinion 2024-24 says a judge may not consider or answer a U visa certification request ex parte, even if the underlying case is closed or the certification is characterized…
May a magistrate leave during a judicial workday for golf without arranging a substitute to handle court duties?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2024-18 says choosing an extrajudicial activity over a mandated workday violates the Code of Judicial Conduct and that judicial duties take precedence.
I'm a town solicitor and a Town Councilor whose interests have turned adverse to the Council is undermining our case and may draw sanctions against the Council. How do I proceed under the ethics rules?
The panel concluded that under Rule 1.13 the solicitor should tell the Councilor his or her interests are now adverse to the Town Council, that the solicitor no longer represents the Councilor, and…
Must a former prosecutor now serving as a judge research every defendant's prior cases?
Vermont Judicial Ethics Opinion 31 concludes that the Code does not require a judge to research every defendant's criminal record to see whether the judge previously prosecuted that person, absent…
May a Vermont probate judge join the Vermont Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers?
Vermont Judicial Ethics Opinion 30 concludes that membership in the named criminal defense association is likely not permitted for a probate judge, because its one-sided support could appear to…
If a public agency inadvertently sends a lawyer privileged material in response to a public records request, what must the lawyer do?
The lawyer must promptly notify the agency once the lawyer knows or reasonably should know the material was inadvertently sent. Nothing in the rules bars the lawyer from reading it, sharing it with…
When may an Indiana lawyer communicate with a judge or seek emergency relief without notice to other parties?
Substantive ex parte communication is prohibited unless law or court order authorizes it. Emergency relief under Trial Rule 65(B) requires specific facts of immediate irreparable harm and written…
Can a New Mexico lawyer use generative AI tools like ChatGPT in the practice of law?
Yes. A New Mexico lawyer may use generative AI in practice, but must do so responsibly, protecting client confidences, verifying AI output for accuracy and candor to courts, charging only for time…
When must a New Jersey lawyer pay a lien out of a client's settlement, and when can the money go to the client?
A lawyer must honor valid, undisputed statutory liens (child support, ERISA, Medicare, Medicaid, workers' compensation), liens the lawyer agreed to pay (such as a letter of protection), and liens…
What must a New Jersey lawyer do when two people claim the same money the lawyer is holding in trust?
Hold the disputed portion separately until the dispute is resolved. If a colorable claim cannot be resolved quickly, keep it in trust or deposit it in court under Rule 4:57; only if a claim is…
Can a state agency lawyer work on an enforcement action against a company the lawyer represented in private practice before joining the agency?
Only sometimes. The opinion concludes the agency lawyer has a conflict only if he would normally have acquired confidential information in the prior representation that is material to the…
May a magistrate start a family hauling business or work as a driver outside judicial hours?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2024-17 found no reason to bar the described driver work if the Administrative Director gives written approval and the magistrate honors the stated pledge to protect…
May a school district's lawyer who attends an IDEA ARD/IEP meeting communicate with represented parents about the meeting's subject matter when the parents' lawyer does not attend?
Per the Committee, no: Rule 4.02(a) prohibits the school's lawyer from communicating with the represented parents about the subject of the representation without the consent of the parents' lawyer.…
Can an Oregon lawyer represent a client from a different culture or who speaks a different language?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes a lawyer may represent a client of a different cultural background or language so long as the lawyer provides competent representation and can communicate…
May a senior status magistrate serve as a substitute teacher in the home county while taking magistrate assignments elsewhere?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2024-16 permits both roles on the stated facts because the magistrate would not sit in the county where they substitute teach, with judicial duties taking precedence.
Can a part-time county Department of Social Services attorney represent private clients in Family Court matters where DSS is involved?
Not where DSS has an interest or plays a meaningful role; that conflict is non-consentable. Where DSS is involved but has no real interest, the lawyer may proceed only after a Rule 1.7(b) analysis…
Can a lawyer accept real estate clients referred by an associate at the firm who is also a licensed real estate broker?
Yes, conditionally. The opinion concludes a lawyer may accept clients referred by an associate who is also a real estate broker, provided the lawyer does not share legal fees or real estate…
May a Vermont treatment-court judge accept a farewell memento and group-funded gift certificate?
Vermont Judicial Ethics Opinion 29 permits the described memento and under-$250 restaurant gift certificate from a treatment team that included lawyers, finding them unlikely to undermine…
How much does a lawyer have to investigate a client before taking the matter to avoid assisting a crime or fraud, and when does that duty come up again later?
Under amended Model Rule 1.16(a), a lawyer must make a reasonable, risk-based inquiry before each representation, and renew it when later facts raise questions about whether the client is using the…
Can a lawyer use an online bidding platform that takes a percentage of the legal fee and vets the participating attorneys?
No. The opinion concludes that paying a non-lawyer-owned online bidding service a percentage of the legal fee violates Rule 5.4(a)'s bar on fee sharing; because the service vets and rates the…
My firm represents private clients before a town's planning and zoning boards. If the firm also takes on prosecuting the town's misdemeanor cases, can it keep representing those private clients before the town's boards?
The panel concluded the two representations create a concurrent conflict under Rule 1.7(a), imputed firm-wide under Rule 1.10(a). The conflict is generally waivable if Rule 1.7(b)'s conditions are…
Can a lawyer's engagement letter bar the client from recording their communications, and let the lawyer withdraw if the client records anyway?
Yes, with limits. The opinion concludes a retainer agreement may include a no-recording clause and may allow withdrawal for a violation, but only if the agreement does not mislead the client about…
Which professional-conduct rules govern a Missouri lawyer admitted pro hac vice in a case pending before another state's court?
For conduct connected to that case, the opinion applies the rules of the jurisdiction where the tribunal sits unless the tribunal's rules provide otherwise. The lawyer remains subject to Missouri…
May a retiring Missouri lawyer move to another state and remotely wind down a Missouri practice from there?
Only if the other state does not treat the remote wind-down, virtual client meetings, and virtual Missouri court appearances as unauthorized practice. If that state would prohibit the conduct, Rule…
May a judge speak at a domestic violence vigil and appear in the organizer’s Facebook photos?
For the described event, the Nebraska Judicial Ethics Committee advised the judge to decline the speaking invitation and decline photos of the judge and staff on the organizer’s Facebook page…
What are the New York ethics obligations of a lawyer or law firm using generative AI tools in practice (chatbots, legal-research AI, document review and analytics)?
The opinion provides general guidance rather than hard rules. Per the opinion, a New York lawyer using generative AI must consider confidentiality (Rule 1.6), conflicts (Rules 1.7-1.12), competence…
May a judge discuss juvenile justice and child welfare systems at a CASA gala?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2024-15 permits the judge to speak if the comments are procedural, educational, neutral and detached, without suggesting bias toward or against CASA; specific cases must…
May a Texas lawyer accept payment from a nonlawyer-owned company for prerecorded and livestreamed educational legal presentations to the public, answer specific fact questions from audience members, and represent viewers who later contact the lawyer?
Per the Committee, yes on each: payments for educational presentations on general legal topics are not 'legal fees' under Rule 5.04(a); providing such presentations is not the practice of law and…
Must a judge recuse from all criminal cases involving the law enforcement agency that employs the judge’s spouse?
Nebraska Judicial Ethics Committee Opinion 24-1 requires disqualification when the spouse arrested a person, issued a citation, or may testify in the case. It does not require disqualification…
May a judge remain a member and trustee of a private golf and country club, or become its president?
West Virginia JIC Opinion 2024-14 permits the judge's club membership but bars service on its board or as an officer and calls for immediate resignation from the board.
What do the ethics rules require of a lawyer who uses generative AI tools like ChatGPT in client work?
Lawyers may use generative AI but must understand the tool's limits, independently verify its output, get the client's informed consent before inputting information relating to the representation,…
Can a part-time assistant public defender whose cousin and law partner is a part-time town judge appear in that town court or at arraignments transferred there?
He may not appear in the town court where his cousin/partner or the co-judge presides, but he may handle a defendant's arraignment in a centralized arraignment part (when neither presides) even if…
Can a New York lawyer invest in or do business with an alternative business structure (ABS) law firm that operates legally in a state like Arizona or Utah that allows nonlawyer ownership?
A New York lawyer may hold a passive financial interest in a lawful out-of-state ABS and may enter an arm's-length fee-sharing arrangement with one, as long as the ABS and the New York firm stay…
After a law firm suffers a data breach or ransomware attack, when must a New York lawyer tell clients, and can the lawyer pay or lie to the extortionist?
A lawyer must take reasonable steps to protect client data and, under Rule 1.4, promptly notify current clients when a cyber incident is a material development. Paying a ransom is neither prohibited…
I've learned that a key document my client wants to use in litigation is fraudulent, and my client denies it and wants to proceed. Must I disclose the fraud to the court before I withdraw?
The panel concluded no disclosure is required before withdrawing. Because the client had not yet offered the fraudulent document (the summary-judgment response was only prospective) and had…
My former client, now deceased, confessed to me that he set a fire, and now someone else has been criminally charged for it. Am I permitted to disclose the confession?
The panel concluded the attorney must disclose. The confession is confidential under Rules 1.6(a) and 1.9(c), but the duty of candor under Rule 3.3, which qualifies confidentiality and applies even…
In an immigration matter, my client's sibling (whom I don't represent) told me the sibling had filed a fraudulent application in my client's name years ago. Do I now have a conflict of interest that forces me to withdraw from representing the client?
No. The panel concluded no withdrawal is required. Because the sibling is neither a current client nor a prospective client under Rule 1.18 (the attorney told the sibling to retain separate…
I represent a client in a slip-and-fall case, and one of the defendants' witnesses turns out to be another current client of mine in an unrelated workers' comp matter. I need to depose and cross-examine that witness. Do I have a conflict, and must I withdraw?
Yes. The panel held a directly adverse concurrent conflict exists under Rule 1.7(a)(1), because the attorney must cross-examine one current client (the adverse witness) on behalf of another. The…
Can a lawyer write and publish an article about legal issues from a former client's case?
Yes, after the representation ends, as long as the article does not reveal the client's confidential information without consent. Legal knowledge and genuinely 'generally known' facts are not…
Can a lawyer pay to be listed on a website that promises to match clients with carefully vetted, highly qualified attorneys?
No. The opinion concludes that a website claiming to connect clients with carefully vetted, excellently qualified attorneys is an advertisement on the lawyers' behalf, and the lawyers' payment to be…
When a government agency funds a lawyer's representation of clients, can the lawyer report the clients' confidential information back to the funder?
Only with informed consent. The opinion concludes a lawyer may share information with a funding agency if it is not confidential under Rule 1.6(a), but may not disclose a client's confidential…
Can a West Virginia lawyer use artificial intelligence, including generative AI, in a law practice?
Yes. Nothing in the West Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct prohibits using AI as a tool, but the lawyer's duties of competence, diligence, communication, confidentiality, and supervision still…
Can a lawyer licensed in another state or country live in Georgia and practice law remotely if the work has no connection to Georgia?
Yes, with conditions. A lawyer not admitted in Georgia may live in Georgia and practice remotely on matters with no Georgia connection if the lawyer does not hold out as Georgia-licensed, keeps the…
Does Ohio's mandatory fee arbitration rule apply to a fee dispute between a lawyer who left a firm and that lawyer's former firm?
No. Ohio's mandatory fee mediation or arbitration under Prof.Cond.R. 1.5(f) reaches only disputes between lawyers in different firms who agreed to divide fees under Rule 1.5(e). A departed lawyer's…
May a Vermont judge help reconstruct a trial record from a case prosecuted before taking the bench?
Vermont Judicial Ethics Opinion 28 permits a judge who formerly prosecuted the case to help reconstruct inaudible bench conferences on remand. The assistance must remain factual and avoid legal…
Can a Pennsylvania lawyer use generative AI like ChatGPT in their practice?
Yes, with safeguards. The joint opinion concludes lawyers may use AI if they understand its risks, verify all output and citations, protect client confidentiality, supervise it like nonlawyer staff,…
Can a lawyer post a question or comment about a current matter to a listserv or online lawyer discussion group without the client's consent?
Not if there is a reasonable likelihood the post would let a reader identify the client or the situation. A lawyer may join general discussions of legal news and developments, but posting…
May a Maryland District Court Commissioner work part time as a real estate agent?
Maryland Judicial Ethics Opinion 2024-15 concludes that a District Court Commissioner may not work as a real estate agent because commission-based transactions with potential court participants…
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.