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 one lawyer represent both the driver and the passengers of the same car in injury claims against the other driver?
It depends on the issue. The opinion concludes a lawyer cannot represent both if the driver's liability to the passengers is genuinely in play (a possible nonwaivable conflict), may represent both…
Can a defense lawyer send an insured client's detailed legal bills to the insurer's outside audit company, and may the lawyer ask the client to consent?
Not without consent if the bills contain protected information. The opinion concludes a lawyer may submit bills with no confidential information, but otherwise needs the insured's informed consent…
Can an Oregon lawyer secretly record a phone call or an in-person conversation without telling the other person?
It depends on the recording law. The opinion concludes a lawyer may record an Oregon phone call without notice because state law allows one-party recording, but may not secretly record an in-person…
If lawyers and firms are linked through 'of counsel' relationships, are their clients treated as one firm's clients for conflict-of-interest purposes?
Yes. The opinion concludes that an 'of counsel' lawyer is a member of the firm for conflict purposes, so firms and solo practices joined by of-counsel ties are treated as a single unit and their…
Can lawyers employed by an insurance company present themselves on letterhead as a law firm without disclosing that they work for the insurer?
No. The opinion concludes that for staff lawyers employed by an insurer to defend insureds, using a firm-style name on letterhead or pleadings without disclosing their status as insurer employees is…
Can a plaintiff's lawyer interview current and former employees of a state agency defendant without the Attorney General's consent?
A current agency employee is off-limits under Oregon RPC 4.2 only if the employee is part of management or their conduct is at issue; other current employees, and former employees, may be contacted…
If a lawyer receives a privileged document the other side sent by mistake, do the ethics rules require returning it unread?
No, qualified. Oregon RPC 4.4(b) requires a lawyer who knows a document was sent inadvertently only to promptly notify the sender; it does not require returning or refusing to read it. Whether the…
Can a lawyer withdraw earned hourly fees from a trust-account retainer when billing, and must the lawyer put the money back if the client later disputes the bill?
A lawyer may withdraw earned hourly fees from a trust account when invoicing the client, if the lawyer is unaware of any dispute over the right to payment. If the client objects afterward, the…
Can a lawyer who did joint estate planning for a married couple later represent one spouse against the other in their divorce?
It depends. The opinion concludes the lawyer may represent one former-client spouse in the dissolution without consent if the divorce is neither a matter-specific nor an information-specific…
Can a lawyer let their own client talk directly with the opposing party about settlement when that party is represented by counsel?
Yes, qualified. Oregon RPC 4.2 restricts communications that originate with the lawyer, not voluntary contact between the parties, so a lawyer need not stop the clients from speaking directly, but…
Can a lawyer adverse to a public body contact a government employee for copies of public records without the public body's lawyer's consent?
Yes. A limited request to a public employee to obtain a specific public record is a communication authorized by law under the Public Records Law, so Oregon RPC 4.2 does not bar it; but substantive…
Can a prosecutor contact a represented witness directly once the witness's lawyer has given notice of the representation?
No. Once the prosecutor knows a non-suspect witness is represented, Oregon RPC 4.2 bars direct contact about the witness's testimony, before or after indictment, and the witness's motive for hiring…
Can a law firm hire an outside recycling service to dispose of paper documents that contain confidential client information?
Yes. A firm may use a recycling service for client documents if it makes reasonable efforts to ensure the service's conduct is compatible with the firm's confidentiality duty, including instructing…
Can an in-house lawyer who was fired for refusing to make a false statement sue for wrongful termination if the suit requires revealing information about the representation?
Yes, but only with qualifications. Oregon RPC 1.6(b)(4) lets a lawyer disclose otherwise-protected information to establish a claim in a controversy with the client, so a fired in-house lawyer may…
Can a lawyer let clients finance legal fees through a nonlawyer company that pays the lawyer's vouchers minus a service charge and then collects from the client?
Yes, qualified. The company's 10% service charge is not improper fee sharing under RPC 5.4(a), which protects the lawyer's independence and does not bar a nonlawyer from collecting fees, and the…
Can a plaintiff's lawyer also represent the plaintiff's treating expert witness at the expert's deposition in the same case?
Yes, qualified. On these facts the interests of the plaintiff and her treating psychotherapist are not directly adverse and may be aligned, so there is no conflict under RPC 1.7 and no consent is…
What must a solo lawyer do to protect clients and their information if the lawyer dies or becomes disabled, and what may a successor lawyer do with the files?
Competence requires a solo lawyer to arrange for someone, who need not be a lawyer, to step in on death or disability to prevent client prejudice, such as by contacting the presiding judge to start…
When the only lawyer who worked on a client's matter leaves a firm and the client follows the lawyer, can the former firm later represent parties adverse to that client without consent?
Yes, qualified. Under RPC 1.10(b), once the lawyer who handled the client leaves and takes the client, the former firm needs the client's consent only if the new matter is the same or substantially…
Can a prosecutor or a co-defendant's lawyer contact a represented defendant about a separate, unrepresented charge, and may a prosecutor use undercover agents against a represented suspect before charging?
No to the first two: under RPC 4.2, neither a co-defendant's lawyer nor a prosecutor may talk to a defendant about another charge on which the defendant is unrepresented if the defendant is…
Can one lawyer represent several individuals together in forming a corporation or partnership?
It depends on the parties' interests. If, after reasonable inquiry, the would-be co-owners' interests are consistent with no material divergence, there is no conflict and the lawyer may represent…
Can a part-time special prosecutor also represent private clients adverse to the state, city, or county, and can the prosecutor obtain an advance blanket waiver of future conflicts from the state?
Yes. A special prosecutor's only government client is the state, so the lawyer may represent private clients against the state in unrelated matters with the affected clients' written informed…
When an insurer hires a lawyer to defend an insured under a reservation of rights, can the lawyer take a step that helps the insurer but cuts off the insured's defense or coverage?
No. A lawyer hired by an insurer to defend an insured has two clients, and where the insurer defends under a reservation of rights the insured is the primary client whose protection must be the…
When a lawyer moves between criminal defense practice, a district attorney's office, or the bench, which conflicts follow the lawyer, and when are they imputed to the new firm or curable by screening?
A lawyer carries former-client and former-government conflicts when switching sides, and may take a conflicting matter only with the affected clients' written informed consent. A defense lawyer's…
Can lawyers who only share office space call themselves associates, of counsel, or practice under a joint firm name?
No. The opinion concludes that lawyers who merely share office space but keep separate practices may not hold themselves out as associates, as of counsel to each other, or under a joint firm name,…
When a lawyer represents a personal representative or trustee, are the estate, trust, or beneficiaries also the lawyer's clients, and can the lawyer tell beneficiaries about the fiduciary's breach of duty?
A lawyer for a personal representative or trustee represents the fiduciary alone, not the estate, trust, or beneficiaries, so the current-client conflict rules do not bar representing one person who…
Where must a lawyer deposit a large client fund held pending settlement, and can the client direct the interest to the Oregon Law Foundation instead of earning it?
Because the fund is substantial and expected to be held long enough to earn net interest, it must go in an interest-bearing trust account at a qualifying institution with the interest going to the…
Can a lawyer who represents a charity and sits on its board also represent a donor making a gift to the charity, or draft the donor's will naming the charity?
The lawyer may not represent both the charity and the donor in the gift transaction, because that is a nonwaivable conflict under RPC 1.7(a)(1) and (b)(3). The lawyer may represent only the donor in…
Can an Oregon lawyer agree to review and finalize estate-planning documents prepared by an out-of-state company that sells the plans to customers and pays the lawyer?
No. A company that consults with customers, explains documents, and gives estate-planning advice is engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, and a lawyer who reviews and executes its documents…
Can a law firm represent criminal defendants when one of its lawyers is the city councilor or mayor and city police officers will be witnesses?
Yes, qualified. The city is not the firm's client, so RPC 1.7(a)(1) does not apply, and cross-examining a city police officer does not by itself create a conflict; the firm should watch for personal…
Can a law firm market its services by paying to appear in a community welcoming program's profile book and by offering discounts through a health club's member-benefits program?
Yes to the welcoming program, because printed, truthful advertising is allowed under RPC 7.2(a) and 7.1. Yes, qualified, to the health club program: because the firm effectively gives the club a…
Can an Oregon law firm and an out-of-state firm list each other as an 'Associated Office' on their letterhead?
Yes. An Oregon firm may list a Washington firm it works with as an 'Associated Office,' and may let the Washington firm do the same, because the designation is not false or misleading under RPC 7.1…
Can a lawyer who runs a family-mediation practice advertise in the 'Counselors' section of the Yellow Pages as well as the 'Attorneys' section?
Qualified yes: a lawyer may run a separate counseling or mediation business and may advertise it, or advertise as a lawyer in the Counselor section, so long as the advertisement is not false or…
Can a tax lawyer buy a nonlawyer's tax preparation business, and what solicitation and conflict limits apply afterward?
Yes: nothing in the rules or ORS chapter 9 bars a lawyer from buying a business, but the lawyer may not use the acquisition for improper solicitation (such as conditioning the purchase on the…
Can a multistate law firm advertise to its Oregon clients that lawyers who are not Oregon State Bar members are available?
Qualified yes: multistate firms are permitted and may advertise the availability of out-of-state lawyers, who can perform the cross-border activities RPC 5.5(c) and (d) allow, but the firm may not…
Can a lawyer who serves as a part-time municipal judge represent private clients before the town council or defend a client by cross-examining police officers who appear before that judge?
Qualified yes to both: neither representation is barred outright, and on the facts given there is no RPC 1.7 conflict (one client per matter) and no improper use of public office, but the lawyer…
Can a lawyer and a non-lawyer run a joint mediation business under a trade name, and how do the fee-sharing and unauthorized-practice rules apply?
A lawyer may serve as a mediator and may join with a non-lawyer to provide mediation services and use a non-misleading trade name; but if the service involves the practice of law (such as drafting…
Can an Oregon lawyer own an outside business that does deals with the lawyer's clients, and advise those clients on the deals?
Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes nothing bars a lawyer from owning other businesses, but advising a client on a transaction with the lawyer's own enterprise requires satisfying the…
Could a former district judge use “Judge” in judicial campaign logos and signs?
The Committee said the candidate’s use of “Judge” in campaign materials would misrepresent his present position and violate the then-current Code because he no longer held judicial office.
In New York, can a retired attorney who still does unpaid legal work use 'attorney-at-law' letterhead, and must they disclose that they are retired?
Yes. A New York attorney who is retired (and so may practice without charging a fee) may use professional letterhead identifying as an attorney-at-law, and may but need not state that they are…
When an insurance company is a party and represented by counsel, can the opposing lawyer talk directly to its claims adjuster about settlement?
No, not without the actual prior consent of the insurer's lawyer. DR 7-104(A)(1) bars the contact even when the adjuster initiates it, even though the adjuster is sophisticated, and even to speed…
Can a lawyer voluntarily testify or give an affidavit about a former client without being subpoenaed?
There is no per se bar, but the lawyer may not voluntarily reveal a former client's confidence or secret unless the client consents, another DR 4-101(C) exception applies, or the information is…
If a lawyer holds confidential information from one client that would help another client, does that alone create a conflict barring the second representation?
No, not by itself. Merely possessing embargoed confidential information does not create a conflict; the question is whether either representation would be impaired, namely whether the lawyer cannot…
Can a West Virginia lawyer hired and paid by a liability insurer to defend an insured agree to follow the insurer's litigation-management or billing guidelines that require approval before discovery, research, or motions?
No, not the restrictive kind. The opinion concludes a lawyer paid by an insurer to defend an insured cannot ethically agree to guidelines that dictate how defense work is allocated, require prior…
Must a California lawyer turn over electronic client files at the end of representation?
The opinion applies the client-file return duty to electronic material and calls for reasonable attention to the client's requested format, copying costs, and potential work-product metadata.
Can a volunteer lawyer give pro bono help on a consumer Chapter 7 bankruptcy while the lawyer's firm represents some of the debtor's creditors in unrelated matters?
Yes, typically. Representing a Chapter 7 debtor while the firm represents the debtor's creditors in unrelated matters usually creates no DR 5-105 conflict, so the volunteer can rely on an…
Can a lawyer for an injured servicemember sign the Army's agreement to protect the government's medical-cost recovery out of any personal injury settlement?
Signing the Army's agreement would create a Rule 1.7(a)(2) conflict where liability is questionable and coverage is limited, because the government's independent claim would lower the client's net…
Does a lawyer's partnership or fiduciary relationship with another lawyer reduce the duty to report that lawyer's misconduct, and does telling a prosecutor satisfy the duty?
No on both counts. The opinion concludes a professional or fiduciary relationship does not lessen the Rule 8.3 duty to report a known violation that raises a substantial question of a lawyer's…
When co-counsel agree to split a contingent fee and one lawyer later leaves the case, can the fee still be divided 50/50, or must it track each lawyer's hours?
It depends on when the split was agreed. Under former Rule 1.5(e), an equal split needs the client's written agreement to joint responsibility; absent that, the split is in proportion to services…
Can a solo lawyer who only does lobbying name his firm 'John Doe and Associates' and list nonlawyer employees on the letterhead?
No to the name: with only one lawyer, 'and Associates' is misleading and violates Rules 7.5(a) and 7.1. The letterhead is acceptable if 'and Associates' is deleted and the nonlawyer employees are…
Can a South Carolina lawyer handle only the closing-table portion of a real estate closing for another firm, leaving the pre- and post-closing work to that firm?
The opinion concludes a lawyer may limit representation to part of a closing if the limitation is reasonable and the client gives informed consent under Rule 1.2(c), but the arrangement carries…
Can a prosecutor offer to dismiss criminal charges in exchange for the defendant releasing civil claims against the police?
No. The opinion concludes a solicitor cannot use the criminal process to obtain a favorable result for a third party in a civil action; conditioning a dismissal on the defendant's release of civil…
Can a South Carolina lawyer conduct a real estate closing by mail without the client physically present?
Yes. The opinion concludes a lawyer may conduct a closing by mail if the attorney provides competent representation, keeps every aspect of the closing under attorney supervision, and gives the…
What should a lawyer do with trust-account funds for a settlement check that an insurer never cashed years ago?
The lawyer must safeguard the funds under Rule 1.15, take all notification steps in Rule 1.15 and Opinion 02-05 (including notice by publication), and then, because an uncashed mailed check is…
Must a foreclosure lawyer get consent when a title search shows the property also has liens held by other clients the lawyer represents in separate foreclosures?
Yes. Foreclosing against lienholders the lawyer represents in other foreclosures is direct adversity between current clients under Rule 1.7(a), requiring each client's consent after consultation.…
Can a former associate represent a client suing the lawyer's old firm over a matter the associate worked on while employed there?
No, not without consent. Because the associate advised the firm (her client under Rule 1.13) on the very dispute, representing the complaining party against the former firm in that same matter would…
Can a South Carolina lawyer team with an out-of-state law firm to jointly market entity-formation services where the SC lawyer provides all legal advice?
Yes, if the advertising rules are followed. The South Carolina lawyer must provide all legal advice and supervise the out-of-state firm's fact-gathering. The arrangement is not a referral service…
When an estate-planning client has become incapacitated and has a conservator, to whom may the lawyer release the client's file after being discharged?
On withdrawal under Rule 1.16, the lawyer must return the file within a reasonable time, but because the client (not the conservator) is the client, the lawyer must assess the client's capacity…
Can a lawyer who also owns a title insurance agency advertise that affiliation on the law firm's website, letterhead, and business cards?
Yes, if the advertising complies with Rules 7.1 and 7.5. The current rules no longer bar listing an ancillary business, but the lawyer must observe the conflict rules (1.7 and 1.8) when the law…
After a client dies, can the lawyer give a copy of the client's will to another lawyer checking title, and can the client's son waive confidentiality?
The lawyer may decline to provide the will and that decision is not reexaminable, but may provide a copy if the lawyer believes disclosure furthers the deceased client's intent and the client did…
If a health insurer asserts a subrogation claim on settlement funds and the client tells the lawyer not to pay it, what must the lawyer do?
Because the lawyer has actual knowledge of the subrogation claim, Rule 1.15 requires holding the disputed funds in trust until the dispute between the client and the carrier is resolved, and the…
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.