Advisory Opinion Archives - Legal Ethics Advisor

Clients with Diminished Capacity: CA Provides Guidance in OP. 2021-207

by Lauren Maier in Advisory Opinion, Attorney Client Relationship, Client Communication. Posted February 7, 2022

The Challenge of Dealing with a Client with Diminished Capacity: CA OP 2021-207 There is not much guidance beyond the legal ethics rules for attorneys who represent a client that may have diminished capacity. The State Bar of California’s Committee on Professional Responsibility & Conduct (COPRAC) has provided some specific guidance in its recently issued ...

Client Lies at a Deposition–What’s a Lawyer to Do?

by Lauren Maier in Advisory Opinion, Attorney Client Relationship, Client Communication, client confidentiality, Uncategorized. Posted January 18, 2022

Client Lies: Texas Bar Issues Opinion 692 to Address A Lawyer’s Responsibility A client lies during a deposition. The lawyer know…what should the lawyer do? Recently, the Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas published Opinion No. 692, regarding a lawyer’s requirement to correct false statements made by the lawyer’s client during a deposition ...

woman standing near the kitchen counter with her laptop open on table

Delaware Green Lights Remote Work in Formal Opinion 2021-1

by Lauren Maier in ABA Opinion, Advisory Opinion, Attorney Client Relationship, Remote Work. Posted August 24, 2021

Delaware Lawyers: Remote Work Okay If State of Residence Agrees Last month, the Delaware State Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics released Formal Opinion 2021-1, addressing whether Delaware attorneys may practice Delaware law while working remotely from another jurisdiction. The Committee held that Delaware licensed lawyers are permitted to practice Delaware law outside the state, ...

Clients Illegal Activity: Colorado Bar Admonishes “Willful Blindness” But Departs from ABA Op. 491 “Should Know” Standard

by Lauren Maier in Advisory Opinion, Attorney Client Relationship, Ethics Opinion. Posted August 17, 2021

Counseling Clients and Illegal Activity Under Rule 1.2 On July 10, 2021, the Colorado Bar Association Ethics Committee released a new opinion regarding Colorado Rule of Professional Conduct 1.2(d), analyzing a lawyer’s duty to inquire about a client’s illegal activity. Under 1.2(d), which sets a similar standard to Model Rule 1.2(d), lawyers “shall not ...

Care to Comment? California Issues Interim Formal Opinion 20-0004 on Remote Work

by Jan Jacobowitz in Advisory Opinion, Remote Work, Rules of Professional Conduct, Technology. Posted August 13, 2021

California Formal Opinion Interim No. 20-0004 on Remote Work Yesterday, the the State Bar of California Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct posted Formal Opinion No. 20-0004 on remote work for comment. The opinion acknowledges the increase of attorneys remotely working driven both by technology and external circumstances that include Covid-19 and natural disasters ...

Cannabis Advice for Lawyers: New York and Georgia on Different Ends of the Spectrum

by Lauren Maier in Advisory Opinion, Cannabis. Posted August 10, 2021

The legal landscape of medical and recreational marijuana remains fast-changing across the United States–cannabis remains illegal under federal law—and there are inconsistencies among various states’ legal ethics advice regarding whether lawyers may represent clients involved in the cannabis industry. On June 21, 2021, the Supreme Court of Georgia denied a motion to amend Rule 1.2 ...

New York Lawyer Rental Office Business for Lawyers Ok’d By NYSBA 1223

by Jan Jacobowitz in Advertising, Advertising Rules, Advisory Opinion, Attorney Advertising, Rules of Professional Conduct. Posted June 4, 2021

When New York Lawyers are Your Renters Rather than Your Clients As the pandemic winds down and folks return to work, there is a lot of discussion about the work place—remote, in person, or hybrid—and the nature of a post COVID work space. In New York one lawyer recently submitted an inquiry to the New ...

Florida Approves Remote Work in Opinion SC20-1220

by Jan Jacobowitz in ABA Opinion, Advisory Opinion, Florida, Florida Bar, Florida Supreme Court, UPL. Posted May 28, 2021

New Jersey Lawyer May Work Remotely from Florida On May 20, 2021, the Florida Supreme Court approved an UPL Advisory Opinion that was filed with the Court in August 2020 and responded to a New Jersey Attorney’s inquiry as to whether he could practice New Jersey law from Florida without violating the unauthorized practice of ...

Dealing with Online Vitriol: Florida Bar to Consider Amending The Confidentiality Rule 4-1.6

by Jan Jacobowitz in ABA Opinion, Advisory Opinion, Bar Opinion, client confidentiality, electronic communication, Ethics Opinion, negative online reviews, online comments, social media. Posted May 4, 2021

Online Vitriol: Amending Confidentiality Rule 4-1.6 and Proposed Opinion 21-1 on Third Party Criticism At its recent meeting, The Florida Bar’s Professional Ethics Committee approved an amendment to Florida Bar Rule 4-1.6 Confidentiality that would provide a limited exception to permit lawyers to respond when they suffer an online vitriol attack from a former client ...

ABA’S Full House: 2019 Annual Meeting in San francisco Results in Mass Resolution Adoption

by Ten Stallings in Advertising Rules, Advisory Opinion, Attorney Client Relationship, Attorneys Fees, Ethics Opinion, Featured, Marijuana, News, Professionalism, Technology. Posted February 22, 2021

On On August 8, 2019, the American Bar Association (“ABA”) held its annual meeting, during which the ABA House of Delegates met with an outlook of nearly 60 resolutions to be decided upon. After two days of deliberation, which included revising and amending the proposed resolutions, 50 were adopted.

[…] of a non-binding advisory opinion, as has been the case with other jurisdictions such as, Florida, San Francisco, and Delaware, it is important to note that Ohio went a step further and amended its rule regarding […]

Remote Lawyering: New Jersey and Ohio On Board - Legal Ethics Advisor on Remote Work: San Francisco Bar Association Advice in Ethics Opinion 2021-1
Not all jurisdictions have adopted the Model Rule version of the choice of law rule; seems like there might be a different result in at least some of those states. See, e.g., NY RPC 8.5(b)(2)(i) ("If the lawyer is licensed to practice only in this state, the rules to be applied shall be the rules of this state").

Art Lachman on ABA Opinion 499 Green Lights Lawyers’ Passive Investment in Firms with NonLawyer Ownership