Ethics Opinion Archives - Page 7 of 7

No Longer Up in Smoke? Ohio Lawyers May Now Advise Clients on the Marijuana Business

by Ellen Kruk in Ethics Opinion, Featured. Posted October 7, 2016

An amendment to an Ohio Rule of Professional Conduct 1.2 (Scope of Representation) permits lawyers to assist clients who are involved in the state-authorized medical marijuana business.

The Client Comes First: Lawyers Must Report Co-Counsel’s Potential Malpractice

by Daniel Celaya in Ethics Opinion, Featured, Professionalism. Posted October 5, 2016

The sanctity of the attorney-client relationship relies in large part on establishing and preserving a bedrock of trust between the parties. A recently released opinion by The New York State Bar reinforces this principle by concluding that a lawyer to must disclose to his client any potential malpractice of a co-counsel Report

New York: No Obligation for a Lawyer to Report a Judicial Misconduct

by William Golden in Ethics Opinion, Featured. Posted October 3, 2016

The New York State Bar Association’s (NYSBA) Committee on Professional Ethics recently opined that lawyers do not have a duty under the Rules of Professional Conduct (“RPC”)to report judicial misconduct; however, a lawyer may report a judge for a violation of the Rules of Judicial Conduct (“RJC”). Obligation

Widening the Scope of the Administration of Justice: IAC Waivers in Plea Bargains

by MelissaScott in Ethics Opinion, Legal Services, Professionalism. Posted September 14, 2016

On June 10, 2016, the New York State Bar Association issued Opinion 1098, which prohibits prosecutors from ethically requiring that defendants waive ineffective assistance of counsel (“IAC”) claims as a condition in plea bargains. Widening

Good Old Fashioned Rivalry: NY Bar Allows Attorneys to Represent Direct Competitors of Former Clients

by Nicole Comparato in Ethics Opinion, Featured, Legal Services. Posted September 12, 2016

A lawyer may represent a new client who is a direct competitor of a former client in an unrelated action against a third party, even where it would be in the former client’s best interest for the new client to lose the suit. Fashioned

California Ethics Opinion Says ‘Keep Quiet’: Lawyers Cannot Reveal Client Secrets, Even if Publically Available

by Paige Comparato in confidentiality, Ethics Opinion. Posted September 1, 2016

Does a secret stay a secret when it is posted on the Internet for anyone to find out about? According to common sense about confidentiality, it might seem obvious that sharing something online would utterly break any secrecy. Opinion

Ohio Advises on the Use of Flat Fee Agreements in Criminal Cases

by Danielle Gauer in Ethics Opinion, Legal Services, Professionalism. Posted April 1, 2016

In its recent Ethics Opinion 2016-1, the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Board of Professional Conduct addressed the issue of whether an attorney retained in a criminal matter can enter into a flat fee agreement requiring a client to pay a fixed amount in advance of representation. Agreements

A Lawyer in Motion—A Conflicts Puzzle Solved

by Justin Boyd in Ethics Opinion, Professionalism. Posted March 30, 2016

The Utah Bar recently considered the following conflicts inquiry. Puzzle

An Attorney’s Duty of Confidentiality: Responding to a Subpoena for Client Files

by Alexandra Lavelanet in confidentiality, Ethics Opinion, Professionalism. Posted March 28, 2016

On February 16, 2016, the ABA issued Formal Opinion 473, which revisits Formal Opinion 94-385 that was issued in 1994. In 1994, Model Rule 1.6(b), provided only two instances when a lawyer could disclose confidential information in response to a subpoena—to protect against certain crimes and to establish certain claims or defenses on behalf of the lawyer.

[…] 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

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Ethics Opinion ( Page 7 )