Category: Ethics Opinions

Ethics Opinion 757

NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION Advertising, clarification as specialist Committee on Professional Ethics Opinion #757 – 07/16/2002 Topic:      Certification as specialist; advertising Digest:     Professional announcements of certification as a specialist that are distributed to members of the bar or mailed to present and former clients are “public” communications within the meaning of DR 2-105 and … Continued

Ethics Opinion 755

NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION Ancillary business, business interests, conflict of interest Committee on Professional Ethics Opinion #755 – 04/10/2002 Topic:        Ancillary business organizations; transactions between lawyer and client; solicitation Digest:        The provisions of DR 5?104(A), relating to business transactions between a lawyer and client, should not apply to a lawyer’s recommendation that the client employ … Continued

Ethics Opinion 756

NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION Advertising Committee on Professional Ethics Opinion #756 – 03/13/2002 Topic:        Advertisement of Legal Services; Street Address; Web Site or E-mail Address Digest:       Legal services advertisement may not list Web site or e-mail address as sole address, but must also include street address of lawyer’s office. Code:        DR 1-102(A)(4), 2-101(A), 2-101(D), … Continued

Ethics Opinion 753

NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION Ancillary business, business interests, conflict of interest, dual practice Committee on Professional Ethics Opinion #753 – 02/26/2002 Topic:          Ancillary business organizations; mortgage brokerage; title abstract company; conflict of interest Digest:        Where a client is represented by a lawyer and uses an ancillary business owned by the lawyer, the rules applicable … Continued

Ethics Opinion 754

NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION Litigation Committee on Professional Ethics Opinion #754 – 02/25/2002 Topic:     Expenses of litigation; interest charged to lawyer passed on to clients.Digest: Plaintiff’s counsel in contingent matter may, under certain conditions, pass on to client as costs the interest charged to lawyer on borrowings made to fund litigation expenses. Code:     DR … Continued

Ethics Opinion 752

NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION Ancillary business, business interests, conflict of interest, dual practice Committee on Professional Ethics Opinion #752 – 02/22/2002 Topic:        Ancillary business organizations; conflict of interest Digest:       In certain circumstances, a lawyer owning or operating an ancillary business continues to be barred after the promulgation of DR 1-106 from providing legal and … Continued

Ethics Opinion 751

NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION Case load, competency Committee on Professional Ethics Opinion # 751 – 01/31/2002 (Revised 5/6/02) Topic:     Competence; excessive case load Digest:    An attorney representing a government agency may not undertake more matters than the attorney can competently handle, but the attorney may accept his or her superior’s reasonable resolution of an arguable … Continued

Opinion 750

NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION Choice of law rules Committee on Professional Ethics Opinion #750 – 12/14/2001 Topic:     Application of disciplinary authority and choice of law rules. Digest:    Where conduct of a lawyer licensed in New York clearly has its predominant effect in another jurisdiction in which the lawyer is licensed to practice, the ethics … Continued

Opinion 749

NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION Computers, education, electronic documents Committee on Professional Ethics Opinion #749 – 12/14/2001 Topic:       Use of computer software to surreptitiously examine and trace e-mail and other electronic documents Digest:     Lawyers may not ethically use available technology to surreptitiously examine and trace e-mail and other electronic documents. Code:       DR 1-102(A)(4), DR 1-102(A)(5), … Continued

Opinion 748

New York State Bar Association Conflict of interest, former prosecutors Committee on Professional Ethics Opinion 748 (11/5/01) Topic: Former prosecutors; conflict of interest. Digest:   A former prosecutor may represent criminal defendants investigated and prosecuted during former prosecutor’s tenure with a district attorney’s office if he or she did not participate personally and substantially in the … Continued