Advisory Opinions
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Updated through Oct. 9, 2009
PARTNERSHIPS
(See also RETIRED ATTORNEY)
PART-TIME JUDGES (See JUDGES)
PHYSICIAN
(See also CHIROPRACTOR; SAFEKEEPING FUNDS AND PROPERTY OF CLIENT AND THIRD PERSONS)
PRACTICE OF LAW
(See also UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF LAW)
PREPAID LEGAL SERVICES (See GROUP LEGAL SERVICES)
PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE
PUBLIC DEFENDERS
(See also CRIMINAL DEFENSE REPRESENTATION)
PUBLIC OFFICIALS/EMPLOYEES
(See also JUDGES; OHIO ETHICS LAW; PROSECUTORS; PUBLIC DEFENDERS)
Child support enforcement agency attorney
Op. 2002-4 
paralegal taking deposition; out-of-state attorney taking deposition in Ohio; Ohio attorney taking deposition in state outside of Ohio
Op. 06-2 solo practitioner naming law firm “The X Law Group” when “X” is the solo practitioner's surname and “X” employs one or more attorneys as associates; use of “Group” or “Law Group” or “and Associates” in a firm name; reference to paralegals, other non-attorney personnel, office sharing attorneys or other “of counsel” attorneys
PARTNERSHIPS
(See also RETIRED ATTORNEY)
Op. 88-19 holding law practice out as
partnerships when attorneys no longer are partners
Op. 89-36 office sharing attorneys using
joint letterhead; holding out as partners when not partners
Op. 90-14 partnership or employment agreement
restricting the right of a lawyer to practice law after termination
Op. 91-3 employment agreement in which
departing associate pays fees to law firm
Op. 91-4 trade name, firm name when partners
licensed in different jurisdictions, direct mail, fees
PART-TIME JUDGES (See JUDGES)
Op. 95-12 payment to client of all settlement
funds despite client's agreement with physician to pay medical expenses out of
the proceeds of a settlement and attorneys promise to do so
PRACTICE OF LAW
(See also UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF LAW)
Op. 88-18 legal research and writing
for law firms and lawyers
Op. 88-36 judge preparing wills for relatives
Op. 89-35 lawyer's practice with more
than one firm
Op. 89-31 attorney employed by a certified
public accountant's firm for purpose of practicing law; practice of law in association
with a layman
Op. 89-37 lawyer awaiting admission in
Ohio giving legal advice directly to clients
Op. 90-6 suspended/disbarred lawyer
working in law office
Op. 90-12 out of state law firm representing
out-of state lending institutions regarding loans made to persons in Ohio
Op. 91-6 federal practice of attorney
not licensed in any state
Op. 91-25 judge's preparation, filing,
and prosecution of patent applications
PREPAID LEGAL SERVICES (See GROUP LEGAL SERVICES)
Op. 2005-7 attorney volunteering in a bar association sponsored program providing public education and pro bono legal services regarding advance directive forms; individual lawyers or law firms, acting on their own and not through a proper auspice such as a bar association, to provide public education and pro bono legal services regarding advance directive forms
PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE
Op. 2005-1 attorney who performs research and writing on a contract basis to other attorneys is not subject to professional liability insurance notice requirement
Op. 2007-6 court appointed lawyer for indigent criminal defendant is not required to provide notice to defendant that lawyer does not maintain professional liability insurance
Op. 87-24 prosecutor or members of prosecutor's
office appearing before prosecutor's spouse who is judge
Op. 87-38 former prosecutor now referee
hearing cases he or she filed; hearing cases based on new facts or circumstances
involving a client for whom he or she appeared; hearing cases brought by prosecutor's
office
Op. 88-8 part-time prosecutor doing criminal
defense work
Op. 88-13 prosecuting attorney appearing
before part-time judge who employs prosecutor's assistant in private practice
Op. 88-15 former public defender now
county prosecutor appointing assistant to handle cases which were pending when
he/she worked at public defender's office
Op. 88-25 extra-judicial statements related
to criminal investigations, trial publicity
Op. 89-09 municipal prosecutor's duty
to report that criminal defense attorney is employed in same law office as county
prosecutor
Op. 89-23 part-time prosecutor who is
police officer testifying as a witness
Op. 89-34 prosecutor or attorney general
who represents judge in a pending law suit appearing before the judge; appearances
by other members of prosecutor's office or attorney generals office; rule of necessity;
disqualification
Op. 90-10 part-time prosecutor in child
enforcement agency; representation of opposing parties by part-time CSEA attorney
and part-time public defender who are siblings and in private practice together
Op. 91-22 representation of opposing
parties by prosecuting attorney and criminal defense attorneys who are siblings
and former law partners
Op. 92-7 opposing counsels communication
with county commissioners outside prosecutor's presence
Op. 92-13 assistant county prosecutor
in part-time practice sharing or subletting office space from attorney who does
criminal defense
Op. 93-7 representation of opposing parties
by prosecuting attorney and criminal defense attorney who are spouses; representation
by law partners and associates of criminal defense attorney; representation by
other attorneys in county prosecutor's office
Op. 94-6 special county prosecutor representing
criminal defendants
Op. 94-10 prosecutor's offer to dismiss
criminal charges that lack merit in exchange for a defendant's promise to release
all civil claims against the police and the city
Op. 94-14 assistant prosecutor and lawyer
who represents criminal defendants sharing office space and co-counseling on civil
cases
Op. 95-11 different attorneys from same
prosecutor's office simultaneously handling the prosecutions of family members
charged with domestic violence
Op. 99-8 criminal defense attorney's duty
to notify court of a clerical error in a defendant's sentence in a judgment entry
drafted by the prosecutor's office; duty to notify court of a possible misinterpretation
of a sentence by the Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections
Op. 2001-6 prosecutor negotiating and criminal defense attorney advising a defendant to enter a plea agreement that waives the defendant's appellate or postconviction claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel or prosecutorial misconduct
Op. 2003-5 law director or assistant law director acting as an advocate in a trial in which another attorney in the law director's office will testify as a witness on behalf of the city
Op. 2003-7 judge appointing attorney to serve as special prosecutor in the same county (and even in the same court) in which the attorney represents criminal defendants
Op. 2007-4 city director of law determining whether conflict of interest exists in the representation of city, city officials, or city entities; representation by assistant city law directors.
Op. 2008-5 city director of law or assistant city director of law representing criminal defendants; lawyers associated in a law firm with city director of law or assistant city director of law representing criminal defendants in a proceeding prosecuted by city director of law or assistant city director of law; lawyer associated in a law firm with city director of law or assistant city director of law being privately retained to represent criminal defendants; lawyer associated in a law firm with city director of law or assistant city director of law serving as court appointed counsel, public defender, or co-counsel to a public defender
Op. 2008-6 city director of law or assistant city director of law who has no legal duty to represent the state of Ohio may represent criminal defendants under certain conditions; village solicitor who has no legal duty to represent the state of Ohio may represent criminal defendants under similar conditions; court appointments subject to R.C. 120.39
Op. 2009-3 county prosecuting attorney representing multiple statutory clients in the negotiation of a contract or a memorandum of understanding; representing multiple statutory client in the filing of a lawsuit by one of the client asserting a claim against the other; representation by different assistant prosecuting attorneys
PUBLIC DEFENDERS
(See also CRIMINAL DEFENSE REPRESENTATION
Op. 88-2 county public defender running
for county prosecutor
Op. 88-15 former public defender as
prosecutor; imputed disqualification
Op. 90-10 part-time public defender and part-time CSEA attorneys who are siblings and in private practice together
Op. 2007-6 court appointed lawyer for indigent criminal defendant providing notice to defendant that lawyer does not maintain professional liability insurance
Op. 2008-4 assistant county public defender representing c0-defendants at a preliminary hearing in a felony case; representation by two different assistant public defenders in the same county public defender’s office; assistant county public defender representing one co-defendant in a felony case while simultaneously representing the other co-defendant in an unrelated misdemeanor case; representation by two different assistant public defenders in the same county public defender’s office; representation of a criminal defendant when a former client in an unrelated matter is a witness in the defendant’s criminal case
Op. 2008-5 city director of law or assistant city director of law representing criminal defendants; lawyers associated in a law firm with city director of law or assistant city director of law representing criminal defendants in a proceeding prosecuted by city director of law or assistant city director of law; lawyer associated in a law firm with city director of law or assistant city director of law being privately retained to represent criminal defendants; lawyer associated in a law firm with city director of law or assistant city director of law serving as court appointed counsel, public defender, or co-counsel to a public defender
Op. 2008-6 city director of law or assistant city director of law who has no legal duty to represent the state of Ohio may represent criminal defendants under certain conditions; village solicitor who has no legal duty to represent the state of Ohio may represent criminal defendants under similar conditions; court appointments subject to R.C. 120.39
PUBLIC OFFICIALS/EMPLOYEES
(See also JUDGES; OHIO ETHICS LAW; PROSECUTORS; PUBLIC DEFENDERS)
Op. 88-10 lawyer who is commissioner
with court of claims serving as a special assistant attorney general
Op. 89-34 attorney from prosecutor's
office or attorney general's office representing judge
Child support enforcement agency attorney
Op. 90-10 representing interests of the
state; representing criminal or traffic clients in private practice; representing
domestic relations clients; representing opposing parties when sibling is public
defender; non-attorney support staff doing intake, interviews, and preparation
of forms
Op. 2006-6 CSEA staff attorney representing the state in a contempt action filed against a party for failure to abide by a court order involving a CSEA matter in which that staff attorney issued administrative orders as a CSEA administrative hearing officer; representing the state in any other action involving a CSEA matter in which that staff attorney participated as the CSEA hearing officer making determinations or issuing administrative orders; representing the state in an action in which a party is a person who once appeared before the staff attorney who served as the administrative hearing officer
Op. 96-6 city council person private
representation of clients in civil and criminal matters in municipal court
Op. 87-22 law director appearing before judge/father/partner
Op. 88-8 part-time prosecutor doing criminal defense work; narrow exception for city law director doing criminal defense work
Op. 89-10 city law director consenting to judge's brother-in-law representing criminal defendants and appearing before the judge
Op. 2003-5 law director or assistant law director acting as an advocate in a trial in which another attorney in the law director’s office will testify as a witness on behalf of the city
Op. 2007-4 city director of law determining whether conflict of interest exists in the representation of city, city officials, or city entities; representation by assistant city law directors.
Op. 2008-5 city director of law or assistant city director of law representing criminal defendants; lawyers associated in a law firm with city director of law or assistant city director of law representing criminal defendants in a proceeding prosecuted by city director of law or assistant city director of law; lawyer associated in a law firm with city director of law or assistant city director of law being privately retained to represent criminal defendants; lawyer associated in a law firm with city director of law or assistant city director of law serving as court appointed counsel, public defender, or co-counsel to a public defender
Op. 2008-6 city director of law or assistant city director of law who has no legal duty to represent the state of Ohio may represent criminal defendants under certain conditions; village solicitor who has no legal duty to represent the state of Ohio may represent criminal defendants under similar conditions; court appointments subject to R.C. 120.39; Modifies Op. 2008-6.
Op. 88-20 county commissioner who is
lawyer representing clients in common pleas court
Op.92-7 attorney's communication of client's
position to county commissioners at a public meeting without prosecuting attorney
being present
Op. 87-38 former assistant prosecuting
attorney now referee
Op. 88-15 former county defender now
county prosecutor; imputed disqualification
Op. 90-10 former CSEA attorney in private
practice
Op. 93-8 former judge now in private
practice
Op. 05-5 former magistrate now in private practice
Op. 88-2 county public defender running
for county prosecuting attorney
Op. 2008-6 city director of law or assistant city director of law who has no legal duty to represent the state of Ohio may represent criminal defendants under certain conditions; village solicitor who has no legal duty to represent the state of Ohio may represent criminal defendants under similar conditions; court appointments subject to R.C. 120.39