All opinions of the Committee on Professional Ethics are available online here. To locate a specific opinion or opinions, enter the opinion number or keyword in the appropriate search box below. Licensed attorneys may also call 877-953-5535 for access to opinions
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Canon:
Opinion #: 674
Cite: The Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas
Date: August 2018
Does a 501(c)(3) public charity nonprofit law firm violate the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct by directly soliciting pro se Texans for the purpose of providing civil legal services at below-market flat-rate fees?
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Canon:
Opinion #: 673
Cite: The Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas
Date: August 2018
1. Does a lawyer violate the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct by seeking advice for the benefit of the lawyer’s client from other lawyers in an online discussion group?
2. Does a lawyer violate the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct by seeking advice for the benefit of the lawyer’s client through informal, direct consultation with another lawyer in a different firm?
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Canon:
Opinion #: 672
Cite: The Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas
Date: March 2018
Does a written communication from a lawyer to employees in a particular position constitute direct mail solicitation if the communication does not directly offer to represent the recipients of the communication, but suggests to the recipients that they have claims because they are similarly situated to the plaintiffs in the lawsuit?
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Canon:
Opinion #: 671
Cite: The Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas
Date: March 2018
May a lawyer, individually or through an agent, anonymously contact an alleged anonymous online defamer in order to obtain jurisdictional information sufficient for obtaining a deposition pursuant to Rule 202 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure?
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Canon:
Opinion #: 670
Cite: The Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas
Date: March 2018
Under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, may a lawyer copy and retain client documents when departing a law firm?
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Canon:
Opinion #: 669
Cite: The Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas
Date: March 2018
Under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, may a lawyer retained by an insurance company notify the insurance company that the insured client he was assigned to represent is not cooperating in the defense of the client’s lawsuit?
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Canon:
Opinion #: 668
Cite: The Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas
Date: November 2017
May a staff attorney employed by an insurance company continue to represent a defendant in a lawsuit brought by a plaintiff when both the plaintiff and the defendant are insured by the insurance company and when, during the course of the representation, the staff attorney learns the insurance company took a recorded statement from the plaintiff without advising the plaintiff that the statement might be used against her in a legal proceeding?
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Canon:
Opinion #: 667
Cite: The Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas
Date: December 2016
May the prosecuting attorney or another attorney in the prosecuting attorney’s office represent the government in a criminal case against a defendant in which the prosecuting attorney’s spouse acts as the defendant’s bail bondsman?
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Canon:
Opinion #: 666
Cite: The Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas
Date: December 2016
Does a conflict of interest exist where attorneys, who are married to each other, either represent, or are members of firms who represent, opposing parties to the same civil matter? If so, can the conflict be cured?
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Canon:
Opinion #: 665
Cite: The Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas
Date: December 2016
What are a Texas lawyer’s obligations under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct to prevent the inadvertent transmission of metadata containing a client’s confidential information? What are a Texas lawyer’s obligations under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct when the lawyer receives from another lawyer a document that contains metadata that the receiving lawyer believes contains and inadvertently discloses confidential information of the other lawyer’s client? For example, is the receiving lawyer permitted to search for, extract, and use the confidential information, and is the receiving lawyer required to notify the other lawyer of the receipt of the confidential information?
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