Bar Counsel Informal Advisory Ethics Notes

The following Bar Counsel notes were previously published in Board email updates to active members of the Maine Bar.

2017 | 2016 |2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005

2018
Date Headline
10/1/2018 Client Confidentiality Issues
10/1/2018 Court/Candor Toward Tribunal
7/1/2018 Confidentiality
7/1/2018 Fee Issues
5/1/2018 Contact with Opposing Counsel
5/1/2018 Fee Issues
3/5/2018 Fee Issues
3/5/2018 Client Communication Issues

(back to top)

2017
Date Headline
11/29/2017 Conflicts of Interest
11/29/2017 Client Confidentiality
8/7/2017 Contact with Opposing Counsel
8/7/2017 Termination/Withdrawal from Representation
5/25/2017 Reciprocal Discipline
5/25/2017 Practice Management Issues
3/25/2017 Fee and Confidentiality Issues
3/25/2017 Conflict of Interest

(back to top)

2016
Date Headline
12/6/2016 Reporting Professional Misconduct
12/6/2016 Conflict of Interest
6/17/2016 Advertising
6/17/2016 Unauthorized Practice of Law Issues
5/10/2016 Advertising
5/10/2016 Inadvertent Disclosure
2/17/2016 Client Confidentiality
2/16/2016 Withdrawal from Representation

(back to top)

2015
Date Headline
10/9/2015 Conflict of Interest
10/9/2015 Prospective Clients
8/12/2015 Dealing with Unrepresented Person
8/12/2015 Multiple Representation
4/20/2015 Safekeeping Property - Former Client's File
4/20/2015 Commencement and Withdrawal from Representation
4/3/2015 Conflict of Interest
2/21/2015 Confidences of/duties to Prospective Clients
2/21/2015 Confidentiality of Bar Complaint Matters

(back to top)

2014
Date Headline
12/1/2014 Exception to Client Confidentiality
12/1/2014 Incapacitated Client/Scope of Representation
10/1/2014 Representation After Serving as a Neutral
8/1/2014 Duties to Former Firm Clients
8/1/2014 Confidential response to Grievance Complaint filed by non-client
6/1/2014 Internet Research of Jurors
6/1/2014 Non-prejudicial withdrawal from Representation
4/9/2014 Conflict of Interests
4/9/2014 Dealing with unrepresented persons
2/3/2014 Candor Toward the Tribunal
2/3/2014 Conflicts

(back to top)

2013
Date Headline
12/1/2013 Duty to Report Attorney Misconduct
12/1/2013 Termination of Representation
10/1/2013 Duties to Former Clients
10/1/2013 Conflict of Interest: Current Clients
7/30/2013 Retention of Earned Attorney Fees
7/30/2013 Communication with Person Represented by Counsel
6/18/2013 Client Confidentiality Issues
6/18/2013 Using Bar Counsel's Ethics Helpline
4/9/2013 Client Confidentiality Issues
4/9/2013 Grievance and Discipline Process
2/11/2013 Communications with Person Represented by Counsel
2/11/2013 Confidentiality of Information

(back to top)

2012
Date Headline
12/12/2012 Successive Representation
12/12/2012 Notice Regarding Fee Arbitration
10/5/2012 Unauthorized Practice of Law
10/5/2012 Conflict of Interest
8/7/2012 Disclosure of Deceased Client Info
8/7/2012 Screening of Non-lawyer Staff
6/20/2012 Communication with Person Represented by Counsel
6/20/2012 Termination of Representation
4/18/2012 Former Client Conflicts
4/18/2012 Communications with Person Represented by Counsel
2/10/2012 Conflict of Interest: Financial Assistance to a Client in Connection with Pending or Contemplated Litigation
2/10/2012 Confidentiality of Information/Candor Toward the Tribunal

(back to top)

2011
Date Headline
12/2/2011 Confidentiality of Information/Candor Toward the Tribunal
6/3/2011 Client Confidentiality
6/3/2011 Conflict of Interest
4/8/2011 Reporting Professional Misconduct
4/8/2011 Prospective Clients

(back to top)

2010
Date Headline
12/3/2010 Confilict of Interest
12/3/2010 Candor Toward a Tribunal
10/8/2010 Duties to Prospective Client
8/1/2010 Confidentiality of Information: Release of Client's File
8/1/2010 Candor Toward a Tribunal
6/1/2010 Conflict of Interest: Current Clients
6/1/2010 Confidentiality of Information

(back to top)

2009
Date Headline
9/1/2009 Confidentiality of Information: Former Clients File

(back to top)

2008
Date Headline
10/22/2008 Refunding "Unearned Fees"
10/22/2008 Conflict of Interest/Representation of a Minor
8/20/2008 Protecting Interest of at Risk Client
8/20/2008 Conflict of Interest/Lawyer as Witness
6/26/2008 Confidentiality.
6/26/2008 Communicating with adverse party.
6/26/2008 Tape recording conversation.
3/25/2008 Communicating with adverse party.
2/25/2008 Fee splitting/referral fees.
2/25/2008 Conflict-when lawyer may be called as a witness/lawyer's own interest

(back to top)

2007
Date Headline
11/20/2007 Retention of files
11/20/2007 Restriction on right to practice - non compete.
4/19/2007 Termination/withdrawal of representation
4/19/2007 Fee splitting/referral fees
2/5/2007 Adverse conduct/deceit
2/5/2007 Conflict/successive representative

(back to top)

2006
Date Headline
11/6/2006 Client confidences/confidentiality
11/6/2006 Conflicts/screening of support staff
11/6/2006 Client confidences/confidentiality
6/27/2006 Communicating with adverse party/statutory service
6/27/2006 Conflicts/office sharing
2/2/2006 Termination/withdrawal - failure to pay fee
2/2/2006 Conflicts/former clients confidences
2/2/2006 Advertising fields of practice

(back to top)

2005
Date Headline
5/31/2005 Legal Assistant Confronted with Inadvertent Disclosure
5/31/2005 Client shows signs of diminished capacity
5/31/2005 Client provides false testimony on cross
4/22/2005 Contact with witnesses
4/22/2005 Client confidences/incapacity
4/22/2005 Conflicts/prospective clients
4/22/2005 Conflicts/prospective clients
2/1/2005 Duty to Report Another Lawyer
2/1/2005 Returning "the file" - copying

(back to top)

*Disclaimer: The Informal Ethics Advisory Notes from Bar Counsel are intended as outreach by the office of Bar Counsel for the use and benefit of the Maine bar. These scenarios are drawn from actual telephone calls received by the attorneys in the office of Bar Counsel in the course of providing informal advice on the Code of Professional Responsibility, known as Bar Counsel's "Ethics Hotline." The particular advice in each case is limited with reference to the particular factual situation related by the inquiring attorney who must be inquiring about his or her own conduct or the conduct of a member of his or her firm. We do not provide any advice to one attorney about the conduct of another attorney unless they are members of the same law firm. In the telephone opinions, we usually explore and discuss additional factual variables. However, I have attempted to pare down these factual scenarios to make the email newsletter more readable and useful in a general sense. Obviously, that creates the risk that slight variations on the facts, to a learned reader, may give rise to a different analysis and conclusion.