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Ethics Counsel

Ethics Opinions 1979-Present

Ethics Opinion No. 305

Adopted December 18, 1992; Withdrawn: November 18, 1994 The Board voted to withdraw Legal Ethics Opinion No. 305 which was published in the May 28, 1994 issue of the Bar Journal, pages 1751-1753 INQUIRY If a lawyer is either an elected official or an employee (full or part-time) of a municipality or one of its… Continue reading...

Ethics Opinion No. 306

Adopted December 18, 1992 INQUIRY Is it per se unreasonable for an attorney to take as a fee a percentage of the client's own med-pay when the insurance company has not denied coverage? OPINION Further inquiry has developed that the issue involved is a practice of treating payments made under the "medical payments" provision of… Continue reading...

Ethics Opinion No. 307

Adopted March 5, 1994 INQUIRY Is it unethical for an Oklahoma licensed attorney or anyone acting on his/her behalf, while engaged in the practice of law, to record conversations with persons without obtaining the consent of those persons to the recording? OPINION Lawyers have the same rights as other citizens, and may therefore record conversations… Continue reading...

Ethics Opinion No. 308

Adopted December 9, 1994; Withdrawn: March 17, 1995 [The Board withdrew the following Legal Ethics Opinion No. 308 and requested the OBA Legal Ethics and Unauthorized Practice Committee to restudy the opinion.] INQUIRY May a lawyer engage in a sexual relationship with a client, or a client's representative, during the time when the lawyer is… Continue reading...

Ethics Opinion No. 309

Adopted March 27, 1998 TOPIC: REPRESENTATION OF INSUREDS BY LAWYERS WHO ARE EMPLOYEES OF A LIABILITY INSURER ABSTRACT: A lawyer who is employed by a liability insurer may represent his employer's insured, provided the lawyer discloses all limitations upon the representation, the insurer does not interfere with the lawyer's independence of professional judgment, the lawyer… Continue reading...

Ethics Opinion No. 310

Adopted March 27, 1998 TOPIC: ADVERTISING; SOLICITATION BY LAWYERS ABSTRACT: Over the last two decades, laws governing lawyer advertising and solicitation have become liberalized. Legal ethics advisory opinions, which predate significant changes in those laws, may be, in whole or in part, outdated, and should therefore not be relied upon, to the extent they are… Continue reading...

Ethics Opinion No. 311

Adopted October 16, 1998 TOPIC: SEXUAL RELATIONS[FN1] WITH A CLIENT[FN2] INQUIRY: Will a lawyer who engages in sexual relations with a client violate the Rules of Professional Conduct "Rules" if the lawyer has no pre-existing consensual sexual relationship[FN3] with the client? ABSTRACT: By engaging in sexual relations with a client, when no consensual sexual relationship… Continue reading...

Ethics Opinion No. 312

Adopted August 18, 2000 TOPIC Use of Mandatory Arbitration Clauses in Attorney-Client Contracts. INQUIRY Lawyer "A" provides a retainer agreement to his client containing a clause that all disputes "arising under the retainer agreement" shall be subject to binding arbitration. ABSTRACT This inquiry raises the question whether a lawyer may permissibly include in a retainer… Continue reading...

Ethics Opinion No. 313

Adopted September 15, 2000 TOPIC Improper influence and ex parte contacts with eminent domain commissioners. INQUIRY A landowner’s attorney in an eminent domain proceeding agrees to a contingency fee based upon the difference between the Commissioners’ award and the ultimate jury award or settlement. Should the landowner’s attorney or the condemning authority’s attorney be allowed… Continue reading...

Ethics Opinion No. 314

Adopted December 15, 2000 TOPIC Insurance companies’ submission of invoices of insureds’ defense counsel to third party auditors. ISSUE An insurance carrier ("Insurer") which assigns the defense of its insureds ("Clients") to defense counsel ("Attorney") submits Attorney’s bills for services rendered to an outside auditor ("Auditor") for review. May Attorney agree to representation of Clients… Continue reading...