Opinion 1281 (04/09/2025) Topic: Payments from a lawyer’s trust account; Pay.gov Digest: With the client’s prior written approval, a lawyer may make an otherwise proper payment of funds from the lawyer’s trust account in the form of an online payment through Pay.gov Rules: 1.15(c), (d) & (e) FACTS: The inquirer’s clients are criminal defendants whom … Continued
Opinion 1280 (03/31/2025) Topic: Conflicts of interest, class actions Digest: Under the New York Rules of Professional Conduct a lawyer may in some circumstances proceed pro se while also representing individual co-plaintiffs or co-defendants in the same matter. But whether a lawyer could proceed pro se as a class representative and also represent the class … Continued
Opinion 1279 (02/18/2025) Topic: Prohibited referral fees Digest: A promise by a lawyer to pay a nonlawyer referrer to perform “administrative” work in connection with each matter referred to the lawyer constitutes a thing of “value” as compensation for or as a reward for a referral and thus violates Rule 7.2(a). Rules: 7.2(a) FACTS: The … Continued
Opinion 1278 (02/05/2025) Topic: Disclosure of prior relationship with witness. Digest: Under Rule 3.8(b), a prosecutor is required to timely disclose her past romantic relationship with a law enforcement officer in any case where the officer is to be a witness whose testimony could be subject to challenge. Rules 3.3(a)(1) and 3.4(a)(3) may also be … Continued
Opinion 1277 (11/26/2024) Topic: Crowdfunding on behalf of indigent clients Digest: A non-profit criminal defense organization may set up and administer GoFundMe pages for the benefit of indigent current clients, provided that the financial assistance is rendered as gifts, not loans, and the financial assistance does not promise financial assistance prior to retention or as … Continued
Opinion 1276 (10/23/2024) Topic: Fake social media accounts offering legal services Digest: A lawyer who knows that an unknown or unidentified person is creating fake social media accounts in order to scam the public has no duty under the Rules of Professional Conduct to take any action to combat the fake accounts. Rules: 3.3(a)(3) & … Continued
Opinion 1275 (10/23/2024) Topic: Disciplinary Authority and Choice of Law; Immigration Practice Digest: A lawyer admitted to practice in New York who principally practices before federal immigration courts in another state must comply with any reporting obligations in that state’s Rules of Professional Conduct. Rules: 8.3(a), 8.5(a) & (b) FACTS: The Inquirer is admitted to … Continued
Opinion 1274 (09/12/2024) Topic: Conflicts of interest, former clients, government lawyers Digest: A lawyer employed in the counsel’s office of a state agency would not have a conflict in representing the agency in an enforcement action against a client the lawyer had formerly represented in private practice unless the lawyer would normally be expected to … Continued
Opinion 1273 (08/28/2024) Topic: Referral of real estate matters to lawyer from real estate broker who is also employed by lawyer as an associate Digest: A lawyer may accept real estate clients referred by an associate in the lawyer’s firm who is also a licensed real estate broker, provided the lawyer does not share legal … Continued
Opinion 1272 (08/27/2024) Topic: Conflict of Interest when part-time Department of Social Services Attorney represents clients adverse to Department of Social Services Digest: Regardless of the scope of a part-time attorney’s work for a county Department of Social Services (“DSS”), the part-time DSS attorney may not represent private clients in Family Court in matters in … Continued