ISBA Ethics Opinions on Communication with Client | Illinois State Bar Association

Opinion 19-04 | Communication with Client | Law Firms | Nonlawyer Assistants | Outsourcing Legal and Legal Support Services. | Temporary Lawyers
Communication with Represented Person
Opinion 13-10 | Communication with Client
Sharing discovery materials with criminal defendant client
Opinion 12-14 | Advertising and Solicitation | Communication with Client | Law Firm Partnership and Employment Agreements | Law Firms
Duties and obligations of departing law firm associate
Opinion 03-04 | Communication with Client | Withdrawal from Representation
Missing client

A law firm generally has no ethical obligation to file a lawsuit on behalf of a missing client to satisfy an impending statute of limitations. There may be exceptions, however, if the client specifically authorizes the filing of a lawsuit prior to the client’s disappearance and provides the law firm with sufficient information with which a complaint can reasonably be prepared and filed.
Opinion 01-01 | Client Files | Client Funds and Property | Communication with Client
Former client access to lawyer’s file
Opinion 98-04 | Communication with Client | Confidentiality | Inadvertent Receipt and Disclosure of Confidential Materials
Lawyer inadvertently receives confidential information from opposing party
Opinion 96-11 | Communication with Client | Impaired Lawyer
Duty to disclose information about referring lawyer’s practice
Opinion 92-21 | Communication with Client | Ex Parte Communications
Attorney communication with client spouse who is a judge
Opinion 86-16 | Communication with Client | Law Firm Partnership and Employment Agreements | Law Firms
Departing firm associate communications with client and entitlement to fees

ISBA Advisory Opinions on Professional Conduct are prepared as an educational service to members of the ISBA. While the opinions express the ISBA interpretation of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct and other relevant materials in response to a specific hypothesized fact situation, they do not have the weight of law and should not be relied upon as a substitute for individual legal advice. For more information, call the ISBA Legal Department at (217) 525-1760 or (800) 252-8908.