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Finding Ethics Opinions

Specialized Research #4 - Dorraine Zief Law Library Handout

This guide gives print and online sources for ethics opinions from the State Bar of California, local California bar associations, the American Bar Association, and other state and local bar associations. Some opinions are available in full text; some are available only in summary or digest form.

(Note: the call numbers given in this guide are for the USF Law Library)

(This guide mentions and links to various Lexis and Westlaw resources. The Zief Law Library's contracts with Lexis and Westlaw limit our use of Lexis and Westlaw to current students, faculty, and staff members of the University of San Francisco School of Law. For information about who may use Lexis and Westlaw, how to arrange your own subscription, and how to connect to Lexis and Westlaw via the web, see the USF Law Library's introduction to Lexis and Westlaw.

Authorized users who follow a link to a Lexis or Westlaw resource will first need to sign on to Lexis or Westlaw before coming to the search page for that resource.)

Contents

California State Opinions
full text sources

State Bar of California Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct

State Bar Court

California Local Bar Association Opinions
sources of full text or summaries

Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF)

  • Opinions from 1970-1 to 1999-2 on the web: Bar Association of San Francisco Ethics Opinions.

  • Opinions 1970-1 to present: volume 2 of California Compendium on Professional Responsibility. KFC 76.5 .A2 C34 1983 Law Stacks

  • Selected summaries of opinions from 1980 to 1990: "Ethics Opinions" and "Manual" volumes of ABA/BNA Lawyer's Manual on Professional Conduct, KF 305 .A8 A23 1984 Law Open Reserve.

    Summaries from 1989 and 1990: the online ABA/BNA Lawyers' Manual on Professional Conduct. Follow the link to "State Ethics Opinions." (For off-campus access, follow these remote access instructions. Access for USF law students, law faculty and law staff.)

Los Angeles County Bar Association

  • Opinions 475 (1994) to present (and a handful of opinions from 1959 to 1992) on the web: Los Angeles County Bar Association Ethics Opinions.

  • Opinions 302 (1968) to present: volume 3 of California Compendium on Professional Responsibility, KFC 76.5 .A2 C34 1983 Law Stacks

  • Opinions from 1 to 322 (1917 - 1971): Ethics Opinions: Opinions of the Committee on Legal Ethics of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, KF 306 .Z9 L6 Law Stacks.

  • Summaries of opinions from 1980 to the present: "Ethics Opinions" and "Manual" volumes of ABA/BNA Lawyer's Manual on Professional Conduct, KF 305 .A8 A23 1984 Law Open Reserve.

    Summaries from 1986 to the present: the online ABA/BNA Lawyers' Manual on Professional Conduct. (Remote access instructions.) Follow the link to "State Ethics Opinions."

Orange County Bar Association

San Diego County Bar Association

Sacramento County Bar Association

  • Summaries of opinions from 1980 to about 1985: "Ethics Opinions" and "Manual" volumes of ABA/BNA Lawyer's Manual on Professional Conduct, KF 305 .A8 A23 1984 Law Open Reserve.
    (As of June 2007, Sacramento County Bar Association opinions were not available on the web site of the Sacramento County Bar Association, http://www.sacbar.org/.)

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ABA Ethics Opinions
full text sources

There are multiple print and online sources for most ABA formal or informal opinions. These opinions are not, however, available for free on the web. (As of June 2007, the ABA's Center for Professional Responsibility did not make its opinions available on its web site. Summaries of Formal Opinions from 84-349 to the present are available.)

ABA Formal Opinions — from Opinion 1 (1924) to present

ABA Informal Opinions — from 1961 to cessation in 1989

ABA Advisory Opinions

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Ethics opinions from other states
sources of full text or summaries

Multi-state Sources

Individual State Sources

The Internet, Lexis, and Westlaw are good — though not comprehensive — sources for full-text recent state ethics opinions. In addition to their multi-state databases and sources, Lexis and Westlaw have sources⁄databases for each individual state whose opinions are included in the multi-state resources.

  • On the web, go to the State Narratives section of Cornell's American Legal Ethics Library and select your state from the list.

  • On Lexis, select the source "National Reporter on Legal Ethics & Prof. Responsibility - XX Opinions," where "XX" is the state's postal abbreviation. (The short source name is ETHICS;XXETOP, where "XX" is the state's postal abbreviation.) Opinions are available from the District of Columbia and all U.S. states except Delaware, Louisiana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Oklahoma.

  • On Westlaw, select the database XXETH-EO, where "XX" is the state's postal abbreviation. Opinions are available from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.

    (Virginia opinions are available separately in Westlaw's VA-STM database of annotated statutes. To limit your results to ethics opinions, add to your other search terms: and prelim("legal ethics" and opinion). Public reprimands by Virginia courts or other disciplinary bodies are available separately in the VAETH-DISP database. Reports and recommendations of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission are available in the ILETH-DISP database.)

The Zief Law Library also has some non-California state opinions in full text in the following sources:

  • Florida opinions 59-2 to 67-53 (1959 - 1968) are available in Selected Opinions of the Committee on Professional Ethics of the Florida Bar, KF 306 .Z9 F6 Law Stacks.

  • Washington State Bar Association opinions 1 to 132 (1950-1966) are in Opinions of the Legal Ethics Committee of the Washington State Bar Association, KF 306 .Z9 W3 Law Stacks.

  • Wypyski, Eugene M. & Pimsleur, Meira G., eds., Opinions ⁄  Committees on Professional Ethics, KFN 5076.5 .A2 A97 Law Stacks, has these opinions from New York:

    • New York State Bar Association opinions 1 to 679 (1964 - 1995),
    • New York County Lawyers Association opinions 1 to 705 (1912 - 1995),
    • Bar Association of Nassau County opinions 80-1 to 95-13 (1980 - 1995), and
    • Association of the Bar of the City of New York opinions 1 to 894 & 79-1 to 1995-12 (1923 - 1995)

  • Daly, Mary C., ed., The New York Code of Professional Responsibility: Opinions, Commentary & Caselaw, KFN 5076.5 .A2 A97 1997 Law Stacks, has these opinions from New York:

    • New York State Bar Association opinions 606 to present (1990- ),
    • New York County Lawyers Association opinions 675 to present (1990- ),
    • Bar Association of Nassau County opinions 92-1 to present (1992- ), and
    • Association of the Bar of the City of New York opinions 1990-1 to present (1990- )

  • Opinions of the Committees on Professional Ethics of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the New York County Lawyers' Association, KF 306 .Z9 A8 Law Stacks, has these opinions from New York:

    • New York County Lawyers Association opinions 1 to 445 (1912 - 1955), and
    • Association of the Bar of the City of New York opinions 810 (1923 - 1956)

Recent New York ethics opinions are also available on the web, Lexis, and Westlaw.

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