Rule 1.6(a)
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Opinion 20-07 |
Guardians and Guardianship | Impaired Client
When a lawyer has been representing a client for several years in opposition to the court appointment of a guardian for the client’s estate, and the lawyer currently believes that the client is mentally incapacitated, the Rules do not mandate the lawyer’s continued prosecution of the client’s appeal attempting to reverse the trial court’s judgment appointing an estate guardian, in the manner of prosecution last discussed between the lawyer and the client when the lawyer believed the client had adequate capacity to make considered decisions.
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Opinion 12-03 |
Advertising and Solicitation | Confidentiality | Referral Fees and Arrangements
A lawyer may participate in a networking group with other service professionals which refers clients to one another if: (a) the reciprocal referrals are not exclusive; (b) the lawyer requests prior consent from the client to give his or her name to someone in the networking group, although the better practice might be for the lawyer to give the name of the other “professional” to the client; (c) the client is informed of the existence of the referral agreement between the lawyer and the non-lawyer professional; and (d) the referral arrangement does not interfere with the lawyer’s professional judgment as to making the referral or providing substantive legal services.
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Opinion 10-01 |
Confidentiality
A law firm’s utilization of an off-site network administrator to assist in the operation of its law practice will not violate the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct regarding the confidentiality of client information if the law firm makes reasonable efforts to ensure the protection of confidential client information
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Opinion 03-07 |
Confidentiality | Nonlawyer Assistants
The responsibilities of lawyers regarding nonlawyer assistants extends to interpreters who are employed or retained by, or associated with a lawyer for the purpose of communicating with hearing impaired clients.
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Opinion 01-01 |
Client Files | Client Funds and Property | Communication With Client
When a former client is entitled to receive file material from a law firm, a law firm may not refuse a request to download onto disk such former client file materials stored on its computer system when such downloading can be accomplished easily and without disclosing the confidences of the firm's other clients.
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Opinion 00-02 |
Confidentiality | Fees Paid by Third Party | Impaired Client
A lawyer may not divulge a psychiatric report utilized in a Social Security Disability hearing to the adult claimant’s parent unless the attorney is of the opinion that the adult claimant is disabled to the extent that a guardian should be appointed for the claimant.
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Opinion 95-04 |
Former Client | Prospective Clients
Lawyer may represent university as legal counsel even though faculty member with dispute against the university had previously discussed that dispute with the lawyer; provided, however, that the lawyer take appropriate action to avoid being placed in a conflict of interest situation, and , if such a situation develops, that the lawyer follow Rules regarding conflicts.
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Opinion 94-10 |
Confidentiality | Fees and Expenses
A lawyer may, in the exercise of discretion, disclose a client's confidences to defend himself against accusation of wrongful conduct.
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Opinion 92-12 |
Confidentiality | Impaired Lawyer | Reporting Lawyer Misconduct
An attorney may not use or reveal information given him by a doctor/client concerning the doctor's patient (an attorney considered to be incompetent to practice law) but he may suggest alternatives that the doctor can pursue with the patient and his family.
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Opinion 92-09 |
Fees and Expenses | Financial Assistance to Clients
Attorney may ethically assist clients in obtaining loans for payment of attorney fees, providing the attorney protects the client's confidences and meets his fiduciary obligation of complete disclosure.
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Opinion 90-25 |
Court Appointed Lawyer | Financial Assistance to Clients
- It is improper for attorneys to sign a surety bond on behalf of another attorney from the same firm, when the firm has been hired by the attorney to represent him in his capacity as administrator of a decedent's estate.
- It is not necessarily improper for a judge to appoint an attorney as administrator of an estate, even though that attorney has made financial contributions to the judge's campaign committee, and another attorney from the same firm served on the judge's campaign committee when the judge sought to be elected to his present judicial post; whether the attorney should accept such appointment depends upon whether the appointment is likely to result in a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct or other law, and ultimately whether the acceptance of the appointment will be prejudicial to the administration of justice.
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Opinion 88-13 |
Client Funds and Property | Confidentiality | Court Obligations
Lawyer has no duty to reveal secret but not privileged information that is incriminating to his client; a lawyer is under no obligation to take possession of physical evidence offered to him by third party; if lawyer takes possession of inculpatory physical evidence from third party he may have to turn it over to the state if it will otherwise likely be destroyed or is contraband or will cause serious injury.
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Opinion 85-11 |
Former Client
A lawyer may accept employment in an unrelated matter against the spouse of a former client, provided that the representation will not require the use of confidential information gained in the former representation, and there is no interference with the lawyer's independent professional judgment.
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Opinion 753 |
Former Client
It is not per se a conflict of interest for a lawyer to represent a client adverse to a former ad hoc client in a totally unrelated matter which does not involve confidences or secrets of the former client.