A deputy county attorney whose duties include prosecution of cases in the Juvenile Court, in which the Nebraska Department of Social Services may be involved, may prosecute such cases in the same county in which his sister is employed as a social worker with the Nebraska Department of Social Services. However, the lawyer must fully disclose the familial relationship to the court, all lawyers, and...

An attorney may not ethically participate in a "for profit lawyer referral service if the name used by the Referral Service implies that participating attorneys are "members" of an association of trial lawyers practicing in a specific area of law.

An attorney possessing unprivileged knowledge of a violation of the Code or Professional Responsibility has a duty to report the violation to the Counsel for Discipline. An attorney does not have a mandatory obligation to report a mere suspicion of a Code violation.

A lawyer may participate in a "for-profit" lawyer referral program if the lawyer does not give anything of value to the program for recommending the lawyer's services and if the program is in compliance with the applicable provisions of the Code of Professional Responsibility. The lawyer may offer reduced fees or a free consultation to those clients that have been referred under the legal...

Lawyers who maintain separate and independent practices but share certain office facilities, including reception area, conference rooms, library, computer systems, and receptionist and secretarial personnel, may represent adverse parties so long as the following precautions are met:There shall be no common access to the case files;There shall be no common access to any computerized data relating...

An attorney may ethically require from a judgment debtor whose wages the judgment creditor has garnished a sum equivalent to the projected garnishment proceeds due under the continuing garnishment lien in return for an immediate release of the garnishment order.

An attorney may solicit legal business for pecuniary gain by sending truthful and nondeceptive letters to prospective or potential clients known to face particular legal problems, subject to the requirements of the Code of Professional Responsibility concerning written communications.

It is not possible to state a definite time as to when closed client files may be destroyed. The retention or destruction of client files is primarily a matter of good judgment, weighing the clients' interests and expectations in the retention of file materials, the reasonably expected future usefulness of the file contents, the careful preservation of confidentiality, and the availability of...

The individual names of paralegals or legal assistants may be listed on a law firm's professional letterhead if the letterhead clearly indicates that such employees are not attorneys.

A "Chinese Wall" may not be used to avoid conflicts of interest in appellate and post-conviction cases in which the competency of prior Public Defender is challenged by a criminal defendant now represented by a Public Defender from the same office.

Under the facts presented, a County Public Defender representing a defendant convicted of first degree murder should not, for the purposes of seeking post-conviction relief on behalf of the defendant, allege that the prior County Public Defender and his staff provided ineffective assistance of counsel even though the present Public Defender was never associated with the prior Public Defender.

It is unethical for a County Attorney, while acting under his or her statutory duties, to bring an action to establish the paternity of children born out of wedlock and to subsequently represent either parent in a dispute over the custody of the minor children.

It is not, per se, a violation of the Code of Professional Responsibility for the lawyer for one party in a transaction to act as an escrow agent if all parties consent after full disclosure and if it appears obvious that the lawyer can adequately represent the interests of all parties. The consent should recognize the potential for conflicts of interest and a means to resolve the same. Acting as...

When a lawyer is appointed by a court or requested by a Bar Association to undertake representation of a person unable to obtain counsel, whether for financial or other reasons, the lawyer should not seek to be excused from undertaking the representation except for compelling reasons.

An attorney may participate in a "for profit" lawyer referral program if the attorney does not give anything of value to the program for recommending his services and if the program is in compliance with the applicable provisions of the Code of Professional Responsibility. It is the individual attorney's responsibility to assure the program's compliance with the Code.

If an attorney finds that he is required by statute and disciplinary rules to deliver physical evidence to the County Attorney, he should consider whether he should withdraw as counsel in the case for the reason set forth in Opinion No. 80-1. The Committee cannot say, however, that it would be a per se Violation of the Disciplinary Rules to fail to withdraw in all cases, and any implication to...

It is not per se unethical for attorneys who are married or closely related to represent parties with adverse interests as long as the attorneys make full disclosure to their respective clients and obtain the consent of the clients to the representation. The attorneys should carefully examine the situation and one or more of the attorneys should decline employment or withdraw from the employment...

An attorney may ethically act as trustee under a trust deed and continue to represent the beneficiary (lender) against the trustor (borrower).

An attorney may charge interest on past due accounts for legal services with the client's agreement. Such agreement must:Be in writing;Be entered into prior to or early in the provision of legal services;Clearly state a reasonable rate of interest;Clearly set out when the account will become past due and subject to the interest charge but not less than 30 days after the billing date.

An attorney may participate in a plan for furnishing prepaid legal services. Participation in such a plan however does not relieve the attorney from compliance with applicable provisions of the Code of Professional Responsibility. The participating attorney should use caution to insure that the plan does not:Permit the unauthorized practice of law.Violate client confidences.Impair the...