TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Mar 1, 2023

The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released a formal opinion today that provides guidance covering which jurisdiction’s ethics rules should apply to lawyers who handle matters in more than one jurisdiction. Formal Opinion 504 states that, “A lawyer must comply with the ethics rules of the jurisdiction where the lawyer’s conduct occurs or, if different, where the predominant effect of the lawyer’s conduct occurs.” The opinion provides guidance to assess where “predominant effect” occurs and offers scenarios for topics such as fee agreements, law firm ownership, reporting professional misconduct and confidentiality. Read more about the opinion.