ISBA Ethics Opinions on Impaired Lawyer

  • Opinion 96-11 | Communication With Client | Impaired Lawyer
    Duty to disclose information about referring lawyer’s practice

    Lawyer, who represents clients transferred to him by another lawyer, owes no legal duty to the transferring lawyer or to the clients involved to inform the clients of the resumption of practice by the transferring lawyer who previously suspended his practice while temporarily physically incapacitated. Lawyer has an obligation to keep his clients reasonably informed about the status of their cases and must promptly comply with reasonable requests by the clients for such information, but this obligation does not create a legal or ethical duty on the part of lawyer to relay information regarding the referring attorney’s practice.

  • Opinion 92-12 | Confidentiality | Impaired Lawyer | Reporting Lawyer Misconduct
    Duty to report age impaired incompetent lawyer

    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.

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.

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