940199 | Office of Legal Ethics Counsel & Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Missouri

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Informal Opinion Number: 940199

Rules: 4.2

Transactions with Persons other than Clients

Communication With Person Represented by Counsel

QUESTION: Attorney represents plaintiff in a personal injury case. The insurance company for the defendant has also brought a declaratory judgment action against its insured and Attorney´s client seeking a declaration that the defendant was not insured. The defendant is not represented in the declaratory judgment action. The defendant is represented in the underlying tort action. May Attorney contact the defendant directly regarding the issues involved in the declaratory judgment action? ANSWER: Yes. Once the defendant does obtain counsel in the declaratory judgment case, Rule 4 dash–4.2 will apply although the new counsel may not have entered an appearance yet.

Informal Opinions are ethics advisory opinions issued by the Office of Legal Ethics Counsel to members of the Bar about Rule 4 (Rules of Professional Conduct), Rule 5 (Complaints and Proceedings Thereon), and Rule 6 (Fees to Practice Law) pursuant to Missouri Supreme Court Rule 5.30(c). Written summaries of select Informal Opinions are published for informational purposes as determined by the Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Missouri pursuant to Rule 5.30(c). Informal opinion summaries are advisory in nature and are not binding. These opinions are published as an educational service and do not constitute legal advice.

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