Informal Opinion Number: 970235

QUESTION: The county juvenile office would like to contract with Attorney´s law firm to represent indigent parents in pending juvenile matters. The level of payment will be established on a monthly basis. If Attorney´s firm enters into such an agreement with the county juvenile office, will this prohibit the firm from representation of unrelated criminal defendants? ANSWER: Based upon Attorney´s indication that Attorney will be representing indigent parents and Attorney will not be representing the Juvenile Officer or any other government official in these proceedings, the proposed arrangement will not create a situation in which Attorney or Attorney´s firm would be prohibited from representing criminal defendants in unrelated matters under Rule 4-1.7.

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.

To request an Informal Opinion, please visit: http://mo-legal-ethics.org/for lawyers/requesting-an-informal-advisory-opinion/.

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