Ethics Advisory Service

Have you ever been faced with an ethical dilemma and you weren't sure what to do?  The Ethics Advisory Service Committee might have the answer you're seeking.

Established for just that purpose, the Ethics Advisory Service Committee is comprised of 25 attorneys across the state who provide non-binding ethics opinions to Louisiana licensed attorneys.

To access this service you only need to put your question in writing and fax or email to the attention of Ethics Counsel at fax: (504)598-6753 or e-mail to Richard P. Lemmler.

The committee generally has a turn-around of approximately five to ten working days on advisory opinions, possibly shorter depending upon the complexity and/or novelty of the issue(s) involved. However, the committee is authorized to respond only to prospective ethical behavior of the attorney requesting the opinion and cannot respond to third party queries.

The Ethics Advisory Service is not authorized or permitted to answer questions from the general public regarding the conduct of Louisiana attorneys. It does not offer or provide legal advice or give legal opinions. The Ethics Advisory Service does not accept, investigate or prosecute complaints regarding attorney misconduct nor does it provide evaluations of whether or not a Louisiana attorney may have committed misconduct. Complaints of attorney misconduct or questions regarding the complaint process should be directed to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel at 1-800-326-8022.
The Ethics Advisory Service  does NOT answer HYPOTHETICAL questions.

Public Ethics Advisory Opinions
Review opinions that have been prepared by the Publications Subcommittee of the Association’s Rules of Professional Conduct Committee. The issues and topics covered within these opinions originate from actual requests for ethics advisory opinions submitted to the Ethics Advisory Service by lawyer members of the Association. In selecting topics and issues for publication, the Publications Subcommittee has reviewed opinions referred to it by Ethics Counsel and/or panel members of the Ethics Advisory Service for purposes of determining whether the opinions submitted address issues of interest, importance and/or significance to the general bar and which are not highly fact-sensitive. The Publications Subcommittee has made every effort to promote and maintain confidentiality of the parties involved in the original requests.