The Bar has an active Ethics Committee to help Mississippi lawyers answer ethics questions that arise in their everyday practices. The Ethics Committee recommends standards of conduct in the practice of law as a profession. The Committee also issues opinions interpreting the Rules of Professional Conduct and whether a proposed course of professional conduct is in compliance with the Rules. However, the Committee may not issue an opinion on a question of law or the conduct of a lawyer in pending litigation. In considering a request before it, the Committee may determine the ethics opinion would be beneficial to the Bar as a whole and ask the Board of Bar Commissioners to issue a Formal Interpretive Opinion. The Committee may also choose to issue an Informal Advisory Opinion unique to the question posed. Informal Advisory Opinions remain unpublished. To request an Informal Advisory Opinion or a Formal Opinion from the Ethics Committee, please complete the Ethics Opinion Request Form.
If you simply need some direction as to what Rules may apply to your situation, or your situation is not eligible for Committee consideration, please contact the Office of General Counsel at 601-948-0568. The Office of General Counsel's function is to guide the attorney towards the Rules of Professional Conduct and any Ethics Opinions that may apply so that the attorney may make an informed decision. It is not the function of the Office of General Counsel to approve or disapprove of a proposed course of action.
Formal Ethics Opinions are published in The Mississippi Lawyer at the time of adoption by the Board of Bar Commissioners and can be found through the index and search function.