Attorneys serving as public officials can continue to represent clients within their locality, but they need to heed applicable law and ethics guidelines, the New York State Bar Association’s ethic committee said in a July 8 opinion.
The committee considered the issue after receiving an inquiry from an attorney with a private practice who was considering a run for town supervisor.
Before taking any action in a matter, an attorney has to make sure it’s not prohibited by any relevant laws, ethics codes, or regulations that apply to government lawyers because these trump New York’s ethics rule 1.11, “Special ...