Lawyers Don’t Have to Wear Two Hats in Domestic Violence Cases

Attorneys in the District of Columbia appointed by the court to represent clients in criminal domestic violence cases don’t have to officially represent them in related civil proceedings, but they can advise them, the D.C. Bar Legal Ethics Committee said in a June opinion.

The committee “neither mandates nor discourages” such attorneys from representing clients in parallel civil proceedings, it said.

But either way, attorneys should “seriously consider” advising clients on the implications that testimony and evidence cited in the civil proceeding might have on the criminal domestic violence matter, the committee said.

Protection order proceedings are civil, not criminal, ...