080219 OHEO, ETH 2019-7

• Case Date: August 02, 2019
• Court: Ohio

ETH 2019-7 Opinion 2019-7 Withdraws Adv. Op. 2002-5 Ohio Ethics Opinion Ohio Board of Professional Conduct August 2, 2019           D. Allan Asbury Senior Counsel           Kristi R. McAnaul Counsel           Patricia A. Wise Vice- Chair           Richard A. Dove Director          Donation of Legal Services to be Auctioned for Charity          SYLLABUS: A lawyer is prohibited from donating legal services to be auctioned or raffled at a fundraiser for a charitable organization. A lawyer’s donation of legal services to be auctioned or raffled for a charitable organization is giving a thing of value to another for recommending the lawyer’s services. A lawyer’s agreement with a charitable organization to provide legal services to an unknown donor may improperly limit the exercise of the lawyer’s independent professional judgment as to whom to accept as a client and what services to provide. It is misleading for a lawyer to donate legal services that he or she may not be able to provide due to conflicts of interest, the complexity of the legal matter, and the lawyer’s relative skill and competence.           Hon. John W. Wise Chair          APPLICABLE RULES: Prof.Cond.R. 1.1, 1.7, 1.9, 5.4, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3          QUESTION(S) PRESENTED: Is it proper for a lawyer to donate legal services to be auctioned or raffled at a fundraiser for a charitable organization?          OPINION: The donation of legal services through a charitable organization raises multiple ethical issues for the lawyer.^[1]          Giving a thing of value for recommending a lawyer’s services          With a few enumerated exceptions that do not apply here, Prof.Cond.R. 7.2(b) provides that a lawyer shall not give anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer’s services. A lawyer’s donation of legal services to be used as a charity auction or raffle prize is a thing of value because the charitable organization receives a monetary donation as a direct result of the donation of the lawyer’s services. As part of a typical charity auction or raffle, the...