The Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas is accepting public comments on two proposed ethics opinions through March 27.
The first proposed opinion deals with (1) whether a staff lawyer employed by an insurance company to defend its insureds must comply with the company’s guidelines regarding the defense of such cases, and (2) what a lawyer’s obligations are if an insurance company cuts a staff lawyer’s support staff.
The second proposed opinion concerns whether a lawyer representing a defendant in a criminal matter violates the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct if, after receiving physical evidence from the client, the lawyer does not reveal the existence of the evidence until trial and refuses to allow the prosecuting attorney to inspect the evidence until the court orders the lawyer to do so.
Go to texasbar.com/pec to read the proposed opinions and provide comments.