Ethics Committee
The Colorado Bar Association Ethics Committee is a standing committee of the Colorado Bar Association, staffed by approximately 90 Colorado attorneys, existing for the purpose of giving ethics advice to Colorado attorneys. The Committee issues Formal Ethics Opinions concerning topics of general interest, which are published in the Colorado Lawyer. The Committee, as a whole, will answer written requests for ethics advice, subject to certain exceptions such as those listed below, as Informal Letter Opinions. Also, for more immediate advice, attorneys may call individual members of the HotLine Subcommittee for a brief discussion or submit an email request to the link below. Email submissions should indicate whether an Informal Letter Opinion of the Committee or an immediate response (“E-Response”) is requested. Telephone responses and E-Responses are solely the opinions of individual Committee members and not the considered opinions of the entire Committee. The responding Committee member reserves the option to respond to an inquiry in either telephone or email format.
The Ethics Committee is NOT associated with the Colorado Supreme Court, the Presiding Disciplinary Judge, the Attorney Regulation Committee, or the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel. Committee Opinions, whether informal written opinions or published formal Ethics Opinions, are issued for advisory purposes only and are not in any way binding on the Colorado Supreme Court, the Presiding Disciplinary Judge, the Attorney Regulation Committee, Attorney Regulation Counsel, or the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel and do not provide protection against disciplinary actions.
Pursuant to its by-laws, the Committee is not obliged to respond to questions:
- about completed conduct;
- about another attorney's conduct;
- about law rather than ethics;
- about matters in litigation;
- from a non-attorney;
- when the inquirer (e.g. caller) will not identify him or herself.