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Ethics Committee

 

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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 will answer written requests for ethics advice subject to certain exceptions such as those listed below. The Committee will issue Formal Ethics Opinions concerning topics of general interest. Also, for more immediate advice, attorneys may call members of the HotLine sub-committee for a brief discussion of ethical issues.

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.

Written requests for an informal letter opinion may be submitted by regular mail or email. Requests by regular mail should be sent to:

 Daniel Taubman, Chair, CBA Ethics Committee 
 Colorado Bar Association 
 1900 Grant Street, Suite 900 
 Denver, CO 80203. 

Requests by email should be submitted via the following link:

CBA Ethics Letter Inquiry

If you do not receive a acknowledgement within 10 days that your letter has been received, please contact Melissa Nicoletti at melissan@cobar.org, (303) 860-1115.

Other places attorneys can call for information include:

  1. Questions about unauthorized practice of law go to the Supreme Court Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee (303.893.3393).
  2. Fee disputes go to the Colorado Bar Association at 303.860.1115 for referral to the CBA Fee Dispute Committee. Also refer to the Fee Arbitration Committee article in The Colorado Lawyer, December 1987, p. 2151.
  3. If two attorneys have a professionalism problem that is not really an ethics problem, refer to the "Professionalism Conciliation Panel Program" of the Denver Bar Association at 303.860.1115.

 

CBA ETHICS HOTLINE - A Service for Attorneys

Certain members of the Ethics Committee are available for BRIEF discussion of immediate ethical dilemmas or questions of the attorney calling the HotLine. Attorneys are asked to do their own research prior to calling the HotLine. HotLine inquiries are handled by individual members of the Committee to help identify ethical issues and do not necessarily reflect the thinking of the Committee as a whole. Please remember these practicing attorneys are doing this for free and usually can't spend more than about 10 minutes per call. The HotLine attorneys are not there to do research for you. To contact the HotLine Members please call the Colorado Bar Association office at 303.860.1115, or 800.332.6736 (in-state only).

The 2012-2013 CBA Ethics Committee Chair: Daniel Taubman

CBA Staff Liaison: Melissa Nicoletti melissan@cobar.org