Ethics Helpline

In addition to issuing Ethics Committee Formal Opinions and Practical Ethics articles, members of the Ethics Committee provide informal assistance to members of the Bar via the Committee’s Helpline service. See “How to Obtain Answers“. Committee members who handle Helpline calls act as “sounding boards” and provide “reality checks” to the inquiring attorney, and will help to focus the further research of the inquirer. However, they will not provide definitive answers to Helpline questions.

Helpline communications are not Committee communications, but are subject to the restrictions and limitations that are generally applicable to Committee decisions and deliberations. In particular, the comments and guidance offered by Committee members during these calls do not constitute the opinions of the Committee or legal advice from individual Committee members. Also, since there is no attorney-client relationship between the inquiring attorney and the Committee member, there is no confidentiality or privilege with respect to such communications in the legal sense. However, as with opinion inquiries, the Committee will limit the voluntary disclosure of the identity of the inquiring attorney, and all discussions, deliberations, files and records of the Committee, to the extent that they may disclose the identity of the inquiring attorney to members of the Committee and Bar staff assigned to the Committee, unless otherwise ordered by compulsory legal process or unless the inquiring attorney waives these protections in writing.

The Ethics Committee has no disciplinary function. To register complaints of violations to the Ethics Rules by members of the New Hampshire Bar Association, contact the Supreme Court’s Committee on Professional Conduct at (603) 224-5828.

Interpretation of the Ethics Rules comes in a variety of formats. The Ethics Committee Formal Opinions and Practical Ethics articles are published in Bar News and are available on this website. The Ethics Committee Chair may also issue Tentative Advisory Opinions in cases where the inquirer chooses not to wait for a formal response from the Ethics Committee.

A Note About Ethics Materials from the NH Bar Association Ethics Committee

Care should be exercised in determining which version of a given Rule applies as of a given date, and the extent to which the interpretation of a given opinion or article will apply to such version. Many interpretations of New Hampshire ethics law (including many ethics opinions, practical ethics articles, and ethics corner articles issued by the NHBA Ethics Committee) have been published under the prior version of the Rules of Professional Conduct or predecessor rules. Read more.

General Ethics Guidance

Brief Bar News articles by the Ethics Committee examine frequently asked questions on ethics. View Ethics Corner Articles.

How to Obtain Answers

Can’t Find an NHBA Ethics Opinion on Point?

The Ethics Committee provides several services for members of the Bar. New Hampshire lawyers may contact the Committee for confidential and informal guidance on their own prospective conduct or suggest topics for Ethics Corner.

Members are encouraged to ask the NHBA Ethics Committee questions pertaining to New Hampshire practice. Inquiries and requests for opinions should be directed to the Ethics Committee staff liaison,
603-715-3259.

NH Rules of Professional Conduct

The Rules of Professional Conduct constitute the disciplinary standard for New Hampshire lawyers. Together with law and other regulations governing lawyers, the Rules establish the boundaries of permissible and impermissible lawyer conduct. View the rules.