Board of Professional Responsibility

Informal Ethics Inquiries

Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 5.4 provides for prospective ethical guidance to attorneys who need assistance.

ETHICS OPINION SERVICE:

The Court implemented the ethics opinion service in 1980 as a proactive program to prevent ethical misconduct. Formal Ethics Opinions by the Board are published which constitute principles and objectives upon which attorneys may rely for professional guidance, and can be searched online by clicking "Formal Ethics Opinions."

In addition the Board’s Ethics Counsel responds to inquiries from attorneys seeking ethical guidance. Attorneys may complete the form below to submit an informal inquiry online, or call 1-800-486-5714 to speak with the Board's Ethics Counsel.

INFORMAL ETHICS INQUIRY:

All of the fields of information in the form below must be acknowledged (yes/no) or completed as indicated.

If you do not receive a response within 48 hours after submitting your inquiry, please contact the Board's Ethics Counsel at: lchastain@tbpr.org.

To Consumers: This guidance is designed to help licensed attorneys resolve ethics issues. If you are not an attorney but need assistance in resolving an issue with your attorney, please visit our Consumer Assistance Program web page.

Informal Ethics Inquiry

BPR Number (6 digits)

Enter a valid 6 digit BPR number, and the form will populate the attorney's name and city as registered.

First Name

Last Name

City

Does this inquiry relate solely to your personal and proposed conduct (not prior conduct and not another attorney's conduct)?

Yes

Is this ethics matter pending or being contemplated in any current proceeding

Yes

Phone

What is the nature of the inquiry?

Please briefly describe the applicable facts.

Please briefly state the ethical question to be addressed (Note: legal issues will not be addressed).

Please reference any potential applicable RPCs (see Tenn. Sup. Ct. Rule 8) or other ethical authorities.

Do you understand and agree that any opinion provided is not binding on the Board or any Court and offers no security?

Yes

The BPR number you have entered is not valid. Please correct above and the Submit button will be enabled. Alternatively, you may remove all text from the BPR field and submit if it is blank.