The Florida Bar

Ethics Opinion

Opinion 69-32

FLORIDA BAR ETHICS OPINION
OPINION 69-32
August 28, 1969
Advisory ethics opinions are not binding.
An attorney may represent a plaintiff in litigation against a corporation organized by his firm or
against one of the principals, provided the suit is unrelated to the incorporation and no relevant
confidences were gained in the prior representation.
Canon:

6

Chairman MacDonald stated the opinion of the committee:
A member of The Florida Bar advises that a former associate organized a
corporation, the file now remaining with his firm consisting of the usual
documents attendant to the establishment of the corporation and the
accomplishment of the legal details incident to its inception. Subsequent to this
time, neither the inquirer nor the associate performed further legal duties for the
corporation or the principal for whom it was incorporated. No particular
confidences were gained at this time material to the subject matter of the inquiry.
It appears that subsequently another client has requested that suit be brought against the
individual incorporator or the corporation in connection with a matter not previously handled by
the inquirer or his associate in any way whatever.
It being represented that there is a total lack of connection between the previous
representation and the instant matter and there being no question of confidences having been
gained in the previous matter which would relate to the present one, we see no conflict here of
the type condemned by Canon 6.