Ethics proposals draw debate.

Hurricane Floyd may have led to delaying the Tampa General Meeting, but it didn't affect a whirlwind of debate around four proposed ethics opinions pending before the Professional Ethics Committee.

The committee was set to take comment during the General Meeting on the four opinions, and, even before the meeting, had received hundreds of pages of written responses as well as numerous requests to speak before the committee.

Three opinions, Proposed Advisory Opinions 99-2, 99-3 and 99-4, deal with insurance company practices in hiring outside counsel or using in-house attorneys to represent policyholders who are sued. The fourth, PAO 99-1, covers conflicts when a member of a firm serves on a public commission or body and another firm member wants to represent a client before that entity.

The postponed committee meeting tentatively has been rescheduled for the revamped General Meeting to be held October 29-30 at the Tampa Airport Marriott.

"It won't be dull," said PEC Chair Elizabeth Schwabedissen, who is also a veteran member of the panel.

But she added the committee is no stranger to controversy. In recent years, members have had spirited debates with representatives of U.S. attorneys and the Department of Justice over an opinion on contacting opposing parties represented by counsel and with representatives of large law firms over employment agreements that covered fee-splitting and other issues for attorneys who leave a law firm and take clients with them.

Schwabedissen noted this, however, has generated more written responses and requests to address the committee than most earlier issues, adding, "There are strongly held views."

The committee has used the delay, she said, to give Bar members more time to submit comments. The original deadline was August 16, but that was extended to September 27 because of the meeting postponement and because of the high interest in the PAOs. The opinions were published in the July 15 News.

After taking the comments, the committee can ratify, amend, or withdraw the proposed opinions. Only those who have filed written comments can appeal to the Board of Governors.

Insurance Issues

The committee's insurance opinions coincide with a special committee exploring insurance industry practices in hiring outside attorneys and using in-house counsel to represent insureds. Some issues being considered are whether some companies may be guilty of the unlicensed practice of law by telling lawyers what they can and cannot do in a case. Similar concerns have been raised when outside auditors review attorney bills and determine what is authorized and what isn't. Also raised were concerns that some information requested as part of the oversight violates attorney-client privilege and possible conflicts of interest between the insureds' and the insurance companies' best interests.

PAO 99-2 concludes that an attorney hired by an insurance company to represent an insured may not provide information relating to the representation to an outside auditor at the request of the insurance company without the specific consent of the insured. Such consent cannot be implied by the contract between the insured and the insurance company.

PAO 99-3 concludes that an attorney is ethically prohibited from entering into an...