Oregon Legal Ethics

DR 5-109(A) is similar to MC DR 9-101(A).

1.12:200   Former Judge or Arbitrator Representing Client in Same Matter

• Primary OR References: DR 5-109(A)
• Background References: ABA Model Rule 1.12(a), Other Jurisdictions
• Commentary: ABA/BNA § 91.4501
• OR Commentary:

DR 5-109(A) provides that a “lawyer shall not represent a client in connection with a matter in which the lawyer participated personally and substantially as a judge or other adjudicative officer, arbitrator, or law clerk to such a person, unless all parties to the proceeding consent after full disclosure.” Such disclosure must be made to, and consent must be obtained from, all parties to the proceeding.

As with the standard articulated in DR 5-109(B) for former government employees, a judge’s personal and substantial participation is comparable to that which would constitute a former-client matter-specific conflict, as those terms are used in DR 5-105(C)(1). A judge or clerk must have been “‘personally involved [in a matter] to an important, material degree,’” as opposed to the signing of a routine order or the mere reviewing of the status of the case, in order to be disqualified from subsequent representation. OSB Legal Ethics Op No 1991-120 (quoting ABA Formal Ethics Op 342 (1975)).

1.12:300   Negotiating for Future Employment

• Primary OR References:
• Background References: ABA Model Rule 1.12(b), Other Jurisdictions
• Commentary: ABA/BNA § 91:4001, ALI-LGL § 125, Wolfram § 8.10
• OR Commentary:

Like the ABA Model Code, the DRs do not include a counterpart to MR 1.12(b).

1.12:400   Screening to Prevent Imputed Disqualification

• Primary OR References:
• Background References: ABA Model Rule 1.12(c), Other Jurisdictions
• Commentary: ABA/BNA § 91:4501, ALI-LGL §§ 123, 124, Wolfram § 7.6.4
• OR Commentary:

Like the ABA Model Code, the DRs do not include a counterpart to MR 1.12(c). Nevertheless, OSB Legal Ethics Op No 1991-120 provides that if a former judge is unable to obtain consent from all parties after full disclosure, the firm to which that former judge belongs may still represent its client, provided the former judge is screened pursuant to DR 5-105(I).

1.12:500   Partisan Arbitrators Selected by Parties to Dispute

• Primary OR References:
• Background References: ABA Model Rule 1.12(d), Other Jurisdictions
• Commentary: ABA/BNA § 51:1501
• OR Commentary:

Like the ABA Model Code, the DRs do not include a counterpart to MR 1.12(d).