The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct has issued three advisory opinions, including a new opinion that addresses the propriety of a lawyer notarizing a client’s affidavit and an expanded opinion analyzing conflicts arising from personal, nonmarital relationships.

Advisory Opinion 2022-04 analyzes conflicts that arise when a county prosecutor previously served as a public defender. Absent consent, the prosecutor must appoint a special assistant prosecutor to handle matters that were assigned to the public defender’s office while the prosecutor served as a public defender. A prosecutor is additionally advised to implement screening methods when the prosecutor personally represented a defendant in the same or substantially related matter or obtained protected information about other clients of the public defender’s office. This opinion replaces Advisory Opinion 1988-15.

Advisory Opinion 2022-05 holds that a lawyer may notarize a client affidavit that will be filed in a pending matter and represent that client at a subsequent hearing in the matter. The Board concludes that if questions arise concerning the execution of the affidavit or the identity of the affiant, a court must conduct a hearing to determine whether the lawyer-notary must be disqualified from representing the client.

Advisory Opinion 2022-06 adheres to advice contained in former Advisory Opinion 1993-7 by concluding that lawyers who are married may not represent opposing parties in matters without the informed, written consent of the affected clients. The opinion expands the scope of the 1993 opinion by advising lawyers who are in personal, but nonmarital relationships and who represent opposing parties to adhere to the client consent and disclosure obligations applicable to married lawyers.