Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, I am in-house counsel in a growing company. However, as I rise in the ranks of my in-house position, I am gaining the confidence of others, and find myself being asked to attend more and more meetings as a business executive, not a lawyer. This has not been an issue for internal meetings as there is typically a clear delineation between when I’m raising business questions versus providing legal advice.

Recently, however, I was asked to attend an external meeting between a senior executive at my company and a senior executive at another company that we are thinking of doing business with. The senior executive made it clear that he was asking for my attendance as a business person and not as a lawyer because he wants to expand my business acumen/judgment. I am concerned because even though I’d be attending solely as a business person, my company role is as in-house counsel. The other company does not have in-house counsel and likely will not have legal representation at the meeting. Given the possible ethical issue of attending a meeting where the other party will not be represented by counsel, is there a way for me to attend (disclosure, etc.) without running afoul of the ethics rules or requiring the other company to have outside counsel attend?