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?

Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, A potential client sent me an unsolicited email containing what she described as confidential information about a claim she has against an entity that turned out to be one of our firm’s existing clients. Our website says that we undertake no duties of confidentiality in the absence of an agreement, and that prospective clients should not send confidential information without our agreement. May I or the firm still defend our existing client in the resulting matter? May we use the information the prospective client sent me to do so?

Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, I have been asked by a law firm from another city to serve as local counsel to them in a litigation matter. The law firm wants my agreement that they will do all the material work and will handle all communications with the client, that my responsibility is simply to file pleadings and briefs they produce, and stand by for any local practice questions. This will not be a big matter for me, but any business is business, and maybe it will lead to more. Do you see any issues with this?

Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, In a confidential interview in connection with a civil case, one of my client’s corporate officers told me that she did not remember if she became aware of a critical accounting issue at the company before or after a sale of stock in question. At trial, you do not ask her about the matter on direct, but on cross examination by the opposing lawyer she testifies definitively that she is certain the issue only came to light after the stock sale. Do I have an obligation to disclose the client’s earlier statement to the court or the opponent? What do I do?

Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, Because I’m an extremely hip lawyer… and will do it for free, StreamingCourtNews called me to video comment on a long-running celebrity case for its site. Perhaps getting carried away in the moment, I expressed the view that the judge seems to enjoy the limelight and could be providing unconstitutionally disparate treatment of the criminal defendant based upon how many TV cameras the defendant’s fame has attracted and the judge’s well-known ambition to be nominated for the appellate court. I realize this means I probably won’t find favor in this judge’s court in the future, but now I’m wondering, is this something I could actually be disciplined for?