North Carolina State Bar Lawyer's Handbook, published by the North Carolina State Bar
This annotated lawyer's reference contains the "most frequently referenced" rules of the North Carolina State Bar (including "Discipline and Disability" and "Fee Dispute Resolution), select "Attorneys-at-Law" sections of the the North Carolina General Statutes, as well as the annotated Rules of Professional Conduct, all ethics opinions adopted under the Rules and Superseded (1985) Rules, and trust account guidelines.
Available in the UNC Law Library at KFN7476.5 .N82. Current edition located at the Reference Desk.
Available online through the State Bar website.
Ethics Opinions and related information from the North Carolina State Bar can also be accessed at the NC State Bar website as follows.
By following links found at the State Bar Ethics Resources page.
The Index to (adopted) Ethics Opinions provides a guide to the opinions by topic.
The State Bar's Explanation of Names and Formats explains naming conventions for advisory opinions, in addition to providing a link to the Index.
Proposed Opinions of the NC State Bar are available online and also published quarterly in the North Carolina State Bar Journal. This is an opportunity for public comment before a decision by the State Bar Ethics Committee, although final opinions are not republished in the Journal.
Ethics Opinions of the North Carolina State Bar can also be accessed through UNC Libraries, as follows.
North Carolina Legal Ethics Opinions (from 1985) are available online (Westlaw) with account permission.
North Carolina State Bar Lawyer's Handbook, published by the North Carolina State Bar.
All ethics opinions adopted under the Rules and Superseded (1985) Rules.
Older Opinions (in reverse date order).
RPC Opinions (North Carolina State Bar, 1994). The North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct ("RPC") were in effect from 1985-1997. Available in the UNC Law Library at KFN7476.5.A2 R62.
The Green Book: North Carolina Code of Professional Responsibility and CPR Opinions (North Carolina State Bar, unkn.). The North Carolina Code of Professional Responsibility ("CPR") was in effect from 1973 to 1985. Available in three volumes in the UNC Law Library at KFN7476.5.A2 G79.
Statutes, Rules and Regulations, Canons of Ethics, and Opinions: Including Rules of the Board of Law Examiners, Robert Melott, Ed. (North Carolina State Bar, 1970). Available in the UNC Law Library at KFN7476.5.A2 N6.
North Carolina Statutes, Rules and Regulations: and Ethics Opinions of the North Carolina State Bar: Rules of the Board of Law Examiners, North Carolina State Bar (Michie, 1962), including opinions from October 1942 through October 2961, at KFN7477 .N67.
North Carolina statutes, rules and regulations and ethics opinions of the North Carolina State Bar: rules of the Board of Law Examiners. Supplement no. 1, North Carolina State Bar (Michie, 1963), at KFN7477 .N67 1961 Suppl. 1963.
Ethics Articles, North Carolina State Bar Journal (the "Journal")
Articles on the subject of Ethics that have appeared in the NC State Bar Journal, organized by topic, are available online at the State Bar website.
Full editions of the Journal back to 2002 are also available at the State Bar website.
The Journal is also available in the UNC Law Library at K14 .O7369.
North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, a privately published newspaper covering legal news, with a searchable online site.
The Code of Judicial Conduct is promulgated by the Supreme Court under Section 7A-10.1 of the General Statutes of North Carolina.
Available online at the NC Judicial Branch website.
Judicial Ethics Opinions (beginning 2007) are also available online through the UNC Law Library (Westlaw), with account access.
Under the auspices of the NCSC, the Center for Judicial Ethics serves as a clearinghouse for resources on the topic. Included are the following.
Judicial Conduct Reporter, published quarterly, summarizing recent decisions and advisory opinions, reporting developments in judicial discipline, and including articles on judicial ethics and discipline procedures. The Judicial Conduct Reporter began as a publication of the American Judicature Society Center for Ethics through the summer of 2014, at which point its publication transferred to the NCSC. The first issue of each year (winter) reports state judicial discipline statistics for the prior year and "summariz[es] all cases in which judges were removed."
Online at the NCSC website, searchable by topic or by date, from 1999 through current winter 2020 edition.
Online at Westlaw (with account access), 1979 through summer 2014.
Links to states' Judicial Conduct Commissions, Ethics Advisory Committees, and Codes of Civility and Professionalism are also gathered at the State Links page.
The Judicial Conference of the United States, through its Committee on Codes of Conduct publishes "formal advisory opinions on ethical issues that are frequently raised or have broad application." Opinions are intended to "provide ethical guidance for judges and judicial employees and assist in the interpretation of the codes of conduct and ethics regulations that apply to the judiciary."
Published Advisory Opinions can be found on the US Courts website.
Fourth Judicial Circuit (including North Carolina)
As a part of the United States (federal) Court system, the Fourth Circuit references the ethics policies of the Federal Court on its Judicial Conduct and Disability webpage, including the FAQ page located therein.
Fourth Circuit Judicial Complaint Orders are also available here in full-text and searchable format.
Judicial complaints are to be filed with the "clerk’s office of the United States court of appeals for the regional circuit in which the judge serves." See, FAQ page. Since North Carolina is part of the Fourth Circuit, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals hears complaints against federal judges in North Carolina.
Advisory Opinions of the ABA combine Attorney and Judicial ethics opinions and can be accessed as follows.
Through the American Bar Association website.
ABA Formal Ethics Opinions from 1984, searchable by subject or by date.
Latest Ethics Opinions are also available on the site.
Through UNC Libraries (Westlaw), with account access.
ABA Ethics Opinions & Secondary Sources (indexed list, including rules, opinions, and commentary).
Formal Opinions from January 1924; Informal Opinions from July 1961.
Available in UNC Law Library.
Conscience, conduct, and the bar : the formal and informal opinions of the A.B.A. Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, 1924-1976, John Miller Lorentz (University Microfilms International, 1983, c1979), at KF306 .L67 1979r.
Formal and Informal Ethics Opinions (1983-1998) (Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, ABA, 2000), at KF305.A2 A43 2000.
Recent Ethics Opinions (1967-1989) (Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, ABA, 1967-1989) at KF305.A2 A43. With informal opinions from 1967 and formal and informal from 1975.
On Lexis, with account access.
ABA Formal Ethics Opinions (since 1924).
ABA Informal Ethics Opinions (from December 31, 1959 through October 20, 1989), no longer updated.
Strong's North Carolina Index (4th) (current)
Available in the UNC Law Library at C345.4 N87 index 4 v.1(2019).
Available online at UNC libraries (Westlaw), with account access.
Restatement (3d) of the Law Governing Lawyers, as adopted and promulgated. American Law Institute (2000)
Produced by the American Law Institute, the substance of this two-volume set encompasses practice related to the ABA Model Rules, as well as the broader considerations of professional responsibility in the practice of law.
Available at the UNC Law Library at KF395.A2 L38 2000, as well as online through UNC Libraries and HeinOnline, or Westlaw, with account access.
Includes searchable index and updated case citations.
American Law Report (ALR) Digest materials
Covering a broad-ranging list of ethical materials, online in Westlaw, with account access.
Searchable index includes access to Keycite system and case citation, updated monthly.
Annotated Model Code of Judicial Conduct, Arthur H. Garwin, Mary McDermott & Dennis A. Rendleman (Center for Professional Responsibility, ABA, 2016)
Available at UNC Law Library at KF8779 .A96 2016.
ABA Annotated Model Code of Judicial Conduct
Available online at Lexis, with account access.
ABA/BNA Lawyers' Manual on Professional Conduct, i.e. Bloomberg Law Legal Ethics News
Current news and cases involving legal ethics from around the country.
Available in the UNC Law Library at KF305.A8 A231.
Available online through UNC Libraries (Bloomberg), with account access.
American Bar Association's Jurisdictional Rules Comparison Charts detail the way "each jurisdiction has modified each of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct." These informational charts evaluate each rule across the 50 states, and include comparisons from as recently as February 2020.
A survey of ethical rules across the 50 states, by Thomson Reuter (2019) (Westlaw access required).
Searchable table, organized by state and rule.
Includes US Territories, Guam, Puerto Rico and The Virgin Islands.
National Center for State Courts ("NCSC") provides a page of State Ethics Links to information about the judicial ethics functioning of each state.
The Ethics Advisory Committees page provides links to opinions on judicial ethics from each state.
Judicial Conduct Reporter, published quarterly, summarizing recent decisions and advisory opinions, reporting developments in judicial discipline, and including articles on judicial ethics and discipline procedures. The Judicial Conduct Reporter began as a publication of the American Judicature Society Center for Ethics through the summer of 2014, at which point its publication transferred to the NCSC. The first issue of each year (winter) reports state judicial discipline statistics for the prior year and "summariz[es] all cases in which judges were removed."
Online at the NCSC website, searchable by topic or by date, from 1999 through current winter 2020 edition.
Online at Westlaw (with account access), 1979 through summer 2014.
American Bar Association's Judicial Ethics and Regulation page provides links to the following, among others.
A set of comparison charts Comparing Individual Jurisdictional Judicial Conduct Rules to ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct. Each of these charts considers one section of the model code, presenting how each state's individual judicial conduct rules vary (if at all) from the model code. Note: North Carolina does not appear in the list of states analyzed at this time.
National Reporter on Legal Ethics
Full text of selected state ethics opinions.
Available in the UNC Law Library at KF308.A6 N38, current only through 2011.
Searchable database available online through UNC Law Library (NexisUni), with account access, current to date.
ABA/BNA Lawyers' Manual on Professional Conduct, i.e. Bloomberg Law Legal Ethics News
Current news and cases involving legal ethics from around the country.
Available in the UNC Law Library at KF305.A8 A231.
Available online through UNC Libraries (Bloomberg), with account access.
Ethics-related blogs and links with a national perspective, including reference to state and ABA ethical codes.
Professional Responsibility Blog, Professor Alberto Bernabe, University of Illinois in Chicago John Marshall School of Law
Reporting on ethical matters across the United States, searchable via controlled vocabulary (keywords).
Although its main focus is the understanding and improvement of state and local government, the North Carolina School of Government maintains a blog providing commentary on timely issues, including on the topic of legal ethics. The site is public and includes a searchable index.
