Adopted | Legal Ethics Opinion 1900, Duty to disclose the death of the client.
Approved by the Supreme Court of Virginia on January 4, 2024, effective immediately.
January 4, 2024
On January 4, 2024, the Supreme Court of Virginia adopted Legal Ethics Opinion 1900, Duty to disclose the death of the client, effective immediately.
View the Court's order.
November 8, 2023
A petition for proposed advisory Legal Ethics Opinion 1900 was sent to the Supreme Court of Virginia for approval on November 8, 2023.
View the petition to the Court.
October 17, 2023
At its meeting on October 13, 2023, VSB Council approved revisions to proposed LEO 1900. A petition will be sent to the Supreme Court of Virginia for approval. It will be posted here after it is sent.
September 20, 2023
At its meeting on September 15, 2023, the Legal Ethics Committee voted to send LEO 1900, as amended, to VSB Council for approval during the October 13, 2023, meeting.
May 22, 2023
Proposed advisory Legal Ethics Opinion 1900 is pending before the Legal Ethics Committee.
March 20, 2023
Pursuant to Part 6, § IV, ¶ 10-2(C) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Virginia State Bar is seeking public comment on proposed advisory Legal Ethics Opinion 1900 (Duty to disclose the death of the client).
This proposed opinion generally addresses whether, and under exactly what circumstances, a lawyer has to disclose that their client has died.
Regarding this issue, the Legal Ethics Committee concluded that the lawyer must disclose the client’s death to opposing counsel or the opposing party if pro se before any further substantive communication. If the matter is before a court, the lawyer must disclose the client’s death to the court no later than the next communication with, or appearance before, the court.
Inspection and Comment
The proposed opinion may be inspected below.
Any individual, business, or other entity may submit written comments in support of or in opposition to the proposed opinion with Cameron Rountree, executive director of the Virginia State Bar, not later than May 1, 2023. Comments may be submitted via email to [email protected].
View proposed LEO 1900 (pdf)