Ethics & Professional Responsibility Counseling

Professional responsibility questions can arise at any stage of a legal career — and the consequences of getting them wrong extend far beyond a single client matter. Attorneys seek out a legal ethics lawyer when facing situations such as:

• A potential conflict of interest before taking on a new client or matter
• A complex or disputed fee arrangement that may violate the Rules of Professional Conduct
• A difficult client relationship that appears headed toward a bar complaint grievance
• Confidentiality questions that arise during lateral moves, attorney departures, or firm dissolutions
• A bar inquiry or informal request from the Office of Disciplinary Counsel
• Supervision and management obligations within a law firm
• Technology, AI, and cybersecurity questions that implicate professional responsibility rules
• In-house counsel matters involving the intersection of legal and business ethics

Because professional responsibility issues rarely have an obvious answer, having an experienced ethics attorney review the situation before you act can make the difference between a manageable issue and a formal disciplinary complaint.

Ellen Brotman is admitted in Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia . She regularly advises attorneys in both jurisdictions. She is a sought-after speaker on professional responsibility topics, presenting to national and state bar associations on issues ranging from technology ethics to ethical limits of trial advocacy. Her depth of experience in attorney disciplinary defense directly informs her ethics counseling work — she understands not just what the Rules of Professional Conduct require, but how regulators and disciplinary authorities apply them in practice.

Whether you need a formal written ethics opinion, guidance on a specific client situation, or a law firm compliance review, Ellen provides counsel that is practical, actionable, and grounded in real-world disciplinary experience.

The best time to consult an ethics attorney is before a disciplinary complaint is filed. Ellen Brotman provides confidential, practical ethics counseling to individual attorneys and law firms navigating complex professional responsibility questions — helping clients make informed decisions that protect their licenses and their practices.

Ellen Brotman brings national-level expertise to every matter she handles. Her counsel is practical, discreet, and grounded in decades of experience at the intersection of ethics and practice.

• Written ethics opinions for individual attorneys and law firms
• Conflicts of interest analysis and waivers
• Ethics opinions for expert testimony in legal malpractice matters
• In-house counsel representation and corporate ethics issues
• Law firm compliance programs and risk management
• Technology and AI ethics issues for attorneys
• Ethics in criminal defense practice
• Lateral transition and attorney departure issues
• Fee agreement review and compliance
• Supervision obligations and law firm management issues