Rule 5.30 - Opinions And Regulations By Advisory Committee; Legal Ethics Counsel(a) The Advisory Committee may give formal opinions as to the interpretations of Rules 4, 5, and 6 and the amendments or additions thereto. Formal opinions shall be binding. Formal opinions of the Advisory Committee shall be published in the Journal of The Missouri Bar after adoption thereof and on the website for this Court. (b) The Chief Disciplinary Counsel or any member of the bar who is substantially and individually aggrieved by any formal opinion of the Advisory Committee may petition this Court for review of the formal opinion. The Court in its discretion may direct that the petition be briefed and argued as though a petition for an original remedial writ has been sustained, may sustain, modify, or vacate the opinion, or may dismiss the petition.(c) The Legal Ethics Counsel, on behalf of the Advisory Committee, may give an informal opinion, upon request, to a member of the bar as to the lawyeræ²s prospective conduct pursuant to Rules 4, 5, and 6. Informal opinions are not binding, but advisory. Members of the bar may provide confidential information to the Office of Legal Ethics Counsel pursuant to Rule 4-1.6(b)(2) and such information shall remain confidential pursuant to Rule 5.31. The Office of Legal Ethics Counsel has no duty to report possible violations of Rule 4-8.3 when disclosures are made by lawyers seeking informal opinions pursuant to this Rule. Written summaries of informal opinions, with no identifying information, may be published for informational purposes as determined by the Advisory Committee.(d) Records of formal opinion and informal opinion requests shall be confidential pursuant to Rule 5.31 and be held by the Office of Legal Ethics Counsel.(e) The Advisory Committee may promulgate regulations necessary to implement Rules 4, 5, and 6. The Regulations shall be consistent with the provisions of these Rules and shall be submitted to this Court for review; they shall become effective 60 days after submission unless disapproved by this Court. This Court may promulgate, amend, revise, or rescind any regulation at any time. Copies of any such regulations to Rules 4, 5, and 6 shall be published in a publication of general distribution to all lawyers and shall be furnished to interested parties upon request.Mo. R. Gov. Bar Jud. 5.30
Adopted June 20, 1995, eff. 1/1/1996, amended September 11, 2002, eff. 1/1/2003, amended October 22, 2018, eff. 1/1/2019; amended May 31, 2022, eff. 1/1/2023.