In response to recent inquiries regarding how the ABA disseminates information about new ethics opinions, here is what every lawyer and judge will want to know about accessing such guidance.

• ABA Ethics Opinions are available to the public through the Center for Professional Responsibility (CPR) website for a minimum of one year free of charge.
• Opinions also are available in law libraries, and on Westlaw and Lexis.
• The ABA offers free and unlimited access to, and copies of, its professional responsibility materials — including ethics opinions — to individuals and entities engaged in 501(c)(3) charitable undertakings in which the program does not charge a fee or generate revenues.
• Anyone, at any time, may purchase an ethics opinion for $20.
• For $100 a year, ABA members can become members of the Center for Professional Responsibility Membership Program and receive unlimited access to a complimentary online ethics opinions library and other member benefits including a subscription to The Professional Lawyer and its annual scholarly Journal; copies of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct as updated; and discounts on Center publications and CLE programs.
• Although it does not allow others to post ABA-copyrighted material on their own sites, the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility encourages other interested parties to link to the center’s website for ABA ethics resources.
• The ABA operates ETHICSearch, a free ethics research service available to lawyers, judges and the media.  The service provides citations and information on relevant ABA ethics opinions, rules and other ethics resources.  The purpose of ETHICSearch is to help lawyers and judges to understand and resolve ethics questions.