Advisory Opinion No. 97-32

Re: Donald C. Williams

QUESTION PRESENTED

The Petitioner, the Associate Director of Health Services Regulation at the Department of Health, a state appointed position, requests an advisory opinion as to whether he may retain as his legal counsel in a private civil matter an attorney who practices before the Board of Nursing and the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline, both of which are within the Department of Health but with which the Petitioner has no direct contact or control as part of his responsibilities with the Department of Health except regarding overall policy direction and administration.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Petitioner, Associate Director of Health Services Regulation for the Department of Health, a state appointed position, may retain private legal counsel from an attorney who practices before the Board of Nursing and the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline. The Petitioner's duties include supervisory authority over a variety of offices and divisions within the Department, including those exercising administrative responsibilities for licensure and discipline of health professionals. He has no direct involvement with or supervisory authority over licensing or discipline decisions. His role is one which involves overall policy direction and administration of the Department of Health.

In a private civil matter he wishes to retain as legal counsel an attorney who, in the past and likely again in the future, has appeared as a defense counsel before the Board of Nursing and the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline. Nothing in the Code of Ethics bars the Petitioner from hiring the attorney at issue. The Petitioner has no supervisory authority over the attorney nor does he have any fiscal or jurisdictional control over the boards before which he or she may practice in the future. As a result, the Petitioner has neither a direct financial interest nor a substantial conflict that would prohibit his retaining the services of the attorney. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(a) and (d).

Code Citations:

36-14-5(a)

36-14-5(d)

Related Advisory Opinions:

96-27

Keywords:

regulatory decisions