in Re: Formal Advisory Opinion No. 20-1

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia approved Formal Advisory Opinion No. 20-1 with modifications, replacing Formal Advisory Opinion No. 94-3. It held that Georgia’s anti-contact rule generally does not prohibit a lawyer from communicating with a represented organization’s former employee without the organization counsel’s consent, but requires disclosure of the lawyer’s identity, client interests, purpose, and information sought, followed by the former employee’s consent. The lawyer must also avoid privileged information and obtain the former employee’s counsel’s consent if the former employee is individually represented.