United States District Court
Northern District Of Illinois
Local Rules
LR83.54.2. Communications with Persons Represented by Counsel
During the course of representing a client a lawyer shall not communicate or
cause another to communicate on the subject of the representation with a party
the lawyer knows to be represented by another lawyer in that matter unless the
first lawyer has obtained the prior consent of the lawyer representing such
other party or as may otherwise be authorized by law.
Committee Comment. This rule does not prohibit communication with a party, or an employee or
agent of a party, concerning matters outside the representation. For example, the
existence of a controversy between a government agency and a private party, or
between two organizations, does not prohibit a lawyer for either from
communicating with nonlawyer representatives of the other regarding a separate matter.
Also, parties to a matter may communicate directly with each other and a lawyer
having independent justification for communicating with the other party is
permitted to do so. Communications authorized by law include, for example, the right
of a party to a controversy with a government agency to speak with government
officials about the matter.
In the case of an organization, this rule prohibits communications by a lawyer
for one party concerning the matter in representation with persons having a
managerial responsibility on behalf of the organization, and with any other
person whose act or omission in connection with that matter may be imputed to the
organization for purposes of civil or criminal liability or whose statement may
constitute an admission on the part of the organization. If an agent or employee
of the organization is represented in the matter by his or her own counsel,
the consent by that counsel to a communication will be sufficient for purposes of
this rule. Compare LR83.53.4(c).
This rule also covers any person, whether or not a party to a formal
proceeding, who is represented by counsel concerning the matter in question.