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In re Formal Advisory Opinion No. 16-2.

The Supreme Court approved Formal Advisory Opinion No. 16-2, which addresses whether an attorney who has been appointed to serve both as legal counsel and as guardian ad litem for a child in a termination of parental rights case can advocate termination over the child's objection.

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Per Curiam.In January 2012, this Court approved Formal Advisory Opinion 10-2, which clarified the ethical responsibilities of an attorney serving as both legal counsel and guardian ad litem to a child in a case involving the termination of parental rights. FAO 10-2 interprets and discusses various provisions of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, including Rule 1.14; however, that rule was amended around the same time that FAO 10-2 was approved, and the Formal Advisory Opinion Board determined that the amendment to Rule 1.14 substantively altered the analysis and conclusion of FAO 10-2.On June 14, 2016, the Board issued Formal Advisory Opinion 16-2, which redrafts FAO 10-2 and interprets the amended Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct to address the same issue. FAO 16-2 was filed in this Court on November 10, 2016, see State Bar Rule 4-403 (d), and, on January 18, 2017, we granted the State Bar of Georgia’s petition for discretionary review, see id. After considering the record and the State Bar’s brief, we hereby approve Formal Advisory Opinion No. 16-2, which is attached to this opinion as an appendix.^{^[1]}Formal Advisory Opinion 16-2 approved. All the Justices concur.

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