LAWYER HELPLINE - 404-527-8741 or 800-682-9806 or e-mail submission
The Office of the General Counsel operates a Lawyer Helpline for members of the State Bar of Georgia who have questions about the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct. Bar members may contact the office by telephone or e-mail. The Helpline hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Since the opinion is based upon a brief discussion of what may be a very complex problem, helpline advice is not binding on the Office of the General Counsel, the State Disciplinary Board, or the Supreme Court of Georgia. Bar Rule 4-401.Bar Rule 4-403(g) requires the Office of the General Counsel to treat as confidential the name of a lawyer requesting an informal advisory opinion. Helpline lawyers will not discuss the propriety of past conduct or the actions of a lawyer other than the caller.
http://www.gabar.org/ethics/ethics_helpline_faqs/

Rule 4-401. Informal Advisory Opinions
The Office of the General Counsel of the State Bar of Georgia shall be authorized to render Informal Advisory Opinions concerning the Office of the General Counsel's interpretation of the Rules of Professional Conduct or any of the grounds for disciplinary action as applied to a given state of facts. The Informal Advisory Opinion should address prospective conduct and may be issued in oral or written form. An Informal Advisory Opinion is the personal opinion of the issuing attorney of the Office of the General Counsel and is neither a defense to any complaint nor binding on the State Disciplinary Board, the Supreme Court of Georgia, or the State Bar of Georgia. If the person requesting an Informal Advisory Opinion desires, the Office of the General Counsel will transmit the Informal Advisory Opinion to the Formal Advisory Opinion Board for discretionary consideration of the drafting of a Proposed Formal Advisory Opinion.

Rule 4-403. Formal Advisory Opinions [FAOs]
● Unless the Supreme Court grants review as provided hereinafter, the opinion shall be binding only on the State Bar of Georgia and the person who requested the opinion, and not on the Supreme Court, which shall treat the opinion as persuasive authority only.
● If the Supreme Court of Georgia declines to review the Formal Advisory Opinion, it shall be binding only on the State Bar of Georgia and the person who requested the opinion, and not on the Supreme Court, which shall treat the opinion as persuasive authority only.
● If the Supreme Court grants review and disapproves the opinion, it shall have absolutely no effect and shall not constitute either persuasive or binding authority.
● If the Supreme Court approves or modifies the opinion, it shall be binding on all members of the State Bar and shall be published in the official Georgia Court and Bar Rules manual. The Supreme Court shall accord such approved or modified opinion the same precedential authority given to the regularly published judicial opinions of the Court.