Section 5 - Ethics Opinions5.1. The Board shall be responsible for issuing ethics opinions from time to time. The Board may, in its discretion, accomplish this by dividing itself into three geographic ethics committees.5.2. In performing its responsibility under Section 5.1, the Board shall act under rules which the Board may from time to time promulgate, including rules relating to the procedures to be used in considering inquiries and expressing opinions, clarifying opinions or declining requests for opinions.5.3. In performing its responsibilities under Section 5.1, the Board shall exercise the powers and perform the ordinary and necessary duties usually carried out by ethics advisory bodies. The Board shall: (a) By the concurrence of a majority of its members, or of the members of any committees established by the Board pursuant to Section 5.1, issue and distribute Formal Ethics Opinions on proper professional conduct, either on the Board's own initiative or when requested to do so by a member of the bar or by an officer or a committee or any other state or local bar association, except that an opinion may not be issued in a matter that is known to the Board to be pending before a court or in a pending disciplinary proceeding; (b) Periodically distribute its issued Formal Ethics Opinions to the legal profession in summary or complete form; (c) On request, advise or otherwise help any state or local bar associations in their activities relating to the interpretation of the Rules of Professional Conduct;(d) Recommend appropriate amendments to or clarification of the Rules of Professional Conduct, if it considers them advisable.5.4.(a) A Formal Ethics Opinion issued and distributed by the Board shall bind the Board and the person requesting the opinion and shall constitute a body of principles and objectives upon which members of the bar may rely for guidance in many specific situations.(b) Requests for Formal Ethics Opinions shall be addressed to the Board in writing, shall state the factual situation in detail, shall be accompanied by a short brief or memorandum citing the Rules of Court or Professional Conduct involved and any other pertinent authorities, and shall contain a certification that the matters are not pending in any court or disciplinary proceeding.(c) An advisory ethics opinion may be issued by Disciplinary Counsel when there is readily available precedent. The advisory opinion shall not be binding on the Board and shall offer no security to the person requesting it. All requests for advisory opinions, oral and written, and any response by Disciplinary Counsel shall be confidential and shall not be public records or open for public inspection except as subject to waiver by the requesting attorney or as otherwise provided in Section 32.