WSBA 1993

Can a criminal defense lawyer on leave of absence from a public defender agency accept assigned cases referred from that same agency?

Short answer: The committee concluded the lawyer may take assigned cases from the public defender agency to the degree the cases are unrelated to the agency and there is no co-defendant or necessary witness presently or previously represented by the agency, provided the lawyer complies with the other conflict rules.

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This page answers the general question as of 1993. Ezel answers yours: whether it's allowed on your facts, under the current rules of professional conduct in your state, with citations.

Disclaimer: Advisory only. Not binding precedent.

About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official ethics opinion. The original opinion (linked on this page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

A lawyer asked about accepting assigned cases from a public defender agency after taking a leave of absence from the agency to establish a private practice. The committee was of the opinion that, to the degree the assigned cases are unrelated to the agency, and there is no co-defendant or necessary witness presently or previously represented by the agency, the lawyer may take such cases, so long as the lawyer complies with the other conflict rules.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1993, before the Washington State Bar Association's adoption of the 2006 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Can a lawyer on leave from a public defender agency take cases the agency assigns?

A: The committee said the lawyer may, to the degree the cases are unrelated to the agency and there is no co-defendant or necessary witness presently or previously represented by the agency.

Q: What other limits apply?

A: The committee conditioned the conclusion on the lawyer complying with the other conflict rules.

Background and rules framework

The opinion addressed conflicts of interest under RPC 1.7 (corresponding to ABA Model Rule 1.7) when a lawyer moves between a public defender agency and private practice. The committee allowed the referrals where the new matters were unrelated to the agency and shared no co-defendant or necessary witness the agency represented, leaving the general conflict rules to govern the rest.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

ABA Model Rule 1.7 (conflict of interest; current clients); Washington RPC 1.7

Source

Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=631

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

Advisory Opinion: 1550
Year Issued: 1993
RPC(s):
Subject: Conflict of interest; criminal defense lawyer on leave of absence from public defender agency accepting referrals from agency

The Committee reviewed your inquiry concerning your accepting assigned cases from [a public defender agency] after you have taken a leave of absence from the agency to establish a private practice. The Committee was of the opinion that to the degree assigned cases are unrelated to [the agency], and there is no co-defendant or necessary witness presently or previously represented by [the agency], you may take such cases so long as you comply with the other conflict rules.

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