Can independent lawyers share office space and support staff under a common lease in Washington?

Plain-English summary

The inquiry asked whether independent lawyers may sign a common lease to share office space. The committee concluded the proposed arrangement is not prohibited by the Rules of Professional Conduct.

The committee attached two conditions drawn from the rules. If the independent lawyers intend to share support staff, they must be mindful of RPC 1.6, which requires each lawyer to preserve client confidences and secrets. The lawyers must also observe RPC 7.1(a) and 7.5(d), which prohibit misleading communications about the lawyers' services. The committee noted it was forwarding the inquirer an article titled "Sharing Office Space" from the ABA/BNA Lawyers' Manual of Professional Conduct.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1998, 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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. Washington's RPC 7.5 (firm names and letterheads) has since been folded into RPC 7.1 in line with later ABA revisions, so verify the current numbering before relying on it.

Common questions

Q: Can independent lawyers share an office under a common lease in Washington?

A: The committee concluded the proposed common-lease arrangement is not prohibited by the Rules of Professional Conduct.

Q: What did the committee require when shared staff is involved?

A: It pointed to RPC 1.6, requiring each lawyer to preserve client confidences and secrets, which becomes a concern when independent lawyers share the same support staff.

Q: How does office sharing affect how the lawyers describe themselves?

A: The committee required the lawyers to observe RPC 7.1(a) and 7.5(d), which bar misleading communications about their services, including any that would misleadingly imply the office-sharing lawyers are a single firm.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied Washington RPC 1.6 (confidentiality of information), RPC 7.1(a) (communications concerning a lawyer's services), and RPC 7.5(d) (firm names and letterheads), corresponding to ABA Model Rules 1.6, 7.1, and (at the time) 7.5. The committee made the propriety of the shared-office arrangement turn on protecting each client's confidences where staff is shared and on not communicating in a way that misleadingly presents the independent lawyers as one firm.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• ABA Model Rule 1.6 (confidentiality of information); Washington RPC 1.6
• ABA Model Rule 7.1 (communications concerning a lawyer's services); Washington RPC 7.1(a)
• ABA Model Rule 7.5 (firm names and letterheads); Washington RPC 7.5(d)

Other opinions cited:

• ABA/BNA Lawyers' Manual of Professional Conduct article "Sharing Office Space" (forwarded to the inquirer by the committee)

See also

• WA Ethics Op. 1836: Sharing Office With a Nonlawyer
• WA Ethics Op. 1817: Office-Share, Same Accident
• WA Ethics Op. 1816: Paralegal-Run Branch Office

Source

• Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=1030

Original opinion text

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

Advisory Opinion: 1837
Year Issued: 1998
RPC(s): RPC 1.6; 7.1(a); 7.5(d)
Subject: Office sharing; independent lawyers signing common lease for office space; use of support staff

I have been instructed by the Rules of Professional Conduct Committee to respond to your ethical inquiry #1837 concerning independent lawyers who wish to sign a common lease to share office space.

It is the opinion of the committee that the proposed arrangement is not prohibited by the Rules of Professional Conduct. If it is intended that the independent lawyers will share staff, they must be mindful of RPC 1.6, which requires the preservation by each lawyer of client confidences and secrets. Furthermore, the lawyers must observe the prohibitions of RPC 7.1(a) and 7.5(d) regarding misleading communications about the services of the lawyers. The committee also directed me to forward you the enclosed article titled "Sharing Office Space" from the ABA/BNA Lawyers' Manual of Professional Conduct.