Can a non-lawyer contractor handle the daily bookkeeping of a lawyer's guardianship client funds and prepare the court reports?
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This page answers the general question as of 2003. Ezel answers yours: whether it's allowed on your facts, under the current rules of professional conduct in your state, with citations.
Plain-English summary
The inquiring lawyer asked whether a working arrangement with a non-lawyer was acceptable under the RPCs. The non-lawyer, a contract support person working in accounting and bookkeeping, handled the lawyer's guardianship client funds: paying client bills, balancing checking accounts, and preparing annual reports to the court and the Social Security Administration. The lawyer reviewed and signed the reports, the checks were signed with the lawyer's bank-authorized stamp, and the non-lawyer made no financial decisions regarding the funds without the lawyer's authorization. The lawyer asked two questions: whether the non-lawyer could manage the funds and prepare the reports with the lawyer's permission and supervision, and whether the non-lawyer could be paid out of the lawyer's fee for Medicaid clients and out of the guardianship accounts for others.
The committee answered yes to both. Nothing in the RPCs prohibits a non-lawyer from performing the daily bookkeeping management of guardianship client funds, including preparing checks to pay the client's bills, and nothing prohibits the described payment arrangement. The committee stressed that the important factor is that the lawyer supervises and approves all of the non-lawyer's activities, repeating that the non-lawyer "makes no financial decisions regarding [the lawyer's] client funds without prior authorization from [the lawyer]." The lawyer must ensure that the lawyer and the assistant comply with RPC 5.3, 5.5, and Washington law. The committee added that it could not comment on the reasonableness of the fees charged.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 2003, before the Washington State Bar Association's adoption of the 2006 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct. RPC 5.3 (responsibilities regarding nonlawyer assistants) and RPC 5.5 (unauthorized practice of law) kept their numbers in 2006. 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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 mentioned here.
In practice
Under the Washington rules as they stood at the time of the opinion, the committee treated a non-lawyer's daily bookkeeping of guardianship client funds, and the described compensation from the lawyer's fee or the guardianship accounts, as permissible, with the controlling condition being the lawyer's supervision and approval of all the non-lawyer's activities under RPC 5.3 and the limits of RPC 5.5. The committee anchored its conclusion to the facts that the lawyer reviewed and signed the reports, the checks bore the lawyer's signature stamp, and the non-lawyer made no financial decisions without the lawyer's authorization. The committee did not opine on whether the fees were reasonable.
Common questions
Q: Can a non-lawyer pay a guardianship client's bills and balance the accounts?
A: The committee said yes, nothing in the RPCs prohibits a non-lawyer from the daily bookkeeping management of guardianship client funds, including preparing checks to pay the client's bills, provided the lawyer supervises and approves all of the activities.
Q: Can the non-lawyer prepare the annual reports to the court and Social Security Administration?
A: Yes, on the facts presented, where the lawyer reviews and signs the reports. The committee required compliance with RPC 5.3 and 5.5 and Washington law.
Q: Can the non-lawyer be paid out of the lawyer's fee or the guardianship accounts?
A: The committee said yes, nothing prohibits the payment arrangement as described, again subject to RPC 5.3 and 5.5; it added that it could not comment on the reasonableness of the fees.
Background and rules framework
The opinion interprets two Washington supervision-and-practice rules that correspond to the Model Rules of the same number: RPC 5.3 (Model Rule 5.3, a lawyer's responsibilities regarding nonlawyer assistants, requiring supervision so the nonlawyer's conduct is compatible with the lawyer's obligations) and RPC 5.5 (Model Rule 5.5, unauthorized practice of law). The committee applied these rules to delegated bookkeeping of guardianship client funds, treating lawyer supervision and approval, and the nonlawyer's lack of independent decision-making, as the conditions that keep the arrangement within the rules.
Citations and references
Rules of Professional Conduct:
- Model Rule 5.3 / Washington RPC 5.3 (responsibilities regarding nonlawyer assistants; supervision)
- Model Rule 5.5 / Washington RPC 5.5 (unauthorized practice of law)
See also
- WA Ethics Op. 2018: Supervising Nonlawyer Staff
- WSBA Ethics Op. 1032: Lawyer-Fiduciary Trust Funds
- ABA Formal Op. 506: Nonlawyer Assistants & Intake
Source
- Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=1284
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
Advisory Opinion: 1996
Year Issued: 2003
RPC(s): RPC 5.3, 5.5
Subject: supervision of non-lawyer assistant
The inquiring lawyer asks whether a working arrangement with a non-lawyer is acceptable pursuant to the RPCs. The working relationship involves a contract support person who works in the areas of accounting and bookkeeping of the lawyer’s guardianship client funds.
In reviewing the inquiry, the non-lawyer is paying client bills, balancing checking accounts, and preparing annual reports to the court and the Social Security Administration. The reports are reviewed and signed by the attorney. The checks are signed by the lawyer with a stamp authorized for use by the bank. The non-lawyer makes no financial decisions regarding the guardianship client funds without the lawyer’s authorization.
The inquirer asks two questions: 1. May a non-lawyer contract employee manage a lawyer’s guardianship client funds on a daily basis and prepare annual reports regarding the expenditure of a lawyer’s guardianship client funds with express permission and supervision of the lawyer?
- May a non-lawyer contract employee be paid out of the lawyer’s fee for Medicaid clients and out of the guardianship accounts for the other clients?
The committee opined as follows: 1. Yes. Nothing in the RPC prohibits the daily bookkeeping management activities of guardianship client funds including the preparing of checks for the payment of the client’s bills. The important factor is that the lawyer supervises and approves all activities of the non-lawyer. The non-lawyer “makes no financial decisions regarding [the lawyer’s] client funds with out prior authorization from [the lawyer].” The lawyer must ensure that he and his assistant comply with RPC 5.3, 5.5 and the laws in the State of Washington.
- Yes. There is nothing that prohibits this activity as described in the inquiring lawyer’s letter. The lawyer must ensure that he and his assistant comply with RPC 5.3, 5.5 and the laws in the State of Washington. The committee cannot comment on the reasonableness of the fees charged.
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