Washington State Bar Association Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Washington State Bar Association, with full citations and source links on every page.
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When a criminal defense client hands the lawyer possible physical evidence, must the lawyer open it and turn it over to the prosecutor?
The committee said it lacked enough facts to answer, but concluded the lawyer's conduct would be governed by RPC 3.4(a) and RPC 4.4 and directed the lawyer to those rules for guidance.
Can a prosecutor handle matters in a court where his spouse serves as judge, and what steps avoid a conflict?
The committee concluded the proposed steps were appropriate: the prosecutor's practice involved only search-warrant approvals, and his spouse would not review any warrants he had approved, with no und…
Can a person use the business-card title 'Japanese Legal Consultant' in Washington?
The committee concluded that, after the adoption of Admission to Practice Rule 14 on foreign law consultants, using 'Japanese Legal Consultant' would be misleading because it implies the person compli…
Can a lawyer directly contact the insurer of an adverse party who is represented by counsel?
The committee concluded a lawyer should treat the adverse party's insurer as a represented party for purposes of the RPC 4.2 communication rule.
Can a lawyer send direct-mail solicitations to elderly residents of residential health care facilities?
The committee concluded such direct mail is permitted by RPC 7.3 if it is not false or misleading (RPC 7.1), does not interfere with an existing lawyer-client relationship (RPC 4.2), and does not clai…
Can a lawyer join a credit bureau that requires reporting clients' unpaid fees?
The committee concluded that joining the credit bureau would not be directly related to collecting the fee, so RPC 1.6 prohibits disclosing the client information the membership would require.
Can a lawyer give client information to another lawyer hired to collect a delinquent fee?
The committee concluded RPC 1.6 permits disclosure of client information to a collection lawyer if the lawyer reasonably believes it necessary to establish or collect a claim against the client.
Can a lawyer run a law practice and a separate public-adjusting business at the same time, and what must the lawyer do to keep them proper?
The committee concluded the lawyer may maintain both businesses if they are kept separate enough not to appear related, and if RPC 7.2, 5.4, 5.5, and 1.6 are observed, including making clear when an a…
Can lawyers in a firm sue the city when one of the firm's lawyers serves on that city's council?
The committee concluded RPC 1.7(b) applies, but it lacked the facts to decide whether the conflict could be waived under RPC 1.7(b)(2), and on the limited facts was skeptical that it could.
Can a firm keep a named principal's name in the firm name when that lawyer practices law independently of the firm?
The committee concluded RPC 7.5(b) would not permit a firm to include in its name the name of a lawyer who practices law independent of the firm.
Can a law firm accept client referrals from a public-interest nonprofit that the firm supports with tax-deductible contributions?
The committee concluded that, assuming there is no direct tie between the contributions and the referrals, nothing in the Rules of Professional Conduct would prohibit the firm from accepting such refe…
Can a lawyer share offices with a living-trust marketer who steers buyers to the lawyer and is paid weekly based on how many trusts the lawyer reviews?
The committee concluded the arrangement would violate RPC 5.4(a) and (b) by sharing fees and forming a partnership with a nonlawyer, and RPC 7.2(c) by paying the marketer for recommending the lawyer's…
Must a judicial candidate resign a local elected post, and can the candidate take political positions during a judicial campaign?
The committee concluded Canon 7(A)(3) applies only to incumbent judges, so a candidate serving on a sewer commission or school board need not resign; a candidate should not express opinions on politic…
Can a lawyer also run a private investigation business, and what duties carry over from the lawyer role?
A lawyer may run a separate investigation business, but must tell investigation clients he is not acting as their lawyer and that confidentiality may not apply; RPC 1.8, 7.3, and conduct rules like 8.…
In a workers' compensation appeal, must the lawyer pursue new issues raised by an agreed medical examination that the appeal did not directly cover?
The committee concluded that whether the lawyer may pursue issues raised by the examining physician is primarily a question of law turning on the parties' agreement; a lawyer who acts in good faith to…
Can a lawyer take a will contest on a contingent fee and represent two clients in the same contest?
Nothing in the rules bars a contingent fee in a will contest, and a lawyer may represent two parties in the same contest absent a present conflict, but must advise the clients about potential future c…
If a lawyer notices a client has alcohol on his breath in court, may the lawyer tell the judge?
The committee concluded RPC 1.6 prohibits the lawyer from disclosing the client's apparent intoxication to the court, assuming no misrepresentations are otherwise being made to the court.
Can a law firm mail seminar invitations to non-clients and follow up by phone without violating the solicitation rule?
The firm may send written seminar invitations to clients and non-clients and may make follow-up calls to non-clients, but may not telephone non-clients or seminar attendees to solicit legal business u…
Can two lawyers who are not partners or shareholders practice under a joint firm name connecting their last names with 'and'?
The committee concluded that two lawyers who are neither partners nor shareholders cannot use a joint firm name connecting their last names with 'and'; doing so violates RPC 7.5(b).
If a lawyer promises a creditor to pay a client's debt out of settlement proceeds, must the lawyer honor that promise?
The committee concluded the lawyer was ethically obligated to pay the creditor's debt from the mother's settlement, given the lawyer's written promise to do so, based on RPC 4.3 and 4.4 and Formal Opi…
Can a lawyer consult for a living-trust marketing company and take client referrals from its nonlawyer agents?
The committee concluded the proposed arrangement might violate several rules: RPC 5.3(c), 5.4(a)-(c), 5.5(b), 7.2(c), and 7.3(a), covering supervision of nonlawyers, fee sharing and partnership with n…
Must a lawyer serving as an arbitrator recuse when the lawyer has a pending civil case against an attorney representing a party in the arbitration?
The committee concluded the Rules of Professional Conduct do not address this situation; because the lawyer is acting in a quasi-judicial capacity, the question belongs to the Judicial Ethics Advisory…
After dropping one spouse, can a lawyer keep representing the other spouse in a car-crash case where the spouses blame each other?
The committee concluded RPC 1.7 permits the lawyer to continue representing the wife, provided the lawyer has the written consent of both the husband and the wife.
Can a lawyer who changed firms represent a client against a party that the lawyer's former firm represents, if the lawyer never worked on that matter?
The committee concluded there is no rule violation where the lawyer holds no secrets or confidences of the former client, but the lawyer carries the burden of showing compliance if the former client c…
When partners fight over who gets the partnership's files, how does a lawyer decide whose files they are?
The committee declined to opine because the threshold question, who the client is, is a legal question it cannot answer; once the client is identified, WSBA Formal Opinion 181 resolves the file disput…
Can a Washington lawyer waive an absent juvenile client's speedy trial right when the client has never made contact?
The lawyer must consult the client if possible; if the client never made contact and is absent, the lawyer must ask the court whether the client received notice to appear, and if so may use best judgm…
Can a Washington lawyer share office space with a nonlawyer and accept client referrals from that nonlawyer?
The committee concluded a lawyer may share office space with a nonlawyer if the public is not misled into thinking they are partners, and may accept referrals if the lawyer keeps independent professio…
Can a Washington lawyer be hired by a credit-services company to help its customers challenge items on their credit reports?
The committee concluded that a lawyer doing this legal work for the company would involve the practice of law, the company would be practicing law by joining with the lawyer, and the arrangement would…
Can one Washington lawyer simultaneously serve in private practice, as a city attorney, as a coroner, and take indigent criminal appeals?
The committee concluded that holding all of those roles presents conflicts of interest and is allowed only if the lawyer can satisfy RPC 1.7(a), which it seriously doubted was possible under the circu…
Can a Washington lawyer employ a nonlawyer as a lobbyist, include the nonlawyer in a profit-sharing retirement plan, and let the nonlawyer hold stock in the law practice?
A lawyer may employ a nonlawyer lobbyist with proper supervision and include the nonlawyer in a profit-sharing retirement plan, but a nonlawyer may not own stock in a corporation that practices law.
Can a Washington lawyer publish a newspaper column that provides general legal information to the public?
The committee concluded that a general legal-information advertising column is permissible if it complies with the relevant portions of Title 7 of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
Can a part-time, hourly-paid lawyer be described as 'of counsel' to a law firm?
The committee concluded that, pursuant to WSBA Formal Opinion 178, 'of counsel' would be an appropriate term to describe the lawyer's part-time, hourly-paid relationship with the law firm.
If a public defender's spouse works for the City Attorney, can the public defender handle cases against the City, and is the whole office disqualified?
The committee concluded RPC 1.8(i) barred the lawyer from representing a party in a matter in which the spouse represented the City absent the client's consent after consultation about the relationshi…
If a lawyer is hired by a nonprofit to give its members basic legal advice, can the lawyer take on related matters for those members for a fee?
The committee concluded that nothing in the rules would prohibit the lawyer from undertaking such fee-paid representation of the members on related matters, provided the lawyer otherwise complied with…
Can a corporation's lawyer contact a government agency's regional administrator directly during a possible enforcement proceeding, or must it go through the agency's counsel?
The committee was of the opinion that RPC 4.2 authorizes contacting a government official even when represented by counsel where the contact is authorized by law, but the committee cannot opine on whe…
Can a lawyer use the word 'expert' in advertising?
The committee concluded that using the word 'expert' in lawyer advertising would violate RPC 7.4 because it would imply that the lawyer was a 'specialist.'
Can a lawyer give a client's medical creditors an assessment of their chances of being paid out of settlement funds?
The committee concluded the lawyer could provide creditors specific assessments of their chances of receiving payment, provided the lawyer had the client's consent as required by RPC 2.3.
Can a lawyer keep representing a plaintiff after learning a defendant once consulted with the lawyer's then-partner, if the lawyer holds no confidences of that defendant?
The committee concluded that, where the lawyer had no confidences or secrets of the defendant who had consulted the lawyer's former partner, RPC 1.10(c) permitted the lawyer to continue representing t…
Can a law firm's buy/sell agreement condition the firm's purchase of a departing shareholder's interest on a covenant not to compete?
The committee concluded that a buy/sell agreement conditioning the law firm's obligation to purchase a shareholder's interest on a covenant not to compete violates RPC 5.6.
Can a lawyer enter a contingent fee agreement that pays a third-party consultant a referral or finder's fee?
The committee concluded the proposed transaction would be improper under RPC 5.4 because the agreement would provide for a referral or finder's fee to a nonlawyer.
How may a county bar lawyer referral service operate, and what duties do volunteer lawyers owe on confidentiality, limited scope, and withdrawal?
The committee concluded the referral service may refer fee-generating cases to volunteer lawyers competent to handle them, that volunteers may share information with the service except confidences and…
How must a lawyer handle the advance and collection of litigation costs in a Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act case?
The committee concluded the lawyer must comply with RPC 1.8(e) on advanced costs, and that how those costs are collected must conform to the governing statute, an interpretation question the committee…
Should a lawyer keep the fees owed to a referral service in the client trust account?
The committee concluded there is no attorney-client relationship between the lawyer and the referral service, so the funds owed to the referral service are not client funds and should not be held in t…
Can a city attorney privately represent an investor in an unrelated matter when that investor is also negotiating a development with the city?
The committee concluded that, as presented, there did not appear to be a clear violation of the conflict rules as long as there was full disclosure to all parties under RPC 1.7(b), and it expressly de…
Is a government law office, such as the Attorney General's Office, exempt from the rule restricting the employment of a disbarred lawyer as a paralegal?
The committee concluded that nothing in RLD 1.1(h) or Formal Opinion 184 excepts the Attorney General's Office from the requirements of that rule and opinion governing the employment of a disbarred la…
Can a firm sue a city over a development when it represents the developer's architect on an unrelated matter but plans to withdraw, and the architect is not a party?
The committee concluded that, on the facts presented, there was no conflict of interest preventing the firm from undertaking the proposed representation.
Is a lawyer's proposed 'scrivener service' helping pro se dissolution parties fill out pleadings the practice of law, and does it comply with the rules?
The committee concluded the proposed 'scrivener service' was the practice of law and that the proposed contract was fraught with violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct; it declined to decide …
Can a retainer agreement let a legal services center negotiate the merits of a claim separately from attorney fees?
The committee concluded the agreement complied with RPC 1.2, because the rule permits limiting the objectives of the representation as long as the lawyer abides by the client's decision whether to acc…
Can a lawyer help a client re-title or refinance property the client had fraudulently conveyed, and must the lawyer report the past fraud?
The committee concluded the lawyer would be assisting a fraud by helping the client re-title or refinance the property and could not do so, but that because the lawyer learned of the past fraud within…
Can a lawyer take a case against a parent whom the lawyer's former law partner once represented in a related matter?
The committee concluded the matter was governed by RPC 1.10, and that the lawyer had to determine whether he held confidences or secrets of the objecting party; if he did, the rule would require his d…
When the IRS audits a lawyer, can the lawyer turn over client confidences as part of complying with the audit?
The committee concluded the lawyer must comply with the IRS audit but may not disclose client confidences or secrets except in compliance with the Rules of Professional Conduct.
Is a lawyer who serves as a guardian ad litem in a domestic case the child's attorney, and do the Rules of Professional Conduct apply to that role?
The committee concluded that a guardian ad litem does not serve as the child's attorney but is appointed to investigate and advise the court on the child's best interest, and that a lawyer acting as a…
Can a U.S. Department of Justice trial attorney also serve as a judge pro tem in municipal court?
The committee concluded that neither the Rules of Professional Conduct nor the Code of Judicial Conduct prohibited a U.S. Department of Justice trial attorney from serving as a judge pro tem in munici…
If a client tells a lawyer not to pay over trust funds the client had set aside for a third party, what must the lawyer do with the disputed money?
The committee concluded the answer turned on who owned the funds: if the funds belonged to the client, the lawyer could not disburse them until the dispute between the client and the third party was r…
Can a lawyer appear before a court commissioner who previously served as the lawyer's own counsel?
The committee concluded that appearing before a commissioner who had previously been the lawyer's own counsel raised no conflicts with the rules, with the single caveat that the lawyer must not attemp…
When does the attorney-client relationship begin for a public defender whose client is appointed by the court?
The committee concluded that the attorney-client relationship begins when the court appoints a lawyer to represent a client, and that the lawyer's obligation thereafter is to represent the best intere…
Can a Washington lawyer form a mediation business in partnership with a nonlawyer?
The committee concluded a lawyer could form a mediation service with a nonlawyer if the service was wholly separate and apart from the law practice, but could not form a partnership with a nonlawyer t…
Can a Washington lawyer hand out written advertisements at someone else's living trust seminar to solicit attendance at the lawyer's own workshop?
The committee concluded that nothing in the rules prevented handing out the written advertisement at a seminar, but that the proposed materials would be misleading or deceptive in many respects, inclu…
If a lawyer represents both spouses on a personal injury claim and they then divorce and fight over the proceeds, can the lawyer keep representing both?
The committee concluded the lawyer could continue to represent both spouses on the underlying personal injury claim, but if they could not agree on how to distribute the proceeds, they should be refer…
Can a Washington lawyer charge a contingent fee in a post-dissolution proceeding?
The committee concluded the rule barring contingent fees in domestic relations matters did not prevent a contingent fee in a post-dissolution matter, unless the fee was based on negotiating or litigat…
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Legal ethics opinions from the Washington State Bar Association interpret the rules of professional conduct for working lawyers, in response to inquiries from members and committees. They are not binding like court discipline decisions, but courts and discipline boards treat formal opinions as substantial guidance on how the rules apply. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the original source on the bar's site.