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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Can a lawyer pay to produce an informational audio tape for a company's pay-per-call phone line, where the company keeps all the caller fees?
The committee was of the opinion that nothing in the Rules of Professional Conduct prohibits a lawyer from participating, because the lawyer pays only the actual production costs of the tape and nothi…
Can a Washington lawyer solicit clients by mail using a commercial mailing list, and place an offer of services inside another company's mass mailer?
The committee was of the opinion that a lawyer may solicit by mail a prospective client with no family or prior professional relationship, may use a commercial mass mailing list, and may place a descr…
Can a Washington lawyer use targeted direct mail to solicit clients?
The committee noted that while the inquiry was pending, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Shapero v. Kentucky Bar Association that targeted direct mail is constitutionally protected, and the Washington S…
Can a law firm place an informational brochure with its name on it in a doctor's waiting room?
The committee was of the opinion that nothing in the Rules of Professional Conduct would prohibit a firm from preparing an informational brochure on patients' rights and responsibilities after an auto…
Can a lawyer give an escrow company payment books printed with the firm's name and contact information for free distribution?
The committee was of the opinion that nothing in the Rules of Professional Conduct, specifically RPC 7.3, would prohibit a lawyer from placing with a client escrow company, for free distribution, paym…
Can a lawyer run ads featuring 'satisfied client' testimonials that are not from the lawyer's actual clients?
The committee was of the opinion that running ads with 'satisfied client' statements that do not feature actual clients would be false and misleading, unless the ad featured a real client who voluntee…
Can a lawyer accept client referrals from a person who solicits charitable gifts for a religious organization?
The committee was of the opinion that, on the facts presented, accepting such referrals would not violate RPC 7.3 where the potential clients contact the lawyer themselves and the relationship and fee…
Can a lawyer contact real estate brokers and agents to describe his services and ask for closing referrals?
Yes. The committee was of the opinion that RPC 7.3 would not prohibit a lawyer from contacting real estate brokers and agents to advise them of the legal services the lawyer performs and to seek closi…
Can a law firm join a trade group and mail letters offering legal services to people on the group's mailing list whom the firm has never met?
Yes. The committee was of the opinion that nothing in the Rules of Professional Conduct prohibited a firm from joining a trade group and sending letters to people on its mailing lists whom the firm ha…
Do the lawyer ethics rules govern how a lawyer-owned company solicits its own nonlegal business?
The committee concluded that the Rules of Professional Conduct would not apply to a lawyer-owned corporation's solicitation of its own nonlegal business, where a client of the corporation's guardiansh…
Can a lawyer send a solicitation letter and brochure to a purchased mailing list of CPAs in several states?
Yes. The committee was of the opinion that RPC 7.2(a) permits a lawyer to mail a solicitation letter and brochure to a purchased list of all certified public accountants in Washington, Alaska, Oregon,…
Can a lawyer own a counseling business, serve as its director and general counsel, and accept client referrals from it?
The committee said nothing barred owning the business or serving as both director and general counsel, but RPC 1.7 requires checking whether the dual role would compromise independent judgment, paying…
Can a lawyer ask other lawyers to refer criminal cases to him?
Per the opinion, yes; the committee was of the opinion that nothing in the Rules of Professional Conduct prohibits soliciting criminal referrals from other lawyers, as proposed.
Can a Washington lawyer make telephone calls or send mass-mailed brochures soliciting business from people the lawyer has no existing relationship with?
The committee concluded that the Code's DR 2-102, and the solicitation rule (RPC 7.3) then being proposed in Washington, would prohibit telephone solicitation of business from entities the lawyer had …
Can a lawyer send a letter advertising legal services to the mayor of a city?
The committee concluded that a proposed letter advertising legal services to the mayor was not a prohibited solicitation under RPC 7.3, while noting it was the lawyer's responsibility to ensure any su…
Can a law firm distribute a brochure about its services to insurance companies, real estate agencies, banks, and other potential referral sources?
Yes. The committee concluded that a proposed brochure about the firm, distributed to insurance companies, real estate agencies, banks, and others who might generally find the firm's services useful, i…
Can a lawyer own an escrow company with a non-lawyer, share office space with it, and let it refer customers to the law practice for related legal work?
The committee concluded that owning the escrow company and sharing space with the law office is proper, but that the escrow company may not refer its customers to the lawyer for related legal business…
Can a law firm sell simple wills from a county-fair booth, and where can someone complain about how it was done?
The committee repeated its earlier conclusion (Informal Opinion 914) that nothing in the Code of Professional Responsibility or the Rules of Professional Conduct prohibits a law firm from selling simp…
Can a law firm run a booth at a county fair to sell simple wills?
The committee concluded that nothing in the Code of Professional Responsibility or the Rules of Professional Conduct prohibits a law firm from setting up a booth at a county fair for the purpose of se…
Can a lawyer-mediator mail brochures to people who recently filed for divorce to offer mediation services?
By a 5-4 vote, the committee treated a lawyer's work mediating dissolutions as 'professional employment' subject to the solicitation rule RPC 7.3, and concluded the lawyer may mail a non-personalized …
Can a lawyer use direct-mail advertising and offer free seminars to a retirement community to attract clients?
The committee concluded that direct-mail advertising is permitted if it is not misleading or deceptive; it split 6 to 4 on a proposed free seminar for a retirement community, the majority allowing the…
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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.