Can a lawyer take part in a church-organized prepaid legal plan for its members, and contact non-members in person at the church's request to support the church's causes?
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This page answers the general question as of 2018. Ezel answers yours: whether it's allowed on your facts, under the current Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct, with citations.
Plain-English summary
A lawyer is asked to join a prepaid legal-services plan that a church would organize and make available to its members, in full compliance with ORS 750.505 to 750.715. The church also asks the lawyer to take on representations for non-members in support of church causes, such as assuring adequate housing and medical services for elderly people, which may require contacting potential clients in person or by phone. The opinion asks whether the lawyer may join the plan and whether the lawyer may contact non-members at the church's request.
On the first question, the opinion answers yes, qualified. Oregon RPC 7.2(b)(2) permits a lawyer to pay the usual charges of a legal-service plan. The lawyer must observe RPC 1.8(f), which allows a third party (the church) to pay for representing clients only with the client's informed consent, no interference with the lawyer's independent judgment or the client-lawyer relationship, and protection of client information under RPC 1.6. RPC 5.4(c) likewise bars the payer from directing the lawyer's professional judgment. The opinion also flags RPC 5.5(a) and ORS 9.160(1): the lawyer must not assist the church in the unauthorized practice of law. As long as RPC 1.8(f) and 5.4(c) are met, the church may pay the lawyer to represent clients other than the church.
On the second question, the opinion also answers yes, qualified. Nothing in the Oregon Rules prevents the lawyer from soliciting employment from non-members, so long as the lawyer does not use any means prohibited by RPC 7.3 (solicitation of someone who cannot exercise reasonable judgment, who has said they do not want to be solicited, or by coercion, duress, or harassment). The opinion states the method does not matter: in-person, telephonic, or other solicitation is governed by the same limits. The lawyer's communications must also comply with RPC 7.1 (no false or misleading communications) and, where advertising, RPC 7.2.
In practice
The opinion holds that, under the Oregon Rules as they stood at the time of the opinion, a lawyer may participate in a church-sponsored prepaid plan and accept the church's payment for representing others, provided the RPC 1.8(f) and RPC 5.4(c) conditions on third-party payment are met and the lawyer does not assist unauthorized practice under RPC 5.5(a). Solicitation of non-members is permitted regardless of method, subject to the RPC 7.3 limits and the RPC 7.1 bar on misleading communications. Verify the current text of Oregon RPC 7.2, 7.3, 1.8, and 5.4 before relying on any specific point.
Common questions
Q: Can I join a prepaid legal plan that a church sets up and pays for?
A: Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes RPC 7.2(b)(2) lets a lawyer take the usual charges of a legal-service plan, and the church may pay for representing members if the RPC 1.8(f) third-party-payment conditions and RPC 5.4(c) are satisfied.
Q: Can the church that pays me tell me how to handle a client's case?
A: No. Per the opinion, RPC 1.8(f) and RPC 5.4(c) require that the payer not interfere with or direct the lawyer's professional judgment or the client-lawyer relationship, and that client information stay protected.
Q: Can I contact non-members in person to support the church's causes?
A: Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes nothing bars soliciting non-members as long as the lawyer avoids the means RPC 7.3 prohibits, and the method (in person, phone, or other) does not change the limits.
Background and rules framework
The opinion interprets Oregon RPC 7.2 (advertising and legal-service plans), RPC 7.3 (solicitation), RPC 7.1 (communications), RPC 1.8(f) (third-party compensation), RPC 5.4(c) (professional independence), and RPC 5.5(a) (assisting unauthorized practice), corresponding to Model Rules 7.2, 7.3, 7.1, 1.8, 5.4, and 5.5. It reads them against ORS 750.505-750.715 (prepaid plans) and ORS 9.160(1) (bar membership to practice).
Citations and references
Rules of Professional Conduct:
- Oregon RPC 7.2 / Model Rule 7.2 (advertising; legal-service plans)
- Oregon RPC 7.3 / Model Rule 7.3 (solicitation)
- Oregon RPC 7.1 / Model Rule 7.1 (communications)
- Oregon RPC 1.8(f) / Model Rule 1.8 (third-party compensation)
- Oregon RPC 5.4(c) / Model Rule 5.4 (professional independence)
- Oregon RPC 5.5(a) / Model Rule 5.5 (unauthorized practice)
Statutes:
- ORS 750.505-750.715 (prepaid legal-service plans)
- ORS 9.160(1) (bar membership required to practice)
See also
- OSB Ethics Op. 2005-73: Accepting Referrals and Sending Thank-You Gifts
- OSB Ethics Op. 2005-35: Greeting Cards and Open Houses
Source
- Landing page: https://www.osbar.org/ethics/toc.html
- Original PDF: https://www.osbar.org/_docs/ethics/2005-79.pdf
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