If a lawyer is a staff attorney for a mortgage company handling closings, what must the lawyer tell the buyer and seller about who the lawyer represents?
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This page answers the general question as of 1986. 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 inquiry came from a lawyer employed as a staff attorney for a private mortgage company, handling real estate closings for the company. The question was what the lawyer's obligations were toward the buyer and seller at those closings.
The committee was of the opinion that the lawyer has a duty to disclose to the parties to the transaction that the lawyer represents the mortgage company, and not either the buyer or the seller. The committee further concluded that the lawyer must tell the parties that if they want legal advice they must consult their own counsel.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1986, before the 2006 revisions to the Washington 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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.
Common questions
Q: Who does a mortgage company's staff lawyer represent at a closing?
A: Under this 1986 opinion, the mortgage company. The committee said the lawyer must disclose that the lawyer represents the company, not the buyer or seller.
Q: What must the lawyer tell the buyer and seller?
A: That the lawyer represents the mortgage company and not them, and that they must consult their own counsel if they want legal advice.
Q: Could the staff lawyer also advise the buyer or seller?
A: The opinion directs the lawyer to tell the parties to get their own counsel for legal advice, rather than advising the buyer or seller directly.
Background and rules framework
RPC 1.7(b) (the conflict-of-interest provision the opinion cites, corresponding to ABA Model Rule 1.7) addresses representation that may be limited by the lawyer's responsibilities to another client or a third person, and the consent and disclosure needed before proceeding. The committee applied it to a lawyer who represents a mortgage company at a closing where the unrepresented buyer and seller might assume the lawyer is looking out for them, requiring the lawyer to make the single client relationship clear.
Citations and references
Rules of Professional Conduct:
- ABA Model Rule 1.7 (conflict of interest: current clients)
- Washington RPC 1.7(b)
See also
- VA LEO 1436: Lender's Lawyer and the Unrepresented Borrower
- NY State Bar Op. 611: Representing Both Seller and Lender
Source
- Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=132
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
The Committee was of the opinion that when you are employed as a staff attorney for a private mortgage company handling real estate closings, you have a duty to disclose to the parties to the transaction that you represent the mortgage company, and not either the buyer or seller and that if they wish legal advice they must consult their own counsel.
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