WSBA 1997

Can a Washington lawyer join a property management business and advertise that a lawyer is part of the business?

Short answer: The committee declined to decide whether the activity is the practice of law, but said that if it is, it would violate RPC 5.4(b) and potentially RPC 7.1(a)-(b) and 7.3(a), and flagged RPC 1.6, 1.7, 5.4(c), and 5.5(b).

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This page answers the general question as of 1997. Ezel answers yours: whether it's allowed on your facts, under the current rules of professional conduct in your state, with citations.

Disclaimer: Advisory only. Not binding precedent.

About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official ethics opinion. The original opinion (linked on this page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

The lawyer proposed to join a property management business and to publicize that he is a lawyer in the business. The committee said whether that conduct is the practice of law is a legal question, and the RPC Committee declines to answer legal questions. It then framed the rule consequences conditionally: if the conduct does constitute the practice of law, it would violate RPC 5.4(b) and would potentially violate RPC 7.1(a), 7.1(b), and 7.3(a).

The committee also noted a question of whether RPC 1.6 and 1.7 would be violated if the property management company were to represent adjoining landowners. It added that even if the lawyer did not advertise himself as a lawyer, he should still be aware of RPC 5.4(c), 5.5(b), and 1.6.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1997, before the Washington State Bar Association's adoption of the 2006 revisions to the 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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. Washington's cited rules correspond to ABA Model Rules 1.6 (confidentiality), 1.7 (conflicts of interest), 5.4 (professional independence), 5.5 (unauthorized practice), 7.1 (communications about a lawyer's services), and 7.3 (solicitation).

Common questions

Q: Did the committee say whether running the property management business is practicing law?

A: No. The committee said that is a legal question and the RPC Committee declines to answer legal questions.

Q: What rules apply if the activity is the practice of law?

A: The committee said it would violate RPC 5.4(b) and potentially RPC 7.1(a), 7.1(b), and 7.3(a).

Q: Does publicizing that a lawyer is in the business matter?

A: The committee tied the potential RPC 7.1 and 7.3(a) problems to publicizing the lawyer's involvement; it added that even without advertising himself as a lawyer, the lawyer should be aware of RPC 5.4(c), 5.5(b), and 1.6.

Q: What about conflicts with the business's customers?

A: The committee flagged a question of whether RPC 1.6 and 1.7 would be violated if the property management company represented adjoining landowners.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied RPC 5.4(b) (a lawyer may not form a partnership with a nonlawyer if any activities consist of the practice of law) and RPC 5.5(b) (assisting unauthorized practice), corresponding to ABA Model Rules 5.4 and 5.5, together with the advertising and solicitation rules RPC 7.1(a)-(b) and 7.3(a) (corresponding to ABA Model Rules 7.1 and 7.3), to a lawyer's plan to join and publicize a property management business. The committee also pointed to RPC 1.6 (confidentiality) and 1.7 (conflicts of interest), corresponding to ABA Model Rules 1.6 and 1.7, as to the business's dealings with adjoining landowners. The committee kept the central question (whether the activity is itself the practice of law) open as a legal question outside its charge.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

ABA Model Rule 1.6 (confidentiality); Washington RPC 1.6
ABA Model Rule 1.7 (conflicts of interest); Washington RPC 1.7
ABA Model Rule 5.4 (professional independence of a lawyer); Washington RPC 5.4(b), 5.4(c)
ABA Model Rule 5.5 (unauthorized practice of law); Washington RPC 5.5(b)
ABA Model Rule 7.1 (communications concerning a lawyer's services); Washington RPC 7.1(a), 7.1(b)
ABA Model Rule 7.3 (solicitation of clients); Washington RPC 7.3(a)

Source

Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=796

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

Advisory Opinion: 1722
Year Issued: 1997
RPC(s): RPC 1.6; 1.7; 5.4(b); 5.4(c); 5.5(b); 7.1(a); 7.1(b); 7.3(a)
Subject: Advertising; unauthorized practice of law; publicizing that lawyer has joined a nonlaw business

The question of whether your proposed conduct (i.e., joining a property management business and publicizing the fact that you are a lawyer in the business as described in your statement of facts) would be the practice of law is a legal question. The RPC Committee declines to answer legal questions. However, if the conduct does constitute the practice of law, then your conduct would be in violation of RPC 5.4(b), and would be potentially in violation of RPC 7.1(a)(b) and 7.3(a). There is also a question of whether RPC 1.6 and 1.7 would be violated if the property management company were to represent adjoining landowners. Even if you did not advertise yourself as a lawyer, you should still be aware of RPC 5.4(c), 5.5(b), and 1.6.

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