Can a legal-services program cap the hours a volunteer lawyer spends on a pro bono case and let the lawyer withdraw when the hours run out?

Plain-English summary

The inquiry concerned a proposal by a legal-services program to notify volunteer attorneys of the number of pro bono hours to use on a case, and to permit the volunteer to withdraw if all of those hours were used before the case was completed. The inquiry was framed as the assignment of an average number of hours to handle a particular pro bono matter.

The committee reviewed the inquiry and concluded that the proposed arrangement would violate RPC 1.1 and 5.4(c).

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1998, 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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 RPC 1.1 and RPC 5.4(c) correspond to ABA Model Rules 1.1 (competence) and 5.4(c) (a person who recommends, employs, or pays a lawyer to render legal services for another shall not direct or regulate the lawyer's professional judgment).

Common questions

Q: Can a legal-services program cap the hours a volunteer lawyer spends on a pro bono case?

A: The committee concluded that a program's proposal to assign an average number of pro bono hours and permit withdrawal when they are used, before the case is completed, would violate RPC 1.1 and 5.4(c).

Q: Which duties did the committee say the proposal would breach?

A: RPC 1.1 (competence) and RPC 5.4(c) (barring a third party who pays for or arranges the representation from regulating the lawyer's professional judgment).

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied Washington RPC 1.1 (competence) and RPC 5.4(c) (professional independence from a third party that recommends, employs, or pays the lawyer), corresponding to ABA Model Rules 1.1 and 5.4(c). The committee concluded that an hour cap that would permit withdrawal before a case is completed conflicts with the volunteer lawyer's competence duty and with the prohibition on a third party regulating the lawyer's professional judgment.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• ABA Model Rule 1.1 (competence); Washington RPC 1.1
• ABA Model Rule 5.4(c) (professional independence; third party directing a lawyer's judgment); Washington RPC 5.4(c)

See also

• WA Ethics Op. 1217: Pro Bono Volunteers and Imputed Conflicts
• WA Ethics Op. 1816: Paralegal-Run Branch Office

Source

• Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=1020

Original opinion text

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

Advisory Opinion: 1827
Year Issued: 1998
RPC(s): RPC 1.1; 5.4(c)
Subject: Legal services agency limiting number of hours spent on pro bono representation

[The inquiry concerned a proposal by a legal services program to notify volunteer attorneys of the number of pro bono hours to use on the case, and to permit the volunteer to withdraw if all hours were used before the case was completed.] I have been instructed by the Rules of Professional Conduct Committee to respond to your ethics inquiry #1827 concerning the assignment of an average number of hours used to handle a particular pro bono matter.

The Committee has reviewed your inquiry and determined that the proposed arrangement would violate RPC 1.1 and 5.4(c).