Can an estate-planning lawyer who is also a licensed insurance agent split an insurance commission on a product recommended to the client?
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This page answers the general question as of 2001. 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 inquiring lawyer, engaged in an estate-planning practice, asked whether it was ethical to recommend that a client establish a life-insurance trust, refer the client to the client's own or another experienced insurance agent, and then split the insurance commission, where the lawyer was also a licensed insurance agent permitted by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner to receive commissions.
The committee responded that it had consistently determined that a lawyer's proposal to provide non-legal services for profit in conjunction with legal representation constitutes a non-waivable conflict of interest under RPC 1.7(b).
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 2001, 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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.
Common questions
Q: Can a lawyer who is also an insurance agent earn a commission on a product recommended to a client?
A: The committee concluded that providing non-legal services for profit in conjunction with legal representation, including splitting an insurance commission on a recommended product, is a non-waivable conflict of interest under RPC 1.7(b).
Q: Can the client waive the conflict?
A: No. The committee characterized this conflict as non-waivable.
Background and rules framework
The opinion applies Washington RPC 1.7(b) (conflict of interest involving the lawyer's own interests; corresponding to Model Rule 1.7), treating a lawyer's sale of non-legal services for profit alongside the legal representation as a non-waivable conflict. The committee described this as a position it had consistently taken. The opinion reflects Washington's pre-2006 rule numbering.
Citations and references
Rules of Professional Conduct:
- Model Rule 1.7 / Washington RPC 1.7(b) (conflict of interest; lawyer's own interests)
See also
- WSBA Ethics Op. 1017: Lawyer Who Also Acts as a Real Estate Broker
- WSBA Ethics Op. 1488: Dual Professions; Law Practice and a Separate Business
- WSBA Ethics Op. 1944: Referral to a Lawyer With a Common Business Interest
Source
- Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=1205
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
Advisory Opinion: 1963
Year Issued: 2001
RPC(s): RPC 1.7(b)
Subject: Estate planning lawyer referring client to insurance agent for insurance trust; conflict of interest
The inquiring lawyer asked whether it is ethical for a lawyer who is engaged in estate planning practice, as part of that practice, to recommend to a client that the client establish a life insurance trust, refer the client to the client’s own insurance agent, or other experienced agent, and then split the insurance commission if the lawyer is also a licensed insurance agent that is allowed by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner to receive insurance commissions. The committee stated that it has consistently determined that the hypothetical proposal of a lawyer to provide non-legal services for profit in conjunction with legal representation constitutes a non-waivable conflict of interest under RPC 1.7(b).
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