Can a law firm keep its office in the same building as a lawyer who resigned in lieu of disbarment, and does a locked connecting door cure the problem?

Plain-English summary

Lawyer A resigned in lieu of disbarment, effective November 9, 2004, after conduct that included misappropriating client funds, trust-accounting violations, and false statements in a disciplinary investigation. The inquiring lawyer's firm occupies part of the same building where A keeps an office (A is a part owner of the building). To separate the spaces, the firm built a hallway, at great expense, extending into the building's main thoroughfare and locked a door connecting A's office to the firm. The inquirer asked whether the locked door is enough to avoid the strictures of RPC 5.5(d)(2).

The committee answered through RPC 5.8(b)(2), which it read to require that a lawyer shall not maintain an office for the practice of law in a room or office occupied or used, in whole or in part, by an individual who has resigned in lieu of disbarment. The committee said that if the resigned lawyer's office is maintained as a separate office, the rule is not violated. As to the specific arrangement, the committee said compliance depends on the division created and the protections against improper access to or use of the law office space, and the potential to mislead the public.

In practice

Under this opinion, and under RPC 5.8(b)(2) as it stood at the time, a firm may not maintain its law office in space occupied or used, in whole or in part, by a lawyer who resigned in lieu of disbarment, but it may operate where that person keeps a genuinely separate office. The committee did not give the locked door a yes-or-no answer; it said whether the firm's hallway-and-locked-door arrangement complies turns on the division actually created, the protections against improper access to or use of the law office space, and whether the setup could mislead the public.

Common questions

Q: Does a lawyer who resigned in lieu of disbarment count for the office-sharing rule?

A: Yes. The committee applied RPC 5.8(b)(2), which it read to bar maintaining a law office in space occupied or used, in whole or in part, by an individual who has resigned in lieu of disbarment.

Q: Can the firm keep its office in the same building as that person?

A: It can if the resigned lawyer's office is maintained as a separate office; the committee said that does not violate the rule. The problem is shared or co-used space, not the same building as such.

Q: Is a locked connecting door enough?

A: The committee did not decide that outright. It said compliance depends on the division created and the protections against improper access to or use of the law office space, and the potential to mislead the public.

Background and rules framework

The inquiry was framed around RPC 5.5(d)(2) (unauthorized practice of law and limits on practicing with others; the counterpart to Model Rule 5.5), but the committee resolved it under Washington RPC 5.8(b)(2), a Washington-specific rule restricting a lawyer's professional relationships with individuals who have been disbarred, suspended, or who have resigned in lieu of disbarment. The committee read RPC 5.8(b)(2) to prohibit maintaining a law office in a room or office occupied or used, in whole or in part, by such an individual.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• Washington RPC 5.8(b)(2) (restrictions on a lawyer's relationship with a person who resigned in lieu of disbarment; maintaining an office in space occupied or used by such a person)
• Washington RPC 5.5(d)(2) / Model Rule 5.5 (unauthorized practice of law; the provision the inquiry was framed around)

See also

• WA Ethics Op. 953: Practicing With or Employing a Suspended Lawyer
• WA Ethics Op. 1438: Employment of a Disbarred Lawyer by a Government Office
• WA Ethics Op. 1304: Office-Sharing Lawyers Answering the Phone as "Law Offices"

Source

• Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=1579

Original opinion text

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

Advisory Opinion: 2142
Year Issued: 2006
RPC(s): RPC 5.5(d)(2), 5.8(b)(2)
Subject: Disbarred lawyer maintaining personal office space in same building as his/her previous law firm

Lawyer A was admitted to the WSBA in 1968 and resigned in lieu of disbarment, effective November 9, 2004, based on his conduct in failing to keep a client adequately informed about the status of a matter, failing to comply with trust-accounting rules, intentionally misappropriating client funds, making false and misleading statements in connection with a disciplinary investigation, and testifying falsely in a disciplinary deposition.

The inquiring lawyer is a member of a law firm occupying part of the same building in which A’s office is located. To separate A’s office (A is a part owner of the building in which the office is located) from the offices of the law firm, the law firm created a hallway, at great expense, which extends out into the main thoroughfare of the building. A door connected between the office of A and the law firm has been locked by the law firm to deny access to A. Specifically, the inquirer asks whether the locked door is sufficient to avoid the strictures of RPC 5.5(d)(2).

The committee opined that RPC 5.8(b)(2) requires that a lawyer shall not engage in the following with an individual who has resigned in lieu of disbarment: maintain an office for the practice of law in a room or office occupied or used in whole or in part by such an individual.

If the office of the resigned lawyer is maintained as a separate office the rule is not violated. As to the specifics of the arrangement created by the law firm, compliance depends upon the division created and the protections against improper access or use of the law office apace or the potential to mislead the public.