Can lawyers from different firms form an advertising association with a shared phone number that refers callers to its members for a fee?

Plain-English summary

A group of lawyers from different firms proposed forming an association to advertise together under a single telephone number and to refer the resulting cases to the association's members on a systematic basis.

The committee concluded that the proposed plan would violate RPC 7.2(c). It reasoned that the members would be paying the association for the recommendation of the lawyers' services, and that the association would not qualify as a "legal service organization" as that term is used in the Rules of Professional Conduct.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1985, 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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: Can lawyers from different firms jointly advertise and refer cases to each other through an association?

A: Not under this plan. The committee concluded the arrangement would violate RPC 7.2(c) because the members would be paying the association for recommending their services.

Q: Why did the association not qualify to make the referrals?

A: The committee said the association would not qualify as a "legal service organization" as that term is used in the Rules of Professional Conduct.

Q: What rule did the plan run afoul of?

A: RPC 7.2(c), which the committee read to bar paying an organization for the recommendation of a lawyer's services unless the organization is a qualifying legal service organization.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applies RPC 7.2(c), Washington's rule on advertising and paying others to recommend a lawyer's services (the analog of Model Rule 7.2), which generally bars a lawyer from giving anything of value for a recommendation except through qualifying organizations. The committee's analysis turned on the association's role in being paid for recommending the members and on its not qualifying as a legal service organization.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• Model Rule 7.2 (advertising; payments for recommendations)
• Washington RPC 7.2(c) (paying for the recommendation of a lawyer's services)

See also

• WSBA Ethics Op. 925: outside advertising service forwarding callers' messages
• WSBA Ethics Op. 1018: firm brochure advertising to referral sources

Source

• Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=31

Original opinion text

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

Advisory Opinion: 920
Year Issued: 1985
RPC(s): RPC 7.2(c)
Subject: Referral of cases by organization other than legal services organization

A group of lawyers from different firms proposed forming an association to advertise together with a single telephone number, and refer the cases to the Association members on a systematic basis. Upon review of your proposal, the Committee was of the opinion that your proposed plan would be in violation of RPC 7.2(c) because the members would be paying the Association for the recommendation of the lawyers' services, and the Association would not qualify as a "legal service organization" as that term is used in the Rules of Professional Conduct.