If a lawyer cannot locate the client, can the lawyer settle the case or file suit, and how should the lawyer withdraw?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 1985. 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 lawyer had been employed by a jail inmate to pursue a personal injury claim. The inmate subsequently escaped, and the lawyer could not make contact with him. The committee concluded that, in that situation, the lawyer was precluded from taking any action on the client's behalf, which it said includes entering into a settlement agreement or filing suit.
The committee's direction at that point was procedural: the lawyer should send a notice of withdrawal to the last known address of the client.
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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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 a lawyer settle a case for a client the lawyer can no longer reach?
A: No. The committee concluded the lawyer was precluded from taking any action on the client's behalf, which it said includes entering into a settlement agreement.
Q: Can the lawyer file suit to preserve the claim if the client is missing?
A: The committee said the preclusion on taking action includes filing suit, so the lawyer could not do that either while unable to contact the client.
Q: What should the lawyer do at that point?
A: The committee said the lawyer should send a notice of withdrawal to the client's last known address.
Background and rules framework
The committee did not cite a Rule of Professional Conduct by number. Its conclusion rests on the lawyer's inability to obtain the client's instructions, which it treated as foreclosing action that requires client authority (settlement or suit), and on the step of withdrawing by notice to the client's last known address when contact cannot be maintained.
Citations and references
Rules of Professional Conduct:
- The opinion cites no rule by number. It turns on the lawyer's inability to obtain the client's authority and the step of withdrawing by notice to the last known address.
See also
- WSBA Ethics Op. 917: a missing client with funds in the trust account
- OSB Op. 2005-33: withdrawal when the client cannot be found
Source
- Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=65
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
Advisory Opinion: 954
Year Issued: 1985
RPC(s):
Subject: Client communication; lawyer unable to locate client
The Committee was of the opinion that in this case where you had been employed on behalf of a jail inmate to pursue a personal injury claim on his behalf, and he subsequently escaped and you are unable to be in contact with him, you are precluded from taking any action on his behalf, which includes entering into a settlement agreement or filing suit. The Committee was of the opinion that, at this point, you should send a notice of withdrawal to the last known address of your client.
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