Which state's trust-account rules apply when a lawyer practices in more than one state?
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This page answers the general question as of 1986. 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 committee addressed a lawyer with a multi-state practice facing potentially conflicting trust-account rules in different states. It first observed that the Rules of Professional Conduct on maintaining trust accounts do not address the issue of conflicting rules for lawyers with multi-state practices.
The committee then gave a general answer to the practical question of which rules to follow: if trust funds accrue as a result of a lawyer's practice under the lawyer's Washington license, those funds should be handled pursuant to the Washington rules.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1986, before the 2006 revisions to the Washington Rules of Professional Conduct. The trust-account rule was later renumbered, and choice-of-law questions for multi-jurisdictional practice are now addressed more directly by rule. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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: Do the trust-account rules say which state's rules govern a multi-state practice?
A: The committee said they do not. It found the Rules of Professional Conduct on maintaining trust accounts did not address conflicting rules for lawyers with multi-state practices.
Q: So which rules should the lawyer follow for the trust funds?
A: The committee's general answer was that if trust funds accrue from the lawyer's practice under the lawyer's Washington license, they should be handled pursuant to the Washington rules.
Background and rules framework
The opinion interprets Washington RPC 1.14, the then-current trust-account and safekeeping-of-property rule (corresponding to Model Rule 1.15). The committee acknowledged that the rule did not supply a choice-of-law answer for multi-state practitioners and offered a general principle keyed to the license under which the funds accrue.
Citations and references
Rules of Professional Conduct:
- Washington RPC 1.14 (safekeeping property; trust accounts), corresponding to Model Rule 1.15.
See also
- WSBA Ethics Op. 949: no commingling of personal funds in a client trust account
- WSBA Ethics Op. 1010: trust-account interest earned before the IOLTA rule
- ABA Formal Op. 504: choice of law under Model Rule 8.5
Source
- Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=70
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
Advisory Opinion: 959
Year Issued: 1986
RPC(s): RPC 1.14
Subject: Trust account; multi-state practice
The Committee was of the opinion that the Rules of Professional Conduct relating to the maintenance of trust accounts did not address the issue of conflicting rules presented to lawyers with multi-state practices. The Committee was generally of the opinion that if trust funds accrue as a result of a lawyer's practice under his Washington license, then those funds should be handled pursuant to the Washington rules.
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