Washington State Bar Association Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Washington State Bar Association, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Can lawyers who only share office space list all their names together on a shared door sign and letterhead?
The committee concluded that office-sharing lawyers could list their names in a vertical list with dividing lines on the door sign, but that the same format on a shared letterhead would violate RPC…
If a lawyer's nonlawyer employee steals from the trust account and the lawyer restores the funds, must the lawyer report it to clients or the bar?
The committee unanimously concluded that a lawyer who discovered an employee had misappropriated client trust funds, immediately contacted the bank, and had the missing funds replaced in the trust…
If a lawyer leaves a firm to work as a contract attorney for several firms, can the new firms take cases against the old firm?
On the facts presented, the committee found no ethical impropriety in a departing contract lawyer associating with firms adverse to the former firm's clients, as long as the lawyer was not involved…
Can a lawyer keep a former client's files and property under an attorney's lien until the lawyer is paid?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may assert a statutory attorney's lien over a former client's files and property in the lawyer's possession, as long as doing so does not prejudice the client;…
If a client is collecting workers' compensation and disability benefits that would be reduced if disclosed, must the lawyer reveal it to the agency?
The committee said the lawyer must first direct the client to disclose the benefits to the workers' compensation agency; under the old Code the lawyer had to reveal the fraud if the client refused,…
Can a law firm list nonlawyers like a Rule 9 intern or office manager on its office sign or letterhead?
The committee concluded that although the old Code (DR 1-102) prohibited listing nonlawyers on office signs, the Rules of Professional Conduct effective September 1, 1985 contain no such…
If a lawyer and their spouse are on opposite sides of a case, one defending and one prosecuting, can both keep working on it?
When the two spouses are personally on opposite sides of the same case, DR 5-101 and RPC 1.8 require full disclosure to both clients and the clients' consent to continued representation; when only…
Can a legal services funding contract require a lawyer to report information that reveals individual clients' identities and the time spent on their cases?
The committee concluded that a legal services contract requiring disclosure of information from which specific clients' identities and the time spent on their cases could be determined is improper…
Can a lawyer-mediator mail brochures to people who recently filed for divorce to offer mediation services?
By a 5-4 vote, the committee treated a lawyer's work mediating dissolutions as 'professional employment' subject to the solicitation rule RPC 7.3, and concluded the lawyer may mail a…
If a lawyer represents a married couple jointly and they then file for divorce, can the lawyer keep representing them in their other lawsuit?
The committee unanimously advised that the spouses' dissolution filing creates a conflict in the joint contract suit; the lawyer must disclose the conflict, tell the clients to discuss it with their…
Can a Washington sole practitioner advertise an affiliation with an out-of-state firm, or have the office phone answered 'attorneys at law'?
The committee concluded that a Washington lawyer who was neither a partner nor an employee of an out-of-state firm could not advertise an affiliation with non-Washington lawyers, and that a sole…
Can a lawyer rent office space from a nonlawyer-owned business that uses a law-related name and may be practicing law without a license?
On the limited facts, the committee said the nonlawyer entity might be engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, and that if the lawyer were aiding that practice, the lawyer's conduct would…
Is a written 'fee agreement' that only lists factors affecting the fee, without stating the actual fee, a valid fee agreement?
The committee unanimously concluded that a document listing only general factors that could determine a fee, with no specific fee information for the client, is not really a fee agreement; a fee…
Can a lawyer represent the opposing lawyer in an unrelated matter while the two are on opposite sides of a pending case?
The committee allowed an unrelated representation of opposing counsel if the lawyers reasonably believe it will not adversely affect their other responsibilities. Written client consent after…
Can two lawyers run an independent law firm out of the offices of a non-law business like a management consulting firm?
On the facts described, the committee unanimously found no ethical impropriety in two lawyers operating an independent law partnership from a management consulting firm's offices, where the law firm…
Can a lawyer use direct-mail advertising and offer free seminars to a retirement community to attract clients?
The committee concluded that direct-mail advertising is permitted if it is not misleading or deceptive; it split 6 to 4 on a proposed free seminar for a retirement community, the majority allowing…
Who is entitled to the interest earned on money a lawyer holds in a trust account, the lawyer or the client?
The committee advised that interest on a trust account belongs to whoever owns the funds; it said it could not resolve the underlying legal question of when ownership of disputed funds vests in the lawyer.
Can a legal services office tell anyone whether a person qualifies for free legal help without that person's consent?
The committee concluded that revealing information about a client's eligibility for representation would violate DR 4-101's duty to protect client confidences and secrets, and that such information…
If a lawyer's client is a financial planner, can the lawyer also give legal advice to the planner's customers about products the planner sells, such as living trusts?
On the limited facts given, the committee could not issue a full opinion and asked for more information; it stated that if the lawyer's client is the financial planner, the lawyer could not give…
If two lawyers who are not in the same firm share office space, what must each do to keep the other from learning client confidences and secrets?
The committee found the inquiring lawyer's described office-sharing procedures adequate, and reminded the lawyer to guard against the office-mate overhearing client confidences and secrets and that…
Can lawyers who share office space but are not partners use 'law offices,' or a solo use 'and associates,' or call someone 'of counsel'?
The committee concluded that non-partners may not hold themselves out as partners by using 'law offices'; that it is inherently misleading for a sole practitioner with no associates to use 'and…
Does a lawyer's duty of confidentiality under RPC 1.6 continue after the client dies?
The committee concluded that the RPC 1.6 confidentiality obligation continues after the client's death. After death, the lawyer may disclose protected information only with the client's prior…
Can a client send a letter drafted by their lawyer out on the lawyer's letterhead?
The committee suggested that clients write and sign their own letters; a letter drafted by the attorney should not go out on the attorney's letterhead, or, if it does, both the client and the…
Can a prosecuting attorney privately represent a defendant in a civil case arising out of the same accident the prosecutor charged the other party over?
The committee concluded that a prosecuting attorney was precluded from accepting private employment to defend a railroad in a civil damages suit brought by a truck driver the prosecutor had earlier…
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Legal ethics opinions from the Washington State Bar Association interpret the rules of professional conduct for working lawyers, in response to inquiries from members and committees. They are advisory, not binding like court discipline decisions, but courts and discipline boards treat formal opinions as substantial guidance on how the rules apply. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the original source on the bar's site.