Advisory Opinion: 1837

Year Issued: 1998

RPC(s): RPC 1.6; 7.1(a); 7.5(d)

Subject: Office sharing; independent lawyers signing common lease for office space; use of support staff

I have been instructed by the Rules of Professional Conduct Committee to respond to your ethical inquiry #1837 concerning independent lawyers who wish to sign a common lease to share office space.

It is the opinion of the committee that the proposed arrangement is not prohibited by the Rules of Professional Conduct. If it is intended that the independent lawyers will share staff, they must be mindful of RPC 1.6, which requires the preservation by each lawyer of client confidences and secrets. Furthermore, the lawyers must observe the prohibitions of RPC 7.1(a) and 7.5(d) regarding misleading communications about the services of the lawyers. The committee also directed me to forward you the enclosed article titled "Sharing Office Space" from the ABA/BNA Lawyers' Manual of Professional Conduct.

Advisory Opinions are provided for the education of the Bar and reflect the opinion of the Committee on Professional Ethics (CPE) or its predecessors. Advisory Opinions are provided pursuant to the authorization granted by the Board of Governors, but are not individually approved by the Board and do not reflect the official position of the Bar association. Laws other than the Washington State Rules of Professional Conduct may apply to the inquiry. The Committee's answer does not include or opine about any other applicable law other than the meaning of the Rules of Professional Conduct.