Advisory Opinion: 1867

Year Issued: 1999

RPC(s): RPC 1.7(b)

Subject: Conflict of interest; law firm representing lawyer who represents third party who is adverse to another client of law firm

I have been instructed by the Rules of Professional Conduct Committee to respond to your ethics inquiry #1867 concerning a conflict of interest regarding the representation of an attorney who is a client.

The Committee has reviewed your inquiry and determined the following:

The question presented is whether the inquiring firm may represent an attorney, where the attorney is personally, or vicariously, representing a third party with directly adverse interests to the defense client of the firm, and where the firm’s representation of the attorney is wholly unrelated to the matter between the defense client and the third party. The representation is possible. However, under the facts presented the potential for material limitations of the representations exist and compliance with RPC 1.7(b) may be necessary.

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.