Opinion 1083

The Committee considered your inquiry concerning a lawyer's participation in a lawyer placement service. On further investigation, the Committee learned that the placement service does not engage in the practice of law, and the sole purpose of the corporation is to place attorneys as independent contractors with law firms or sole practitioners. The hiring law firm bills its clients directly for the services of the independent contractors placed by the service, and the placement service then bills the hiring law firm for the services of the contracted lawyer, a commission or placement fee is extracted from that fee, and the remainder is tendered to the contract lawyer.

The Committee was of the opinion that nothing in the conduct of this placement service violates Rule 5.4(d) of the Rules 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.