Opinion 1084

The Committee considered your inquiry concerning the proper practice for a lawyer handling his or her own real estate and other business transactions. In response to the specific questions asked by you, the Committee was of the opinion that a lawyer could not handle collection of his vendor's interest in a real estate contract through his trust account because such conduct would violate RPC 1.14(a), which prohibits funds belonging to a lawyer or a law firm being deposited into a trust account with certain specific exceptions.

The Committee was of the opinion that an attorney may make collections of installment payments on behalf of a client and deposit funds realized into his trust account where he has agreed with his client that one-third of all sums will be paid to the attorney as a contingent fee because such conduct falls within the exception set out in RPC 1.14(a)(2).

The Committee was further of the opinion that a lawyer may close a real estate transaction using his trust account where the seller is his wife and the subject property is his wife's separate property and deposit those funds into his trust account because, as a matter of law, the proceeds of this sale would not "belong" to the lawyer.

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.