Advisory Opinion: 1271

Year Issued: 1989

RPC(s): RPC 7.1

Subject: Firm name or designation; answering phone line shared by sole practitioners

The Committee reviewed your inquiry concerning the answering of a shared phone line on behalf of two solo practitioners who share office space. The Committee was of the opinion that answering the phone "Law offices of A and B" would violate RPC 7.1 as it would be misleading in that it implies a law partnership or other such association existed between you. However, the Committee was of the opinion that other methods of answering the phone such as "Law office of A and Law Office of B," "Law Offices of A and of B" or merely "Law Offices" would not be misleading.

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.