Advisory Opinion: 1655

Year Issued: 1996

RPC(s): RPC 1.7

Subject: Conflict of interest; spouse's conflicts not imputed to other spouse

The question is whether your husband's conflicts cases are imputed to you as his spouse. Your spouse is a county public defender. You work for a group who provides representation for co-defendants the county public defender's office cannot represent. You and your spouse will never represent co-defendants in the same matter, but other attorneys in the county public defender's office will be assigned to represent co-defendants. The Committee determined that the county public defender's office conflicts are not imputed to you as spouse of a county public defender.

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.