Advisory Opinion: 1707

Year Issued: 1998

RPC(s): RPC 1.6; 1.7; 1.8; 1.9

Subject: Conflict of interest; client confidence or secret; assignment of judgment against client to opposing party

[The law firm represented a plaintiff in litigation. The law firm dissolved, and the plaintiff was represented by one of the firm's partners. The law firm obtained a judgment against the former client for unpaid fees and costs. The law firm wishes to assign the judgment for monetary compensation to the defendant in the litigation in which it previously represented the client.] The proposed action in assigning the judgment to the Defendant in the pending litigation does not meet minimum standards set forth in Rules of Professional Conduct 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, and 1.9. In addition, although this case is not directly on point, the Committee draws your attention to Justice Pearson's comments in Paglia v. Breskovich, 11 Wn. App. 142 (1974) at page 148.

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.