Opinion 1787

Facts Presented: Lawyer who has an immigration practice learned that another immigration lawyer does not fill out immigration forms. Lawyer would like to run an advertisement stating: "At least one prominent Seattle immigration firm does not fill out immigration forms for you. Do not give someone else a lot of money and then do the work yourself. Call my offices . . . ".

Applicable Rule: RPC 7.1

RPC Committee Opinion:

(1) A prospective client could reasonably infer from the proposed language that "the work" that an immigration lawyer does for his or her clients usually includes or should include "fill[ing] out the immigration forms". The proposed language omits the facts (a) that an important part of any lawyer's job is to advise the client of his or her rights, and options, as opposed to simply filling out forms, and (b) that there could be circumstances in which it is in the client's best interests to fill out his or her own immigration form, e.g., where filling out the forms does not require the expertise of a lawyer and having a lawyer or staff member do it would unnecessarily increase the cost to the client. The potential effect of the proposed language is to mislead the prospective client in violation of RPC 7.2(a).

(2) Although the current practice of the inquiring lawyer's competitor may be to require clients to fill out their own forms, that practice might change, especially in response to the proposed advertisement, in which event the advertisement would contain inaccurate and therefore misleading information. This problem is inherent in any form of advertising that includes statements about the practices of the lawyers, especially if the advertisement appears in a publication like the Yellow Pages, which remains in print for a full year.

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.