Rule Preamble Preamble to the Limited Practice Officer Rules of Professional Conduct

Limited practice officers receive a limited license to practice law, and are held to the same standard of care as a lawyer when performing the legal services authorized by the LPO license. A lawyer, as a member of the legal profession, is a representative of the client, an officer of the court, and a public citizen having a specific responsibility for the quality of justice. A consequent obligation of lawyers is to maintain the highest standards of ethical conduct. Rules of Professional Conduct for lawyers have been adopted stating fundamental ethical principles which lawyers are professionally obligated to observe. In fulfilling professional responsibilities, an LPO necessarily performs various roles that lawyers otherwise or also perform. Certain of the lawyer Rules of Professional Conduct, as modified to reflect the unique nature of the duties and provisions of APR 12, have been adopted as appropriate rules of professional conduct applicable to LPOs. These rules update standards for LPO conduct and they set forth the minimum standard of conduct required of LPOs. Not every ethical situation that an LPO may encounter can be foreseen; the fundamental ethical principles in the rules are intended to provide minimum standards to assist the LPO in determining the appropriate conduct. So long as LPOs are guided by these principles, their conduct will assist in assuring the law continues to be a noble profession.

SCOPE The Limited Practice Officer Rules of Professional Conduct, where mandatory in character, state the minimum level of conduct below which no LPO can fall without being subject to disciplinary action. Other LPORPC may afford the LPO some discretion in exercising professional judgment and may provide guidance for compliance, rather than adding mandatory professional obligations.

Failure to comply with an obligation or prohibition imposed by a Rule is a basis for invoking the disciplinary process. The Rules presuppose that disciplinary assessment of an LPO’s conduct will be made on the basis of the facts and circumstances as they existed at the time of the conduct in question and in recognition of the fact that an LPO often has to act upon uncertain or incomplete knowledge of the situation. Moreover, the Rules presuppose that whether or not discipline should be imposed for a violation, and the severity of a sanction, depend on all the circumstances, such as the willfulness and seriousness of the violation, extenuating factors and whether there have been previous violations. Violation of a Rule should not itself give rise to a cause of action against an LPO nor should it create any presumption in such a case that a legal duty has been breached. In addition, violation of a Rule does not necessarily warrant any other non-disciplinary remedy, such as disqualification of an LPO in a pending transaction. The Rules are designed to provide guidance to LPOs and to provide a structure for regulating conduct through disciplinary agencies. They are not designed to be a basis for civil liability. Nothing in these Rules is intended to change existing Washington law on the use of rules of professional conduct in a civil action. Cf. Hizey v. Carpenter, 119 Wn.2d 251, 830 P.2d 646 (1992) (lawyer rules of professional conduct do not define standards of civil liability of lawyers for professional conduct, but provide only a public disciplinary remedy).

The Comment accompanying each Rule explains and illustrates the meaning and purpose of the Rule. The Preamble and this note on Scope provide general orientation. The Comments are intended as guides to interpretation, but the text of each Rule is authoritative.