Summary

• Jurisdiction: Washington

Chapter Details

A. State Materials

1. Rules

RPC 1.1 (competence)
RPC 1.3 (diligence)
RPC 1.4 (communication)

B. Federal Materials

U.S. CONST. amend. VI

C. Key Differences Between RPC and ABA MRPC

1. Revisions to ABA Comments

RPC 1.3 cmt. [1]

2. Reserved/Not Adopted ABA Comments

RPC 1.3 cmt. [5]

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS

I.	Introduction
II.	Competence
III.	Diligence
IV.	Communication
V.	Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY

Competence, diligence, and communication are so fundamental to the attorney-client relationship that we should pause briefly to address why it is even necessary to reduce them to "rules" in a code of conduct. The critic might observe that if these duties are not obvious to lawyers, then they have no business being lawyers, and that should be the end of it. Surely lawyers should not need to be reminded that they should not take on matters for which they do not have the requisite competence or time or that they should remember to communicate adequately with clients! Many lawyers we know feel much the same way about the provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) that address these matters: RPC 1.1, 1.3, and 1.4. Their inclusion reinforces such lawyers' belief that the RPC do not tell them anything that a conscientious lawyer cannot figure out for himself or herself. We have a good deal of sympathy for this attitude. Nonetheless, we believe that it is essential that these fundamentals be included in the code of ethics.