Summary

• Jurisdiction: Washington

Chapter Details

A. State Materials

1. Constitution

WASH. CONST. art. IV (judiciary), §§1, 4, 19

2. Rules

APR 1(b), 12
RPC 1.6(b), 1.10
GR 12.1, 12.3, 24 (WSBA)

3. Statutes

Ch. 2.44.010 RCW (attorneys at law)
Ch. 2.48 RCW (State Bar Act)
Ch. 19.86 RCW (Consumer Protection Act)
Ch. 36.26 RCW (public defenders)
Ch. 36.27 RCW (prosecutors)
Ch. 41.56 RCW (public employees and collective bargaining)

B. Federal Materials

1. Constitution

U.s. Const. art. IV, §2; art. VI; amends. I, V, VI, VII, IX, X, XIII, XIV

2. Statutes

28 U.S.C. §1654

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS

I.	State Regulation
II.	Federal Regulation
III.	Interplay Between State and Federal Regulation

ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY

Which government entities regulate the practice of law in Washington and to what extent are questions that need to be addressed at the outset if one is to make any sense of the Washington law of lawyering. These are also questions that are inherently interesting from a political point of view. To begin with, there is that constant of American law and politics: the issue of federalism. Although regulation of lawyers is generally left to the states, there is no doubt that the United States Constitution imposes significant limits on that state power. State government may not lay down conditions for the practice of law or its regulation that are inconsistent with federal constitutional rights and privileges. Moreover, because the federal Constitution grants Congress certain enumerated powers, and the Supremacy Clause makes legitimate congressional action supreme, states may not contravene such congressional action in regulating the practice of law. Nonetheless, given the primacy of state regulation in practice, we will consider federal regulation after our analysis of state regulation, insofar as the topic warrants.