Site Search | Site Index

Website of the Week

October 7, 2002

Rules for the Enforcement of Lawyer Conduct, http://www.courts.wa.gov/rules/list.cfm?group=ga&set=ELC

Effective October 1st, Washington's Rules for Lawyer Discipline were replaced by the Rules for the Enforcement of Lawyer Conduct. According to Comments to the Proposed Rules for Enforcement of Lawyer Conduct (ELC) and Related Amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC), Admission to Practice Rules (APR) and General Rules, http://www.wsba.org/proposed/2002/elccomments.doc:

These proposed rules were developed by the Discipline 2000 Task Force of the Washington State Bar Association and the Washington Supreme Court. . . . The ELCs are based on the RLDs, but include significant substantive, structural, and style changes. The substantive changes are designed to improve the operation of the lawyer discipline system and enhance the confidence of the public and the profession in the discipline system.

This document provides a useful overview of the new rules and their development.

For more information on attorney ethics and professional responsibility, see

WSBA Professional Responsibility/Ethics Program, http://www.wsba.org/lasd/ethics.htm. Links to the rules and contains the text of official and unofficial ethics opinions.
ELC to RLD Cross Reference Table, http://www.wsba.org/2001/dk2/ELC%20RLDCrossReferenceTable.doc (a Word document).
American Bar Association, Center for Professional Responsibility, http://www.abanet.org/cpr/ethics.html.
Washington State Ethics Opinions, http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/waethics.html. Identifying sources of ethics rules and opinions for Washington attorneys, judges, legislators, and public employees.