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Access to Justice

Pilot project allowing nonlawyer legal providers gets OK in Washington

By Debra Cassens Weiss

December 9, 2024, 11:13 am CST

The Washington Supreme Court has authorized a pilot project that will allow nonlawyer entities to provide legal and law-related services in Washington.

The pilot project will help determine whether regulated nonlegal entities will increase access to justice while protecting the public or whether their operation will create risks of consumer harm, the state supreme court said in its Dec. 5 order.

Reuters and Law360 have coverage; a Dec. 6 press release is here.

The Washington State Bar Association and the Washington Supreme Court’s Practice of Law Board will oversee the pilot program.

Applicants wanting to participate will have to identify a lawyer “or other suitable person” to act as a compliance officer who will ensure that ethics rules are followed and that data is reported to the Washington State Bar Association, the order says. The Washington State Bar Association is required to develop complaint procedures.

“The pilot test is the beginning of a process, not the end; the goal is to learn more and make transparent, data-driven decisions before any permanent regulatory reform is put in place,” according to a webpage on the program.

Indiana is also considering “legal regulatory innovation” that includes legal services providers with nonlawyer owners.

In an Oct. 3 order, the Indiana Supreme Court directed an innovation committee to develop guidelines for such a program that would be approved by the state supreme court, Reuters previously reported.

Utah and Arizona have already implemented similar programs.

See also:

Nonlawyer entities could provide legal services in Washington in proposed pilot program

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3. Nonlawyer entities could provide legal services…

Access to Justice

Nonlawyer entities could provide legal services in Washington in proposed pilot program

By Debra Cassens Weiss

September 11, 2024, 2:36 pm CDT

Nonlawyer-owned entities would be allowed to deliver legal services in Washington under a pilot program proposed by the Washington State Bar Association and a board created by the Washington Supreme Court.

If the Washington Supreme Court gives its approval, nonlawyer entities with innovative business models could apply to offer legal services temporarily under an exemption to rules banning the unlicensed practice of law, according to a summary on the Washington State Bar Association’s website.

Law360 has a story on the program.

“Our data tells us that our current business models aren’t meeting the needs of all of the people in our community,” Terra Nevitt, executive director of the Washington State Bar Association, told Law360. “That tells me we need to innovate the models, and if our regulations are getting in the way, I think it’s worth testing them.”

The participating entities would have to follow ethical rules and provide information about their delivery of legal services to the public. At the end of the pilot test, the Washington Supreme Court could assess the results and decide whether to make regulatory reform more permanent.

The Washington State Bar Association and the Washington Supreme Court’s Practice of Law Board would oversee the pilot program.

“The proposed pilot test is the beginning of a process, not the end,” according to the State Bar of Washington’s website. “The goal is to learn more and make transparent, data-driven decisions before any permanent regulatory reform is put in place.”

The proposal follows adoption of programs to allow nonlawyer-owned legal businesses in Utah and Arizona.

The Utah Supreme Court approved a pilot program in August 2020 that allows temporary nonlawyer ownership or investment in law firms by entities operating in a “regulatory sandbox.” That same month and year, the Arizona Supreme Court eliminated an ethics rule barring nonlawyers from having an economic interest in firms and preventing lawyers from sharing fees with nonlawyers.

Law360 listed some of the programs implemented in Utah and Arizona. They include “one-stop-shops” that hire lawyers and other professionals, such as professional advisers.

Hello Divorce, an online platform, uses attorneys to help explain divorce steps. ZAF Legal, a legal tech company, has launched a chatbot that helps people who have been injured in accidents determine whether they have a case. Rasa Legal, an app that helps eligible people with criminal records and the expungement process, has software that helps those who want to know whether their criminal records can be expunged.

Nevitt told Law360 that Washington benefits from not being the first state to allow nonlawyer-owned legal entities.

“We’re just so grateful that they’ve laid the groundwork, so that we can learn from their experiences, and that’s what we’ve tried to do,” Nevitt said.

See also:

When it comes to deregulation of the legal industry, divisions run deep

Following decades of discourse on nonlawyer legal services, questions of motives continue

Washington Supreme Court sunsets limited license program for nonlawyers

How the Washington Supreme Court’s LLLT program met its demise