PRACTICE OF LAW BOARD
                           REGULATIONS



REGULATION 1.       PURPOSE

The purpose of these regulations is to establish procedures for
the Practice of Law Board (POL Board) in order to carry out its
purposes and exercise its powers pursuant to General Rule 25 (GR 25).


REGULATION 2.  PRACTICE OF LAW

General Rule 24 (GR 24), Definition of the Practice of Law,
including any amendments, provides the framework by which the POL
Board will carry out its purposes and exercise its powers as set
forth in GR 25.


REGULATION 3.  ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BOARD

A.   Board Members.  The POL Board shall consist of 13 members
(Member[s]) appointed by the Supreme Court of the State of
Washington (Supreme Court) at least four of whom shall be non-
lawyer Washington residents and the remainder of whom shall be
lawyers licensed to practice law in Washington.  Appointments to
the POL Board shall be made by the Supreme Court after
considering nominations from the WSBA Board of Governors (WSBA
Board) and any other interested people or organizations.

B.   Member Terms.  The Members shall initially be appointed to
staggered terms of one to three years.  Thereafter, appointments
shall be for three-year terms.  No Member may serve more than two
consecutive three-year terms.

C.   Resignation.  A member may resign from the POL Board by
letter addressed to the POL Board and the Supreme Court with
resignation to be effective two days following the date of the
letter or any effective date thereafter which may be specified in
the letter.

D.   Vacancies.  A membership vacancy shall be deemed to occur on
the resignation of a Member or upon declaration of a vacancy by
the Supreme Court following any request to the Supreme Court by
the POL Board for the reasons set forth in section O below, or if
a Member has three consecutive unexcused absences from regular
POL Board meetings or is not present at more than a majority of
the POL Board meetings during any 12-month period as determined
by the chairperson.  A membership vacancy shall be filled by the
Supreme Court for the unexpired term.

E.   Administration of Board.  The Washington State Bar
Association (WSBA), in consultation with the POL Board, shall
provide the POL Board with an administrator (Board Administrator)
and any additional staff support as designated by the Executive
Director of the WSBA.  The Board Administrator shall not be
entitled to vote on POL Board matters.

F.   Funding and Expenses.  The POL Board shall prepare an annual
budget to be submitted for approval and on a schedule set by the
WSBA Board of Governors.  The WSBA shall pay all expenses
reasonably and necessarily incurred by the POL Board pursuant to
the budget and the expense policy of the WSBA.  Funding for the
POL Board shall be provided by annual commitments from the WSBA
and through a portion of other licensing fees established by the
Supreme Court.

G.   Officers.  The Supreme Court shall annually designate a
chairperson and a vice-chairperson from among the POL Board membership.

H.   Regular Meetings.  The POL Board shall meet as necessary to
complete its business not less than once per year as determined
by the POL Board or upon call of the chairperson.

I.   Regular Meeting / Agenda Notice.  The POL Board may file
with the Code Reviser a schedule of the time and place of
regularly scheduled meetings in January of each year for
publication in the Washington State Register.  The POL Board
shall post an agenda for each regular meeting on the
Administrative Office of the Courts website or the WSBA website
at least seven days prior to the meeting.

J.   Special Meetings.  A special meeting of the POL Board may be
called at any time by the chairperson or by a majority of the POL
Board membership by delivering written notice personally, by
mail, or by e-mail to each Member at least two business days
before the time of such meeting and by providing notice of the
special meeting to the public on the Administrative Office of the
Courts website or the WSBA website.

K.   Voting.  Each Member shall be entitled to one vote on each
matter submitted to a vote at a meeting of the POL Board.  A
majority vote of the Members present at a meeting at which a
quorum exists shall, unless a greater vote is required by other
provisions of these regulations or by GR 25, decide any issue submitted.

L.   Quorum.  A majority of the Members shall constitute a
quorum.  The chairperson may appoint temporary members of the POL
Board (or any designated committee) from among former members of
the POL Board when a Member is disqualified or unable to function
on a specific matter, for good cause.  If less than a quorum is
present at a meeting, a majority of the Members present may
adjourn the meeting and continue it to a later date and time upon
notice.  At any reconvened meeting at which a quorum is present,
any business may be transacted which might have been transacted
at the adjourned meeting.  Members present at a properly called
meeting may continue to transact business until adjournment,
notwithstanding the withdrawal of Members leaving less than a quorum.

M.   Action by Communication Equipment.  The Members or any
designated committee may participate in a meeting of the POL
Board or such designated committee by means of a conference phone
or similar communications equipment by which all persons
participating in the meeting can hear each other at the same
time, and participation by such means will constitute presence in
person at a meeting.

N.   Action Without a Meeting.  Any action required or permitted
to be taken at a POL Board meeting in Executive Session may be
taken without a meeting if a written consent setting forth the
action taken or to be taken is signed by each of the Members.
Any such written consent (including facsimile and digital
signatures) shall be inserted in the minute book as if it were
the minutes of a POL Board meeting in Executive Session.
Further, such consent shall have the same force and effect as a
unanimous vote, and may be stated as such in any document filed
for the public record.

O.   Removal of a Member.  The POL Board may request the Supreme
Court to declare a membership vacancy with respect to any Member
whose removal from the POL Board would, upon a two-thirds vote of
the POL Board excluding the affected Member, be in the best
interest of the POL Board; however, such action may only be taken
by the POL Board at a regular or special meeting following notice
of such proposed action.

P.   Committees.  The POL Board may establish such committees as
the POL Board deems necessary and appropriate with each committee
(designated committee) having a specified function determined by
the POL Board and having the full jurisdiction and authority of
the POL Board as provided in GR 25, except that: 1) no advisory
opinion may be issued without the approval of the POL Board; 2)
no determination of the unauthorized practice of law by a
respondent and referral of a matter to a law enforcement or other
agency may be made without the approval of the POL Board; and 3)
the action of a designated committee on any matter shall be
subject to review and approval/disapproval of the POL Board.  The
chairperson shall designate a committee chair for each designated
committee to serve for a one-year term.

Q.   Records.  The Board Administrator shall maintain minutes of
the POL Board and its designated committees, deliberations,
recommendations, and decisions.  All records of the POL Board and
its committees shall be filed and maintained at the principal
office of the WSBA.

R.   R.	Open Meeting and Records.  All records, files, meetings and proceedings
of the POL Board and its designated committees shall be open and public,
except that the POL Board may meet in executive session and records and files
may be made confidential where the preservation of confidentiality is desirable
or where public disclosure might result in the violation of individual rights or
in unwarranted private or personal harm.  All discussions of particular complaints
and investigations will be held in Executive Session.  Nothing in these regulations
shall be construed to deny access to relevant information by professional licensing
or discipline agencies, or other law enforcement authorities, as the Board shall authorize.


S.   Public Participation.  The chairperson or the chair of any
designated committee may allow for public participation at any
meeting.  Members of the public who wish to address the POL Board
or a designated committee at any meeting shall be required to
provide contact information on a form provided for that purpose
and shall be required to comply with any time limitation deemed
appropriate by the chairperson or the designated committee chair.

T.   Letterhead.  Use of POL Board letterhead shall be limited to
official business of the POL Board and specifically shall not be
used in connection with any political campaign or to support or
oppose any public issue unless the POL Board has taken a position
on the issue; to support or oppose any political candidate; or
for personal or charitable purposes.


REGULATIONS 4. CONFLICT OF INTEREST.

A.   In General.  A Member who has or has had a lawyer/client
relationship or financial relationship with, or who is an
immediate family member of, a person or entity who is a
complainant or the subject of a matter before the POL Board shall
not participate in the investigation or deliberation on any
matter involving that complainant, person, or entity. No WSBA
employee shall participate in deliberation on any matter which is
pending in, or likely to be referred to, the WSBA attorney
disciplinary system or bar admission.

B.   Disclosure.  A Member with a past or present relationship,
other than that as provided in section A above, with a person or
entity who is the complainant or subject of a matter before the
POL Board, shall disclose such relationship to the POL Board and,
if the POL Board deems it appropriate, that Member shall not
participate in any action relating to that matter.


REGULATION 5.  ADVISORY OPINIONS.

A.   Requests for Advisory Opinions.  Any person may request an
advisory opinion from the POL Board relating to the authority of
a non-lawyer to perform legal and law-related services. Such
requests shall be in writing in a form and in a manner prescribed
by the POL Board and signed by the person requesting the opinion.

B.   Board Initiated Advisory Opinions.  The POL Board may render
advisory opinions relating to the authority of non-lawyers to
perform legal and law-related services in connection with the
consideration of any complaint or in any investigation made on
its own initiative relating to the unauthorized practice of law
by any person or entity.

C.   Notice of Request.  The POL Board may give notice to any
person or entity, either personally or by publication, of any
pending request for an advisory opinion or pending POL Board
initiated advisory opinion, and invite written comments regarding
the pending advisory opinion.

D.   Pending Controversy.  The POL Board may not render an
advisory opinion in any matter that, to its knowledge, is the
subject of or might affect a case or controversy pending in any
court or administrative [attorney disciplinary] proceeding.

E.   Public Hearing.  The POL Board may conduct a public hearing
at a date and time and in a manner set by the POL Board, designed
to make it accessible to interested parties as determined by the
Board, on any request for an advisory opinion or a POL Board
initiated advisory opinion.

F.   POL Board Action.  Upon receipt of a proper request for an
advisory opinion, the POL Board may issue an advisory opinion or
proposed advisory opinion, or may decline to issue an advisory
opinion.  If the POL Board issues an advisory opinion, it shall
be in writing and shall be transmitted to the person making the
request, or in the case of a POL Board initiated advisory
opinion, it may be transmitted to any person(s) determined by the
POL Board for whose benefit or detriment the advisory opinion was issued.

G.   Publication of Advisory Opinions.  The POL Board may arrange
for the publication of advisory opinions in the Washington State
Bar News.  Opinions so published shall not, insofar as
practicable, identify the party or parities making the inquiry,
the complainant or the respondent.

H.   Petitions for Review.  Petitions for review of any advisory
opinion issued by the POL Board shall conform with Regulation 7 below.


REGULATION 6.  COMPLAINTS.

A.   Filing Complaints.  Complaints alleging the unauthorized or
unlicensed practice of law shall be submitted to the POL Board,
in writing, in a form and manner prescribed by the POL Board.

B.   Investigation.  The POL Board may, on its own initiative and
without any complaint being made to it, investigate any
condition, situation or activity involving the unauthorized or
unlicensed practice of law of which it becomes aware in the same
manner as if a complaint had been made under section A above.

C.   Initial Review of Complaints.  Upon receipt of a complaint,
the Board Administrator shall conduct an initial review to
determine whether it is within the jurisdiction of the POL Board
or may be subject to deferral.  If not within the jurisdiction of
the POL Board or if it is subject to deferral, the Board
administrator shall advise the complainant that the matter will
not be opened as a complaint, and the reasons.  The complainant
may submit additional information.  All such items will be placed
on the next POL Board agenda for review and any action deemed
appropriate by the POL Board.  If the complaint is deemed to be
within the jurisdiction of the POL Board and not subject to
deferral, the complaint will be opened for investigation.

D.   Request for Response.  If a complaint is opened for
investigation, a copy shall be send to the respondent with a
request to respond within 20 days, and with notice that if the
respondent does not respond, the complaint shall be considered
without a response.

E.   Report and Written Agreement. The complainant and respondent
shall be interviewed and such other and further review or
investigation may be conducted as is deemed appropriate.  A
written report and recommendation will be submitted to the Board,
by transmitting it to the Board Administrator and the Members.
All Members shall have one week (5 working days) to submit
comments respecting the report by transmitting them to the Board
Administrator and the Members.  If the report recommends
dismissal of the complaint and there are no adverse comments from
the Members within the comment period, the report and
recommendation shall be deemed adopted by the POL Board and the
chairperson shall immediately notify the complainant and the
respondent, in writing, of the dismissal and the matter shall be
closed.  If one or more Members disagree with the recommendation
for dismissal, the matter shall be placed on the agenda of the
next meeting of the POL Board for action by the POL Board.  If
the report concludes that there has been an unauthorized or
unlicensed practice of law, the matter shall be placed on the
agenda of the next POL Board meeting for action.

F.   POL Board Review.  If upon POL Board review of a report and
recommendation, the POL Board concludes that there has been no
unauthorized or unlicensed practice of law, the complaint shall
be dismissed and the chairperson shall so notify the complainant
and the respondent, in writing, and shall close the file.  If the
POL Board concludes that there has been unauthorized or
unlicensed practice of law, the POL Board shall proceed in the
following manner:

     (1)  The POL Board shall attempt through the Chairperson or
          his or her designee to persuade the respondent to enter
          into a written agreement to refrain from the
          objectionable conduct in the future.  Such written
          agreement shall be prepared by the Chairperson or his
          or her designee and may include a stipulation as to
          penalties in the event of continued unauthorized or
          unlicensed practice of law which is the subject matter
          of the agreement or violation of other terms of the agreement.

     (2)  If the respondent will not enter into a written
          agreement as set forth in (1) above, the POL Board may
          attempt to arrive at any other satisfactory disposition
          as determined by the POL Board.  In attempting to
          arrive at a satisfactory disposition, the POL Board
          may, at a regular or special POL Board meeting, or by a
          designated committee, conduct an informal conference
          with the respondent, which conference may, in the
          discretion of the chairperson or designated committee
          chair, be recorded electronically or reported by a
          certified court reporter.  At such informal conference,
          the respondent may be represented by counsel, but the
          informal conference shall not be public, nor shall
          rules of evidence apply.  If the informal conference
          was held by a designated committee, the chair shall
          render a report, in writing, to the POL Board at the
          next POL Board meeting for action.  If the POL Board
          determines that the respondent has engaged in the
          unauthorized or unlicensed practice of law, the POL
          Board shall endeavor to have the respondent enter into
          a written agreement to refrain from the objectionable
          conduct in the future, in the same manner as provided
          in (1) above.  If, however, the respondent declines to
          enter into a written agreement, the POL Board may refer
          the matter to the appropriate law enforcement or other
          agency in accordance with GR 25(h).

G.   Pending Controversy.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the POL
Board may defer an investigation in any matter that, to its
knowledge, is the subject of or might affect a case or
controversy pending in any court or administrative [attorney disciplinary] proceeding.

H.   Notice of Board Action.

     (1)  Notice to Parties.  The chairperson shall provide notice to
          any complainant who has not been previously notified of dismissal
          and each respondent, other than a respondent who has entered into
          a written agreement, of POL Board action with respect to the
          complaint or self-initiated investigation within ten days of POL
          Board action.  All such notices of POL Board action shall inform
          the recipients of the right to petition for review by the Supreme
          Court as prescribed in GR 25(g).

     (2)  Publication of Notice:  The POL Board may, in its
          discretion, publish notice of Board action on a complaint
          alleging the unauthorized practice of law in the Washington State
          Bar News, on the WSBA website, or elsewhere as it deems
          appropriate.  The Board Administrator has discretion in drafting
          notices for publication, and they should include sufficient
          information to adequately inform the public of the reasons for
          the Board’s action and conclusions.


REGULATION 7.  PETITIONS FOR REVIEW.

Petitions for review from any action of the POL Board to the
Supreme Court shall comply with GR 25(g).


REGULATION 8.  RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE SUPREME COURT.

A.   In General.  On the request of the Supreme Court or any
person or organization, or on its own initiative, the POL Board
may recommend that non-lawyers be authorized to engage in certain
defined activities that otherwise constitute the practice of law
as defined in GR 24.

B.   Public Hearing.  The POL Board may, in its discretion,
conduct a public hearing upon such notice and at a date, time and
in a manner as determined by the POL Board on any self-initiated
action or request for a recommendation to the Supreme Court.

C.   Recommendation.  Any recommendation forwarded by the POL
Board to the Supreme Court that non-lawyers be authorized to
engage in certain legal or law-related activities that constitute
the practice of law as defined in GR 24 shall set forth the
determining factors required by GR 25(c)(4), and any additional
factors the POL Board deems relevant.

D.   Transmittal of Recommendation to the Board of Governors.
Any recommendation from the POL Board pursuant to this Regulation
8 shall be submitted to the WSBA Board of Governors for
consideration and comment before transmission to the Supreme
Court.  The recommendation of the POL Board with comments by the
WSBA Board, if any, shall be transmitted to the Supreme Court as
provided in GR 25(c)(4).  The WSBA Board of Governors may affirm
the recommendation of the POL Board or recommend that it be
modified or rejected.


[Approved by the Supreme Court December 2, 2004; Adopted amended effective September 1, 2005.]