The written disclosure must particularly identify the documents selected, prepared, and/or completed by the limited practice officer and must include the name, signature, and number of the limited practice officer.
Wash. Admi. And. Prac. R. APR 12
Comments
[1] Comment re APR 12(d)
Powers of attorney authorizing a person to negotiate and sign documents in anticipation of, or in the closing of, a transaction are included in the documents limited practice officers are authorized to prepare. Such documents may include, but are not limited to, purchase and sale agreements for real or personal property, loan agreements, and letters of intent.
[2] Comment re LPO Professional Standard Of Care
The purpose of this comment is to discuss the legal standard of care to which a limited practice officer is subject, while also clarifying the limited duties of a limited practice officer compared to an attorney when selecting and preparing legal documents and to show the greater breadth of a lawyer's duties and services which a party may not expect when engaging a limited practice officer.
Generally, when anyone selects and prepares a legal document for another, they (including licensed limited practice officers) will be held to the standard of a lawyer: "to comply with the duty of care, an attorney must exercise the degree of care, skill, diligence, and knowledge commonly possessed and exercised by a reasonable, careful, and prudent lawyer in the practice of law in this jurisdiction " Hizey v. Carpenter, 119 Wn.2d 251, 261, 830 P.2d 246 (1992). However, when selecting and preparing approved forms a limited practice officer, though having a limited license to practice law as defined and limited in APR 12, will not be authorized or charged with many of the duties of a lawyer. Except as provided otherwise in APR 12 rules and regulations, these include the duty to investigate legal matters, to form legal opinions (including but not limited to the capacity of an individual to sign for an entity or whether a legal document is effective), to give legal advice (including advice on how a legal document affects the rights or duties of a party), or to consult with a party on the advisability of a transaction. See also LPORPC 1.1, Competence, and LPORPC 1.3, Communication.