Partnership Between Lawyers
Adopted: October 18, 1991
Opinion rules that lawyers may not hold themselves out as practicing in a partnership unless the lawyers are actually partners.
Inquiry:
An issue has arisen as to whether a particular "partnership agreement" creates a proper partnership under the provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct for purposes of two attorneys holding themselves out to the public as a law partnership.
The issue arises in the context of a threatened legal malpractice claim in which a former client alleges negligent representation by one of the two attorneys in the "partnership." Although the law does not permit a plaintiff to base a claim of malpractice on an ethical violation, the attorney believed the partnership agreement to be a valid partnership agreement. The two attorneys practiced law under their two names, have stationery with their two names, etc.
The partnership agreement in question is largely concerned with shared office expenses. It also contemplates the likelihood of sharing certain cases (and fees related to those shared cases). The dollar volume of the cases shared in 1990 was not insubstantial. The particular case which is the subject of the threatened litigation was not one of the shared cases. In fact, the partnership agreement was not entered into at the time the initial retainer agreement was executed. However, the partnership agreement was executed prior to the alleged negligent act.
Must the two attorneys make any changes in their partnership agreement to be in compliance with the Rules of Professional Conduct?
Opinion:
Rule 2.3(e) forbids a lawyer from holding himself or herself out as practicing in a law firm unless the association is in fact a firm. The question of whether the business association in question is a bona fide partnership or, in the parlance of the rule, a "firm," is a legal question beyond the purview of the Ethics Committee. If as a matter of law the association in question is a bona fide partnership, it is obvious that the attorneys may continue to hold themselves out as partners. If, on the other hand, the arrangement is not a bona fide partnership, it would be unethical for the attorneys involved to continue to represent that they are partners.