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NYCLA’s Professional Ethics Committee Issues Ethics Opinion 740 on Use of the Title of “Partner” in Connection With Law Firm Practice
| NEW YORK COUNTY LAWYERS’ ASSOCIATION
14 Vesey Street, New York, NY 10007 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Anita Aboulafia 212-267-6646, ext. 225, aaboulafia@nycla.org
NYCLA’s Professional Ethics Committee Issues Ethics Opinion 740 on Use of the Title of “Partner” in Connection With Law Firm Practice
OCTOBER 9, 2008 – NEW YORK, NY – The Professional Ethics Committee of the New York County Lawyers’ Association (NYCLA) has issued Ethics Opinion 740, which answers the question: When can a lawyer and his or her law firm use the title “partner” in dealing with clients and the public?
The Ethics Committee considers the situation of firms that employ non-equity partners who may not directly share in the profits and losses of the firm, yet are held out to the public, clients and the courts as partners. The opinion states, “The New York Code of Professional Responsibility prohibits a lawyer from holding himself or herself out to the public as a partner unless the lawyer is, in fact, a partner… The Code, however, leaves the term ‘partner’ undefined, and because supplying a definition requires legal interpretation, the NYCLA Professional Ethics Committee is without jurisdiction to give the term meaning and does not do so in this opinion.” The Committee considered, “In the absence of a definition of a partner under the Code, the Committee finds that it is sufficient if New York lawyers satisfy the definition of a partner under New York law. Further, the Committee considers whether use of the title of ‘partner’ in the context of contemporary law firm practice may constitute a misrepresentation to the public.” The Committee concluded that compliance with the Code “…requires that attorneys holding themselves out to the public as partners, and the law firms in which they practice, be in fact partners under New York partnership law and their individual partnership agreements.”
The NYCLA Professional Ethics Committee is the oldest bar association ethics committee in the country and was the first to issue written ethics opinions. To download this opinion, visit www.nycla.org and click on News & Publications and then on Ethics Opinions. NYCLA was founded in 1908 as the first major bar association in the country that admitted members without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual identity. Since its inception, it has pioneered some of the most far-reaching and tangible reforms in American jurisprudence and has continuously played an active role in legal developments and public policy.
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To download Ethics Opinion 740 and all other NYCLA ethics opinions, go to www.nycla.org and click on News & Publications and then on Ethics Opinions.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Anita Aboulafia 212-267-6646, ext. 225, aaboulafia@nycla.org
NYCLA’s Professional Ethics Committee Issues Ethics Opinion 740 on Use of the Title of “Partner” in Connection With Law Firm Practice
OCTOBER 9, 2008 – NEW YORK, NY – The Professional Ethics Committee of the New York County Lawyers’ Association (NYCLA) has issued Ethics Opinion 740, which answers the question: When can a lawyer and his or her law firm use the title “partner” in dealing with clients and the public?
The Ethics Committee considers the situation of firms that employ non-equity partners who may not directly share in the profits and losses of the firm, yet are held out to the public, clients and the courts as partners. The opinion states, “The New York Code of Professional Responsibility prohibits a lawyer from holding himself or herself out to the public as a partner unless the lawyer is, in fact, a partner… The Code, however, leaves the term ‘partner’ undefined, and because supplying a definition requires legal interpretation, the NYCLA Professional Ethics Committee is without jurisdiction to give the term meaning and does not do so in this opinion.” The Committee considered, “In the absence of a definition of a partner under the Code, the Committee finds that it is sufficient if New York lawyers satisfy the definition of a partner under New York law. Further, the Committee considers whether use of the title of ‘partner’ in the context of contemporary law firm practice may constitute a misrepresentation to the public.” The Committee concluded that compliance with the Code “…requires that attorneys holding themselves out to the public as partners, and the law firms in which they practice, be in fact partners under New York partnership law and their individual partnership agreements.”
The NYCLA Professional Ethics Committee is the oldest bar association ethics committee in the country and was the first to issue written ethics opinions. To download this opinion, visit www.nycla.org and click on News & Publications and then on Ethics Opinions. NYCLA was founded in 1908 as the first major bar association in the country that admitted members without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual identity. Since its inception, it has pioneered some of the most far-reaching and tangible reforms in American jurisprudence and has continuously played an active role in legal developments and public policy.
# # #
To download Ethics Opinion 740 and all other NYCLA ethics opinions, go to www.nycla.org and click on News & Publications and then on Ethics Opinions.