伦理意见278

与外国靠谱的滚球平台合伙

A lawyer who is licensed to practice in the District of Columbia may join in a partnership or in other forms of professional association with a foreign lawyer who is not licensed to practice in any 管辖范围内 in the United States so long as the partnership or association will not compromise the D.C. lawyer’s ability to uphold ethical standards.

适用的规则

• 规则5.1 (Responsibilities of a Partner or Supervisory Lawyer)
• 规则5.5(非法执业)
• 规则7.5(b)(公司名称及信头)
• 规则7.5(d) (Implying Practice in a Partnership)

调查

解析:选D.C. 酒吧询问是否，根据D.C. 职业行为准则, he and other members of his firm may join in a partnership to practice law with a lawyer licensed to practice law only in Sweden. The lawyer licensed in Sweden will be resident and practicing in the firm’s London office, 哪一个, 调查显示, the lawyer may do in accordance with the rules of practice governing the provision of legal services in the United Kingdom.

This inquiry requires us to determine whether a member of the D.C. 酒吧 may practice law in a partnership or other form of professional association with a foreign lawyer who is licensed to practice law in a non-U.S. 管辖范围内 but is not licensed to practice law in any 管辖范围内 in the United States.

讨论

In the United States multi-管辖范围内al law firm partnerships—formed by attorneys licensed to practice and physically located in more than one state—are accepted without question. As the practice of law increasingly assumes an international dimension, it is becoming equally commonplace to encounter multinational law firm partnerships and other forms of professional associations that cross international borders. Because of their international scope, these partnerships may involve affiliations with attorneys licensed only by 管辖范围内s outside the United States.

Just as our ethical standards have evolved to permit multi-管辖范围内al law partnerships involving U.S. 靠谱的滚球平台, 他们还, 有适当的保障措施, similarly accommodate partnerships or other forms of professional association with foreign 靠谱的滚球平台. For the reasons explained below, we conclude that members of the D.C. 酒吧 may practice law in partnership with foreign 靠谱的滚球平台 who are not licensed in any 管辖范围内 in the United States so long as appropriate steps are taken to ensure the association will not compromise the D.C. 酒吧 member’s ability to uphold ethical standards.¹

在这个司法管辖区, 我们早就接受了, without ever expressly addressing the issue, the existence of partnerships between D.C. 酒吧 members and attorneys who are admitted only in U.S. D以外的司法管辖区.C. Such associations are permissible, however, only to the extent that they do not impair the D.C. 酒吧 member’s ability and obligation to uphold ethical standards. 例如，当D.C. lawyer practices law in association with others, he or she must ensure that all individuals involved in providing legal services adhere to fundamental ethical requirements such as client confidentiality. 看,e.g., 规则5.1, 5.2, 5.3.

The same considerations are equally applicable in reviewing the ethical implications of partnerships with foreign attorneys who are not licensed to practice in any U.S. 管辖范围内.² The critical inquiry will be whether any aspect of the association is likely to impair the D.C. attorney’s ability to satisfy the applicable ethical requirements that govern the delivery of legal services.

在这方面, it would be necessary to consider the general similarity of the foreign lawyer’s educational requirements as well as the compatibility of the standards of professional conduct and discipline that govern the foreign lawyer’s provision of legal services. If the foreign lawyer’s education and training were materially less than that of a U.S. lawyer or if the professional standards governing the foreign lawyer’s conduct were so incompatible with those established by the D.C. 酒吧, any partnership with such an attorney might impair the D.C. 靠谱的滚球平台维护D.C. 职业行为准则 or to adhere to ethical standards such as the need to maintain client confidentiality and to avoid conflicts of interest. Cf. 规则5.1(a) (law firm partner “shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the firm has in effect measures giving reasonable assurance that all 靠谱的滚球平台 in the firm conform to the rules of professional conduct”).

This is an inquiry that must be undertaken on a case by case basis. By identifying issues relating to client confidentiality and conflicts of interest as areas of special concern, we do not mean to suggest that these are the only ethical issues that need to be considered. 相反，D.C. attorney must ensure that the proposed association does not in any way impair or frustrate his ability to meet his ethical obligations.

Another basic requirement that must be satisfied in forming any professional association with a foreign licensed attorney is that the association not conflict with any of the D.C. 靠谱的滚球平台的道德义务. Lawyers not admitted to practice in the District of Columbia are, 当然, subject to restrictions against the unauthorized practice of law in this 管辖范围内 (D.C. 应用程序. R. 第49条)和规则5.5(b)禁止.C. 靠谱的滚球平台 from assisting a person who is not a member of the bar in the performance of an activity constituting the unauthorized practice of law. Any partnership with a foreign attorney must comply with these obligations.

另外，D.C. 靠谱的滚球平台 and law firms must continue to satisfy the ethical requirements relating to use of letterheads and firm names. 看到 规则7.5(b) (“a law firm with offices in more than one 管辖范围内 may use the same name in each 管辖范围内, but identification of the 靠谱的滚球平台 in an office of the firm shall indicate the 管辖范围内al limitations on those not licensed to practice in the 管辖范围内 where the office is located.”). 因此, like any multi-管辖范围内al partnership, a partnership with foreign attorneys must ensure that its letterhead identifies appropriately the 管辖范围内s in 哪一个 individual attorneys are licensed to practice.

最后，民主党的成员.C. 酒吧 may state or imply that they practice in a partnership or other organization only when that is the fact. 规则7.5(d). In forming a partnership with a foreign attorney, the D.C. lawyer should confirm, both as a matter of U.S. and foreign law, that the relationship created is properly described and held out to clients.

In reaching the conclusion that a D.C. lawyer may join in a partnership or other form of professional association with a foreign lawyer not licensed to practice in any 管辖范围内 in the United States so long as the partnership or association will not compromise the D.C. lawyer’s ability to uphold ethical standards, we join several other 管辖范围内s that have considered similar issues and reached the same result. 看,e.g., N.Y. 州Op. 658年(1月. 24, 1997) (lawyer may form partnership or otherwise associate with non-Utah 靠谱的滚球平台 who are authorized to practice law in other 管辖范围内s within the United States or to engage in the functional equivalent in a foreign country). We are aware of no 管辖范围内 that has concluded otherwise.

调查没有. 97-7-33
通过:1998年2月18日

1. This opinion assumes without deciding that the proposed arrangement described in the inquiry complies with all aspects of D.C. substantive law and with applicable Swedish and United Kingdom law and ethical rules; it therefore addresses only the ethical issues under the D.C. 职业行为准则 presented by the proposed arrangement.
2. Of course, a foreign attorney who also is admitted to practice in one or more U.S. 管辖范围内s is subject to the supervisory authority and disciplinary system of the U.S. 管辖范围内(s) in 哪一个 he is admitted. 因为这个事实, it is unnecessary to consider such attorneys as “foreign” 靠谱的滚球平台 for purposes of this analysis.