Could a corporation's general-counsel office use a lawyer's letterhead without naming the corporation?

Plain-English summary

A corporation's general-counsel office asked whether its letterhead could list an individual lawyer and the office address, identify that person as Attorney at Law, and omit the corporation's name.

The opinion answered yes without further conditions or a cited rule.

Currency note

This 1993 opinion predates Missouri's 2007 amendments to its Rules of Professional Conduct. An official reference note identifies July 1, 2007 amendments to Rules 4-1.9 and 4-1.10. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context and verify current rules before relying on it.

Common questions

Q: Did the letterhead need the corporation's name?

A: No, under the arrangement described in the question.

Q: How was the lawyer identified?

A: By name and as Attorney at Law, with the office address.

Background and rules framework

The opinion addressed letterhead for an in-house general-counsel office. It cited no numbered rule.

See also

• Missouri Informal Op. 940072: Professional-entity letterhead
• Missouri Informal Op. 940156: Corporate trade name and letterhead

Source

• Landing page: https://mo-legal-ethics.org/informal-opinion/930124/

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

QUESTION: May a general counsel's office within a corporation use letterhead with the name of the particular attorney and the office address without identifying the corporation? The attorney will be identified as "Attorney at Law." ANSWER: Yes.