Could a lawyer's separate business corporation solicit legal clients for the lawyer?

Plain-English summary

A lawyer proposed a related, nonlaw business corporation that would solicit clients for the law practice.

The opinion said any referral from the corporation to the lawyer would be prohibited in-person solicitation under Rule 4-7.3(b). A reverse referral from the lawyer to the corporation for services a legal client needed was allowed only after full disclosure of the relationship and clear notice that the client could choose any provider. The corporation had to be treated as separate, with law-firm client information kept confidential.

Currency note

This 1995 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: Could the business send prospective clients to the law practice?

A: No. The opinion classified each such referral as prohibited in-person solicitation.

Q: Could the lawyer refer a client to the business?

A: Only after fully disclosing the relationship and telling the client that any provider could be chosen.

Q: What information separation was required?

A: Strict protection of law-firm client information because the corporation was a separate entity.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied Missouri Rule 4-7.3(b) to corporation-to-lawyer referrals and separately addressed lawyer-to-corporation disclosure and confidentiality without citing another numbered rule.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• Missouri Rule 4-7.3(b)

See also

• Missouri Informal Op. 950172: Investigation business referrals
• Missouri Informal Op. 950026: Lawyers sharing with corporation

Source

• Landing page: https://mo-legal-ethics.org/informal-opinion/950022/

Original opinion text

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

QUESTION: May Attorney form a general business corporation that will not practice law but which will practice in a related area and which will solicit clients for Attorney? ANSWER: The general business corporation would be engaging in “in person” solicitation prohibited by Rule 4–7.3(b) any time it made a referral to Attorney. If a client of Attorney developed a need for services such as those provided by the general business corporation, Attorney could only refer the client to the wholly-owned corporation after making full disclosure of the relationship between the corporation and the firm and making it clear to the client that the client has the option to obtain the services from any source of the client´s choosing. Additionally, this situation raises issues of confidentiality. If Attorney does form such a corporation, Attorney must realize that it is a completely separate entity and that confidentiality of information relating to the law firm´s clients must be strictly maintained.