Can a Mississippi lawyer share an office suite with non-lawyer professional counselors and also run a business doing legal research for other lawyers?

Plain-English summary

The Committee addressed a lawyer considering two arrangements. First, the lawyer wanted to rent office space in a suite used by two licensed professional counselors, taking no part in their practice, receiving no fed business, and with no commingling of fees or benefits. Second, the lawyer was considering a business of providing legal research and writing for attorneys outside his firm.

On office sharing, the opinion concluded there is no proscription in the Rules of Professional Conduct against a lawyer sharing office space with a non-lawyer. It read Rule 5.4 to require professional independence and to bar forming a partnership with a non-lawyer where any of the partnership's activities consist of the practice of law, and found the facts disclosed no such law-practice activity. The opinion added that the lawyer should be sensitive to Rule 1.6 on confidentiality, and that the lawyer's files, records, research, and other client information must be maintained so as to be inaccessible to the non-lawyers who share the space.

On the research business, the opinion concluded a lawyer may provide research and writing to outside lawyers, provided he does not, on a particular matter, violate Rule 1.7 on conflicts of interest, and the lawyer should make certain he is not serving a lawyer for the benefit of a client with whom he has a conflict.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1990, before the adoption of the current Mississippi Rules of Professional Conduct effective June 22, 1994 (amended February 5, 1999). Mississippi did not adopt the ABA's 2002 Ethics 2000 revisions wholesale, and subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Can a lawyer share an office suite with non-lawyers?

A: The opinion concluded yes. It found no rule against sharing space with a non-lawyer, as long as the arrangement does not amount to a partnership engaged in the practice of law under Rule 5.4.

Q: What must the lawyer do to protect client information in shared space?

A: Per the opinion, the lawyer's files, records, research, and other client information must be kept so as to be inaccessible to the non-lawyers who share the office, consistent with the confidentiality duty in Rule 1.6.

Q: Can the lawyer also do research and writing for outside lawyers?

A: The opinion concluded yes, provided the work does not create a Rule 1.7 conflict on the particular matter, and the lawyer confirms he is not serving a lawyer for a client with whom he has a conflict.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets Mississippi Rule 5.4 (professional independence; partnership with non-lawyers), Rule 1.6 (confidentiality of information), and Rule 1.7 (conflicts of interest), corresponding to Model Rules 5.4, 1.6, and 1.7. The opinion treated the office-sharing question as turning on whether the arrangement involved the practice of law and on protecting client files, and the research question as turning on conflicts.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct (Mississippi; cf. Model Rules):

• MRPC 5.4 (professional independence; partnership with non-lawyers) (cf. Model Rule 5.4).
• MRPC 1.6 (confidentiality of information) (cf. Model Rule 1.6).
• MRPC 1.7 (conflicts of interest) (cf. Model Rule 1.7).

See also

• MS Bar Ethics Op. 177: Providing Legal Research Services to Outside Lawyers

Source

• Landing page: https://www.msbar.org/ethics-discipline/ethics-opinions/formal-opinions/172/
• Original PDF: https://www.msbar.org/media/1443/35a_et_op_172.pdf

Original opinion text

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

ETHICS OPINION NO. 172

OF THE MISSISSIPPI BAR

RENDERED June 22, 1990

PROFESSIONAL INDEPENDENCE OF A LAWYER - CONFLICT OF INTEREST -A lawyer may rent office space in the same suite as a licensed professional counselor, where the relationship between the co-tenants is for the purpose of sharing overhead expenses, and there will be no commingling of funds or other activities which would amount to a partnership involved in the practice of law.

A lawyer may engage in the business of providing legal research and legal writing for other lawyers who do not practice in his firm.

The Ethics Committee of the Mississippi State Bar has been asked to render an opinion on the following facts:

A lawyer is considering renting office space in the same suite currently used by two licensed professional counselors. The attorney intends to take no part in the practice of the counselors. The attorney will not be "fed" any legal business by the counselors, and there will be no commingling of fees or other benefits.

Additionally, the attorney is considering providing legal research and writing for other attorneys who are not members of, or associated with his firm.

The attorney wishes to know:

1. Whether he can ethically share an office suite with nonlawyers; and

2. Whether he can ethically engage solely in the business of providing legal research and writing.

There is no proscription in the Rules of Professional Conduct against a lawyer sharing office space or office suites with a nonlawyer. Rule 5.4 requires that a lawyer maintain professional independence, and that a lawyer "shall not form a partnership with a

nonlawyer if any of the activities of the partnership consist of the practice of law. The fact situation presented here does not disclose any activity which would consist of the practice of law. The lawyer should be sensitive, however, to the provisions of Rule 1.6 which require a lawyer to maintain confidentiality of information related to the client. The lawyers files, records, research and other information related to the representation of a client must be maintained in such manner as to be unaccessible to the nonlawyers who share the office space.

If a lawyer chooses to provide legal research and writing to other lawyers who are not members or associates of his firm, he may ethically do so, provided he does not, on a particular matter, violate the provisions of Rule 1.7 related to conflicts of interest. The lawyer should make certain that he is not providing services to lawyer for the use and benefit of a client with whom he has a conflict of interest.