Ezel / Ethics Opinions / NELAC

Could a Nebraska firm continue using the name of a partner who retired from practicing law?

Short answer Yes, under the same conditions governing a deceased partner's name, if local law and custom allowed it and the use was not deceptive. A withdrawing lawyer who continued practicing had to be removed from the name.
Bar
NELAC
Issued
1972
Source
View Original PDF

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1972. Ask about yours and see what the current Nebraska Rules of Professional Conduct say for your facts, with citations.

Disclaimer: Advisory only. Not binding precedent.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official ethics opinion. The original opinion (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ethics opinion (PDF)

Plain-English summary

A partner planned to withdraw from a firm and retire from law practice. The partner's name would no longer appear among the lawyers listed on the firm's letterhead, but the firm wanted to retain the name in its firm title.

Former DR 2-102(A)(4) permitted letterhead information concerning deceased and retired members. DR 2-102(B) allowed a firm, when otherwise lawful, to continue using a deceased or retired member's name or the name of a predecessor firm in a continuing line of succession.

The committee applied the same considerations stated in Opinion 72-6 for a deceased partner. It allowed continued use when local custom permitted it and the firm avoided imposition or deception. The result was limited to a lawyer who ceased practicing; a withdrawing partner who continued practicing had to be removed from the firm name.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1972, before Nebraska's adoption of the 2005 Rules of Professional Conduct. 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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.

Common questions

Q: Could the retired partner remain in the firm title but not the lawyer list?

A: Yes. That was the arrangement the committee approved for a lawyer retiring from practice.

Q: What if the former partner continued practicing elsewhere?

A: The name had to be omitted from the former firm's title to avoid misleading the public.

Q: What condition did the ABA guidance add?

A: Local custom had to permit the use, and the firm had to avoid imposition or deception.

Background and rules framework

Former DR 2-102(A)(4) and DR 2-102(B) governed references to retired lawyers on letterhead and in firm names. Nebraska Opinion 72-6 supplied the analogous treatment of a deceased partner's name.

Citations and references

Former Nebraska Code of Professional Responsibility:

  • DR 2-102(A)(4)
  • DR 2-102(B)

Other opinions cited:

  • Nebraska Opinion 72-6

See also

Source

Original opinion text

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

Nebraska Ethics Advisory Opinion for Lawyers No. 72-15

THE INQUIRER STATES THAT MR. _______ IS WITHDRAWING FROM HIS LAW FIRM AND RETIRING FROM THE PRACTICE OF LAW AS OF A CERTAIN DATE. HIS NAME WILL NO LONGER BE CARRIED ON THE LIST OF LAWYERS OF THE FIRM LETTERHEAD AND THE INQUIRER ASKS IF IT IS PROPER TO CONTINUE TO SUE THE WITHDRAWING PARTNER'S NAME IN THE NAME OF THE FIRM.

The Committee is of the opinion that continued use of the name of a retired partner in the name of the law firm is governed by the same considerations as apply to continued use of the name of a deceased partner in the firm's name.

DR2-102(A)(4) states in part:

". . . The letterhead of a law firm may also give the names of members and associates and name and dates relating to deceased and retiring members."

DR2-102(B) contains this language:

". . . and if otherwise lawful a firm may use as, or continue to include in, its name the name or names of one or more deceased or retired members of the firm or of a predecessor firm in a continuing line of succession."

The American Bar Association's Committee on Professional Ethics has ruled that the continued use of a deceased or former partner's name, when permissible by local custom, is not unethical, but care should be taken that no imposition or deception is practiced through the use.

This opinion is limited to the case of a retiring lawyer who cases to practice. The name of a partner who withdraws from a firm but continues to practice law should be omitted form the firm name in order to avoid misleading the public.

Nebraska Ethics Advisory Opinion for Lawyers No. 72-15

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