Can lawyers paid to run a college legal clinic cooperate with it as a qualified legal-services organization, and represent the students who use it?

Plain-English summary

Two attorneys had been selected by a division of the State University to conduct a legal clinic at the college one night a week, consulting with students about legal problems and being paid an hourly rate by the college. They asked whether the clinic would qualify under DR 2-103(D) as an organization with which they may cooperate and be paid, and whether they could accept employment directly from a beneficiary of the clinic under DR 2-104(A)(3).

The Committee concluded that, from the information given, the clinic could qualify only under DR 2-103(D)(4), which meant the organization had to file the appropriate form with the Supreme Court under paragraph (g). It corrected one detail: although the inquirer said he intended to file a legal-service plan, the appropriate party to file the plan is the organization, here the college, not the individual lawyer.

On the second question, the Committee quoted DR 2-104(A)(3), under which a lawyer who is recommended, furnished, or paid by a qualified legal-assistance organization enumerated in DR 2-103(D)(1) through (4) may represent a member or beneficiary, to the extent and under the conditions prescribed in those provisions.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1980, before New Jersey's adoption of the 2004 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct, and predates the 1984 replacement of the Disciplinary Rules by the RPCs. The qualified-organization rules it applied (DR 2-103(D)(4), DR 2-104(A)(3)) now correspond broadly to RPC 7.2 and RPC 5.4, and the registration mechanics have since changed. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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: Could the clinic qualify as an organization the lawyers may work with and be paid by?

A: Only under DR 2-103(D)(4), which required the college to file the plan with the Supreme Court under paragraph (g).

Q: Who had to file the plan?

A: The organization, here the college, not the individual lawyer who intended to file it.

Q: Could the lawyers represent students who used the clinic?

A: Under DR 2-104(A)(3), a lawyer paid by a qualified legal-assistance organization may represent a beneficiary, to the extent and under the conditions the rule prescribes.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied DR 2-103(D)(4) on qualified organizations furnishing legal services and DR 2-104(A)(3) on representing their beneficiaries. In current New Jersey terms the analysis maps onto RPC 7.2 (organizations recommending a lawyer's services) and RPC 5.4 (professional independence). The Committee's conditions centered on the organization itself registering an approved plan.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• MR 5.4 / NJ RPC 5.4 (professional independence of a lawyer); decided under former DR 2-103(D)(4)
• MR 7.2 / NJ RPC 7.2 (organizations recommending a lawyer's services); decided under former DR 2-104(A)(3)

See also

• NJ ACPE Op. 472: Representing a Brokers' Group Legal-Services Plan
• NJ ACPE Op. 517: Group Legal-Services Plan (Elk Grove, Illinois)
• NJ ACPE Op. 481: For-Profit Referral Services and Lay-Owned Advertising Programs

Source

• Full text (Justia mirror): https://law.justia.com/cases/new-jersey/advisory-committee-on-professional-ethics/2004/acp459-1.html
• Issuing authority: New Jersey Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, via the NJ Courts Supreme Court Committees page

Original opinion text

Reproduced from a full-text mirror of the official opinion for research purposes. The linked official source controls.

106 N.J.L.J. 150, August 14, 1980

OPINION 459

Legal Clinic at College Employment by Clinic Beneficiaries

Two attorneys have been selected by a division of the State University to conduct a legal clinic at the college one night a week. They will consult with students about legal problems and will be paid at an hourly rate for these services by the college. The attorneys pose these questions: 1. Will this legal clinic qualify under DR 2-103(D) as an organization with which they may cooperate and be paid? 2. May they accept employment directly from a beneficiary of this clinic under DR 2-104(A)(3)?

From the information given, it would appear that the clinic could only qualify under DR 2-103(D)(4). This being so, the organization must file the appropriate form with the Supreme Court pursuant to paragraph (g). The inquirer states that he intends to file a legal service plan but the appropriate party to file the plan is the organization, in this case the college.

DR 2-104(A)(3) provides: A lawyer who is recommended, furnished or paid by a qualified legal assistance organization enumerated in DR 2-103(D)(1) through (4) may represent a member of or beneficiary thereof, to the extent and under the conditions prescribed therein.