Can a Nevada lawyer's letterhead show that the Nevada firm is affiliated with an out-of-state law firm?

Plain-English summary

A lawyer licensed in Nevada wanted to maintain one or more Nevada offices operating under his own name while also showing, on the Nevada letterhead, that he was a member of an out-of-state firm with offices in other states. The proposed letterhead listed the Nevada attorney's name and licensure information on one side and the out-of-state firm's name and office locations as "additional offices" on the other.

The Committee analyzed the question under SCR 199 (Nevada's version of Model Rule 7.5), which made it unprofessional conduct to use a firm name unless every person whose name is used is a Nevada bar member in good standing and a bona fide member of the firm. It concluded the rule was satisfied here because the Nevada firm practiced under the name of a Nevada attorney who met those requirements; the Nevada lawyer was not attempting to practice under the out-of-state firm's name. The Committee added that if the lawyer had tried to practice in Nevada under the out-of-state firm's name, each person named in that firm would have to be a Nevada bar member.

The Committee identified the rule's purpose as preventing the public from being misled about a firm's composition, citing a New Jersey advisory-committee decision and contrasting a New York decision (Jacoby). It found the proposed letterhead not misleading, because it made clear the Nevada firm practiced under the name of a Nevada attorney in compliance with SCR 199.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1989, before Nevada's 2006 adoption of the current Nevada Rules of Professional Conduct (the renumbered Rules 1.0 et seq. that replaced the former Supreme Court Rules) and the related Ethics 2000-based revisions. The firm-name and letterhead rule is now Rule 7.5. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Can a Nevada lawyer list an out-of-state firm affiliation on the firm letterhead?

A: Yes. The opinion concluded that a Nevada firm satisfying SCR 199 may indicate its affiliation with an out-of-state firm on its letterhead, because that does not mislead the public about who practices in Nevada.

Q: What makes the letterhead comply with SCR 199?

A: Per the opinion, the firm name used must be that of a person who is both a Nevada bar member in good standing and a bona fide member of the firm; here the Nevada firm practiced under the name of a qualifying Nevada attorney.

Q: Could the lawyer instead practice in Nevada under the out-of-state firm's name?

A: Not without more. The opinion noted that if the Nevada practice used the out-of-state firm's name, every person named in that firm would have to be a member of the Nevada bar.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets former SCR 199 (firm names and letterheads, now Rule 7.5), reading the rule's bar on misleading firm names as the predicate for evaluating how an out-of-state affiliation may be displayed.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• Model Rule 7.5 / former Nev. SCR 199 (firm names and letterheads)

Cases:

• In re Professional Ethics Advisory Committee Opinion, 444 A.2d 1092 (N.J. 1982) (preventing misleading firm names)
• New York Criminal and Civil Court Bar Ass'n v. Jacoby, 460 N.E.2d 1325 (N.Y. 1984) (contrasting treatment of firm-name regulation)

See also

• NV Ethics Op. 12: form letters offering a firm's areas of practice
• NV Ethics Op. 7: targeted direct-mail client solicitation

Source

• Landing page: https://nvbar.org/for-lawyers/ethics-discipline/ethics-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://nvbar.org/wp-content/uploads/opinion_11.pdf