What must a New York law firm's name, letterhead, and business cards include or disclose?

Plain-English summary

The inquirer asked four questions about how a New York law firm may present itself on its name, letterhead, and business cards. The committee answered each under Rules 7.1 (prohibiting false, deceptive, or misleading communications) and 7.5 (professional notices, letterheads, and signs) (¶ 1).

First, if two lawyers form a firm that is a professional corporation, the name may not be simply "X & Y"; Rule 7.5(b) requires the name of a professional corporation to contain "P.C." or another symbol permitted by law, consistent with N.Y. Business Corporation Law section 1515(b). The committee explained the purpose is to avoid misleading clients into believing the members carry the personal liability of a partnership when the firm in fact has the more limited liability of a professional corporation (¶¶ 2-4).

Second, no rule requires a firm to identify itself as a "law office." The committee found that a firm's failure to label itself a law office is not misleading, because the context in which a firm uses its name, letterhead, and cards ordinarily indicates that it provides legal services (¶ 5).

Third, a personal card or personalized letterhead may identify a lawyer only by name, without adding "Esquire" or a designation of the lawyer's role in the firm. Citing N.Y. State 704 (1998) and N.Y. County 682 (1990), the committee treated the Rule 7.5(a) list as enabling, not limiting (¶¶ 6-7).

Fourth, the committee reached a different result for firm letterhead listing both partners and associates. Relying on long-standing precedent (N.Y. County 612 (1973) and N.Y. City 890 (1977)), it concluded that because distinguishing partners from associates is a longstanding statewide practice (using a separating line or placing the two groups on different sides), a firm's failure to differentiate would represent to recipients that everyone listed is a partner, making the letterhead misleading under Rule 7.1 and a violation of Rule 7.5(a) (¶ 8).

In practice

Under the New York rules as they stood at the time of the opinion, the opinion holds that a professional-corporation firm name must contain "P.C." and that a firm is not required to call itself a "law office." Per the opinion, a personal business card or personalized letterhead may show a lawyer's name without a title such as partner, associate, or "Esquire." For firm letterhead that lists both partners and associates, the opinion holds the firm must distinguish the two, for example by a separating line or by placing them on different sides of the letterhead, because the statewide practice of differentiating makes an undifferentiated list misleading.

Common questions

Q: Can two lawyers in a professional corporation call the firm just "X & Y"?

A: No. Rule 7.5(b) requires a professional corporation's name to contain "P.C." or another symbol permitted by law, so the name must include "P.C." (¶ 3).

Q: Does a firm have to call itself a "law office" on its letterhead?

A: No. No rule requires it, and the committee found that omitting the phrase is not misleading because context shows the firm provides legal services (¶ 5).

Q: Must a business card state whether the lawyer is a partner or an associate?

A: No. A personal card or letterhead may list the lawyer by name without a position title, so long as the result is not false or misleading (¶¶ 6-7).

Q: What about firm letterhead that lists everyone in the firm?

A: Firm letterhead listing both partners and associates must distinguish between them. The committee concluded that failing to differentiate would mislead recipients into thinking all listed lawyers are partners, violating Rules 7.1 and 7.5(a) (¶ 8).

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets New York Rules 7.1 (communications about a lawyer's services) and 7.5 (firm names and letterheads), corresponding to ABA Model Rules 7.1 and 7.5, and references N.Y. Business Corporation Law section 1515(b) on professional-corporation names. The analysis turns on whether a given presentation is false, deceptive, or misleading under Rule 7.1.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• MR 7.1 / NY RPC 7.1 (false, deceptive, or misleading communications)
• MR 7.5 / NY RPC 7.5(a), 7.5(b) (firm names, letterheads, professional notices)

Statutes:

• N.Y. Business Corporation Law section 1515(b) (professional-corporation name must end in "P.C.")

Other opinions cited:

• N.Y. State 704 (1998); N.Y. State 932 (2012): role designations on cards and letterhead are not required
• N.Y. County 612 (1973); N.Y. City 890 (1977): firm letterhead must distinguish partners from associates

See also

• NY State Bar Op. 1030: Old letterhead and trust account after adding a name partner
• NY State Bar Op. 1095: Updating advertising after a firm name change
• NY State Bar Op. 1107: Using "legal services" in a law firm name

Source

• Landing page: https://nysba.org/ethics-opinion-1028/