Ezel / Ethics Opinions / RIEAP

My stationery shows my name with an asterisk noting I'm only admitted in one state, not Rhode Island. Is that letterhead proper?

Short answer Yes. The panel held the stationery was proper under the Code of Professional Responsibility because it clearly disclosed the jurisdictional limitation, as DR 2-102(D) requires for lawyers in a firm who are not licensed in all listed jurisdictions.
Bar
RIEAP
Issued
April 15, 1988
Source
View Original PDF

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1988. Ask about yours and see what the current Rhode Island Rules of Professional Conduct say for your facts, with citations.

How much weight this carries: Under the Ethics Advisory Panel rules of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, a lawyer who asks for an opinion, gives the facts fully and accurately, and acts in accordance with it is conclusively presumed to have complied with the Rules of Professional Conduct. Source.
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

An attorney asked the panel whether he could properly sign letters on stationery that listed his name followed by an asterisk, where the stationery clearly identified him as a member of one particular state bar association only.

The panel explained that DR 2-102(D) allows lawyers licensed in different jurisdictions to form and continue a partnership, provided the firm's letterhead and other permissible listings "make clear the jurisdictional limitations on those members and associates of the firm not licensed to practice in all listed jurisdictions." Because the stationery in question clearly indicated the attorney was a member of one state bar association and not a member of the Rhode Island Bar Association, the panel found it perfectly proper under the Code of Professional Responsibility.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1988, before the Rhode Island Supreme Court's adoption of the 2007 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct, and it applies the ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility's Disciplinary Rules then in effect. 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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 my letterhead identify me as a lawyer if I'm not admitted in Rhode Island but I'm a member of another state's bar?

A: Yes, according to this opinion, as long as the stationery clearly discloses the jurisdictional limitation, here by an asterisk clarifying the attorney's membership in only one particular state bar association.

Q: What does DR 2-102(D) require of a firm's letterhead when its lawyers are licensed in different jurisdictions?

A: The opinion quotes DR 2-102(D) as requiring that the letterhead and other permissible listings "make clear the jurisdictional limitations on those members and associates of the firm not licensed to practice in all listed jurisdictions."

Background and rules framework

The opinion applies DR 2-102(D) of the ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility, then in force in Rhode Island, which governs how a firm's letterhead must disclose jurisdictional limitations for lawyers not licensed in every jurisdiction listed.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

  • RI DR 2-102(D) (letterhead disclosure of jurisdictional limitations for lawyers not licensed in all listed jurisdictions)

Statutes:

  • None cited.

Cases:

  • None cited.

Other opinions cited:

  • None cited.

See also

No sibling opinions yet indexed.

Source

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.

DIGEST OF ETHICS ADVISORY PANEL
OPINION #88-3, Request #25
ISSUED APRIL 15, 1988

An attorney seeks Panel advice as to whether he may properly sign letters on certain stationery. The stationery he submits includes his name, followed by an asterisk. The attorney is clearly identified as being a member of one particular state bar association only.

Disciplinary Rule 2-102(D) provides that lawyers licensed in different jurisdictions may form and continue a partnership provided the firm's letterhead and other permissible listings "make clear the jurisdictional limitations on those members and associates of the firm not licensed to practice in all listed jurisdictions . . ." Since the stationery clearly indicates that the attorney is a member of one state bar association and not a member of the Rhode Island Bar Association, it is perfectly proper under the Code of Professional Responsibility.

Ethics Advisory Panel advice is protective in nature. There is no requirement that an attorney abide by a Panel opinion, but if he or she does, he or she is fully protected from any charge of impropriety.

What do the rules say today, for your facts?

This opinion is from 1988. Ezel checks the current Rhode Island Rules of Professional Conduct against your situation and cites the rules it relies on.

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