How should a lawyer sign correspondence while handling matters for a deceased lawyer's office?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 1987. Ask about yours and see what the current North Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct say for your facts, with citations.
Plain-English summary
After another lawyer died, a firm agreed with the personal representative of that lawyer's estate to carry on legal activities of the deceased lawyer's office. The requesting lawyer asked how to use the deceased lawyer's office letterhead without misleading clients about the arrangement.
The committee recommended a signature on every letter handled for the office that gave the lawyer's name and indicated the lawyer acted as agent of the estate. It said that indication on each letter should give clients and others sufficient notice of the lawyer's status. The source scan obscures the office name within the proposed signature.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1987, before North Dakota's 2006 revisions to its Rules of Professional Conduct. The later North Dakota Opinion 06-05 states: “On August 1, 2006, material changes to N.D.R. Prof. Conduct 1.10(a) will take 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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.
Common questions
Q: What signature did the committee recommend for the estate's correspondence?
A: It recommended that the lawyer use the lawyer's name and identify the lawyer as an agent of the estate on each letter handled for the deceased lawyer's office.
Q: Why did the committee recommend that wording?
A: The committee said it would give clients and others sufficient notice of the lawyer's status in those matters.
Background and rules framework
The request concerned letterhead and client notice after a lawyer's death. The requesting lawyer mentioned DR 2-102, but the committee's answer recommended status disclosure in correspondence without applying a numbered rule.
See also
- ND Ethics Op. 1987-07: Lawyer's Name in a Firm Name
- ND Ethics Op. 1984-01: Client Letterhead and Bill-Collection Correspondence
Source
- Landing page: https://www.sband.org/page/ethics_opinions
- Original PDF: https://web.archive.org/web/20250000000000id_/https://www.sband.org/resource/resmgr/docs/for_lawyers/87-08.pdf
Original opinion text
Full opinion text unavailable from the official source; see the linked source above for the complete text.
What do the rules say today, for your facts?
This opinion is from 1987. Ezel checks the current North Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct against your situation and cites the rules it relies on.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Checks the law as it stands today, not only this page
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace