Could a Vermont lawyer practice law while also working as a real estate broker in the same building?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 1981. Ask about yours and see what the current Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct say for your facts, with citations.
Plain-English summary
An established lawyer also licensed as a real estate broker proposed working with an established brokerage. The law and real estate offices were in the same building. The committee considered its earlier Opinion 79-16 on a lawyer who sold title insurance.
The committee said brokerage was a separate business and applied former DR 2-102(E). That rule barred the lawyer from indicating both professions on a letterhead, office sign, or professional card, or identifying as a lawyer in a publication connected with the other business. The committee allowed the lawyer to practice both professions subject to those limits.
The committee also recounted ABA Informal Opinion 775's cautions about using a business to solicit legal matters and acting as counsel in a transaction initiated through the brokerage. It noted that intervening changes to DR 2-102 might have affected that opinion's warning, while reaffirming the local rule's identification restrictions.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1981 under Vermont's former Code of Professional Responsibility. The Vermont Supreme Court's rules history says the Rules of Professional Conduct replaced the Code and applied to lawyer conduct after September 1, 1999; the court later made comprehensive amendments in 2009. 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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: Did having both professions automatically violate the former Code?
A: No. The committee said the lawyer could work in both fields while observing DR 2-102(E).
Q: Could the lawyer list both professions on a professional card or office sign?
A: No. The opinion applied DR 2-102(E)'s restriction on indicating both businesses in those places.
Background and rules framework
The holding applies former Code DR 2-102(E). The committee cited Vermont Opinion 79-16 and discussed ABA Informal Opinion 775 without adopting every caution in that older ABA opinion as a categorical local rule.
Citations and references
Vermont Code of Professional Responsibility:
- DR 2-102(E)
Other opinions cited:
- Vermont Opinion 79-16; ABA Informal Opinion 775.
See also
- Vermont Ethics Op. 84-02: Lawyer married to the transaction's broker
- Vermont Ethics Op. 82-08: Defender General's spouse handling appeals
Source
- Landing page: VBA conflict of interest opinions
- Original PDF: Vermont Advisory Opinion 81-09
- Rules history: Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct, “These rules apply to lawyer conduct after September 1, 1999.”
What do the rules say today, for your facts?
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