WSBA 1986

Can a law firm keep using a partner's name on its letterhead after that partner withdraws and opens a solo practice?

Short answer: No. The committee concluded that continuing to use letterhead bearing the withdrawn lawyer's name and the firm's partnership designation, after the lawyer had withdrawn and set up a solo practice, would be misleading and would violate RPC 7.5.

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This page answers the general question as of 1986. Ezel answers yours: whether it's allowed on your facts, under the current rules of professional conduct in your state, with citations.

Disclaimer: Advisory only. Not binding precedent.

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) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

The inquiry came from a lawyer who had withdrawn from a partnership and established a solo practice, while the former firm continued to use letterhead carrying the lawyer's name and the partnership designation. The question was whether the firm could keep using that letterhead.

The committee was of the opinion that continuing to use the letterhead would be improper. Because the lawyer had withdrawn from the partnership and opened a sole practice, holding the lawyer out as part of the firm's partnership on the letterhead would be misleading and would violate RPC 7.5.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1986, before the 2006 revisions to the Washington Rules of Professional Conduct. 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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 a firm keep a departed lawyer's name on its letterhead?

A: Not in this situation. Under this 1986 opinion, keeping the withdrawn lawyer's name and the partnership designation on the letterhead, after the lawyer had left to practice solo, was misleading and violated RPC 7.5.

Q: Why was the letterhead misleading?

A: Because it held the lawyer out as part of the firm's partnership when the lawyer had withdrawn from the partnership and established a separate solo office.

Q: What rule applied?

A: RPC 7.5, which governs firm names and letterheads and the impressions they create about the lawyers practicing in a firm.

Background and rules framework

RPC 7.5 (Washington's version of ABA Model Rule 7.5) governs firm names and letterheads, including the use of a lawyer's name in a firm name or on letterhead. The committee applied RPC 7.5 to a firm that continued to display a withdrawn partner's name and the partnership designation after that lawyer left.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

ABA Model Rule 7.5 (firm names and letterheads)
Washington RPC 7.5

Source

Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=118

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

The Committee was of the opinion that it would be improper for your law firm to continue using letterhead using your name and partnership of the firm after you had withdrawn from the partnership and established your own office as a sole practitioner, because it would be misleading and in violation of RPC 7.5.

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