Can a law firm keep using a partner's name on its letterhead after that partner withdraws and opens a solo practice?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 1986. Ask about yours and see what the current Washington Rules of Professional Conduct say for your facts, with citations.
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The inquiry came from a lawyer who had withdrawn from a partnership and established a solo practice, while the former firm continued to use letterhead carrying the lawyer's name and the partnership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 Because the lawyer had withdrawn from the partnership and opened a sole practice, holding the lawyer out as part of the firm's partnership on the letterhead would be misleading and would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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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 Under this 1986 opinion, keeping the withdrawn lawyer's name and the partnership designation on the letterhead, after the lawyer had left to practice solo, was misleading and violated RPC 7.5.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A: Because it held the lawyer out as part of the firm's partnership when the lawyer had withdrawn from the partnership and established a separate solo office.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 The committee applied RPC 7.5 to a firm that continued to display a withdrawn partner's name and the partnership designation after that lawyer left.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
See also
- WA Ethics Op. 1005: Including a Non-Partner in the Firm Name
- ABA Formal Op. 90-357: The 'Of Counsel' Designation
- CA Op. 2004-167: Firm Trade Names and Government Titles
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.
What do the rules say today, for your facts?
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