Can a law firm keep using a former member's name in its trade name after that lawyer leaves and continues practicing law in the same community?

Plain-English summary

The inquirer formerly practiced law with other lawyers in a professional limited liability company. After that lawyer (called "Smith" in the inquiry) left and formed a separate limited liability company, the inquirer asked the lawyers in the old firm to stop using the departed lawyer's name. The remaining lawyers contended that the name had been trademarked and could therefore still be used. The inquirer asked whether lawyers may practice under a trade name that includes the name of a former member of the firm who has left and continues to practice law within the same community.

The committee concluded that a firm may not continue to use a former member's name as a trade name when the member has left the firm and continues to practice law in the same community.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2003, before the Washington State Bar Association's adoption of the 2006 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct, which revised the firm-name rules. 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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.

In practice

Under the Washington rules as they stood at the time of the opinion, the committee treated a firm's continued use of a departed lawyer's name in its trade name as impermissible where the departed lawyer continues to practice in the same community. Per the opinion, the conclusion turns on those two facts together, the lawyer's departure and continued practice in the same community; the committee did not treat a claimed trademark in the name as changing the result.

Common questions

Q: Can a firm keep a former partner's name in its trade name after that lawyer leaves?

A: The committee concluded that a firm may not continue to use a former member's name as a trade name when the member has left the firm and continues to practice law in the same community.

Q: Does it matter that the firm says the name is trademarked?

A: The inquiry noted the remaining lawyers' claim that the name had been trademarked, but the committee still concluded the firm may not continue to use the departed member's name as a trade name on these facts.

Background and rules framework

The opinion concerns Washington's firm-name rules. RPC 7.5 (corresponding to Model Rule 7.5) governs firm names and trade names, and RPC 7.1 (corresponding to Model Rule 7.1) prohibits false or misleading communications about a lawyer's services. Continuing to use the name of a lawyer who has left the firm and still practices in the same community presents the kind of public-confusion concern those rules address. Rule numbers reflect Washington's pre-2006 numbering.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• Model Rule 7.5 / Washington RPC 7.5 (firm names and trade names)
• Model Rule 7.1 / Washington RPC 7.1 (false or misleading communications about a lawyer's services)

See also

• WSBA Ethics Op. 1144: Using a Former Partner's Name
• WSBA Ethics Op. 1994: Firm Name, Relocated Partner Still Practicing
• WSBA Ethics Op. 1007: Name After a Partner Leaves

Source

• Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=1257

Original opinion text

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

Advisory Opinion: 2013
Year Issued: 2003
RPC(s):
Subject: trade name

The inquirer formerly practiced law with other lawyers in a professional limited liability company named “The Smith [a hypothetical name] Law Group”. Smith left the firm and formed a separate limited liability company under the name “The Family Law [a hypothetical name] Group”. Smith requested the lawyers in old firm to cease using his name after his departure, but they contend that the name “The Smith Law Group” has been trademarked and, thus, may be used by the remaining lawyers in the old firm.

The inquirer asks if lawyers may practice under a trade name, which includes the name of a former member of the firm who has left the firm and who continues to practice law within the same community?

The committee opined that a firm may not continue to use a former member’s name as a trade name when the member has left the firm and continues to practice law in the same community.