After a name change from divorce, can a lawyer keep using her prior name professionally and in the firm name while using a different name personally?

Plain-English summary

After finalizing a divorce, the inquiring lawyer asked whether she could use her married name for professional activities and communications, and in the name of her professional services corporation, while using her maiden name in her personal capacity. She also asked whether another shareholder in the corporation could use her maiden name in professional communications and in the firm name while using her married name personally.

The committee said that when a lawyer assumes a new name in connection with a change of marital status, she is not prohibited from continuing to use her prior name in her professional capacity, but she must avoid misleading the public. It added that continuing to use the prior name in the name of the lawyer's firm does not, by that fact alone, make the firm name misleading, and that the lawyer must also comply with APR 13(c).

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2004, before the Washington State Bar Association's adoption of the 2006 revisions to the 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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 or admission procedure mentioned here.

In practice

Under the Washington rules as they stood at the time of the opinion, the committee allowed a lawyer to keep using a prior name professionally after a marital name change, with the limit that the use must not mislead the public. It said the firm name may retain the prior name without that fact alone making it misleading, and it pointed the lawyer to the name-change procedure of APR 13(c). The committee did not impose a requirement beyond the anti-misleading standard and compliance with APR 13(c).

Common questions

Q: Can a lawyer keep practicing under her former (pre-divorce) name?

A: The committee said yes, a lawyer who takes a new name on a change of marital status is not prohibited from continuing to use her prior name in her professional capacity, as long as she does not mislead the public.

Q: Can the firm name keep the prior name?

A: The committee said continuing to use the prior name in the firm name does not, by that fact alone, render the firm name misleading.

Q: Is anything else required?

A: The committee said the lawyer must also comply with APR 13(c), the admission rule governing a lawyer's name change.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applies the anti-misleading standard of RPC 7.1 (Model Rule 7.1, communications concerning a lawyer's services) and the firm-name principle of RPC 7.5 (Model Rule 7.5, firm names and letterheads) to a lawyer's use of a name different from the one under which she is licensed, and it directs the lawyer to APR 13(c), the Washington Admission to Practice Rule on name changes. The analysis turns on whether the chosen name misleads the public, not on which name the lawyer prefers.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• Model Rule 7.1 / Washington RPC 7.1 (a lawyer's communications must not be misleading)
• Model Rule 7.5 / Washington RPC 7.5 (firm names)

Court rules:

• APR 13(c) (Washington Admission to Practice Rule; lawyer name-change procedure)

See also

• WA Ethics Op. 1980: Middle Name in Firm Name
• WSBA Ethics Op. 1144: Keeping a Departed Partner's Name
• WSBA Ethics Op. 1152: Partner's Public Appointment and Firm Name

Source

• Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=1326

Original opinion text

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

Advisory Opinion: 2077
Year Issued: 2004
RPC(s): APR 13(c)
Subject: . Lawyer’s use of a name which is different than that under which the lawyer is licensed if used in a personal rather than professional capacity

The inquirer seeks the opinion of the Committee on whether, after finalizing her divorce, she may use her married name for professional activities and communications, as well as in the appellation of her professional services corporation, while at the same time using her maiden name in her “personal capacity”. Similarly, the inquirer also asks whether another shareholder in the professional services corporation may use her maiden name in professional communications and activities, as well as in the appellation of the professional services corporation, while at the same time using her married name in “her personal capacity”.

In response to the inquiry the committee opined that, in the event a lawyer assumes a new name in connection with a change of marital status, the lawyer is not prohibited from continuing to use their prior name in their professional capacity, but the lawyer must avoid misleading the public. In this situation, continuing to use the prior name in the name of the lawyer’s firm does not, by that fact, render it misleading. They must comply with APR 13(c), as well.