After a partner leaves a two-lawyer firm, can the remaining lawyer keep using the departed lawyer's name in the firm name?
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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.
Plain-English summary
The inquiry came from a two-lawyer firm where one lawyer accepted a position with a legal services agency, and the remaining partner asked whether the firm name could be used for a five-month wind-down period to save costs.
The committee concluded that after the lawyer assumed employment with the legal services agency, the firm could not continue to use his name in the firm name. It reasoned that doing so would be misleading and would violate RPC 7.5(d) because it would imply that a partnership existed where none in fact did.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1986, before the 2006 revisions to the Washington Rules of Professional Conduct. RPC 7.5 on firm names was later renumbered and amended (and the lawyer-advertising rules were broadly restructured). Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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 partner's name for a short wind-down period?
A: No. The committee concluded that after the lawyer assumed employment with the legal services agency, the firm could not continue to use his name in the firm name.
Q: Why was continued use of the name a problem?
A: The committee said it would be misleading and would violate RPC 7.5(d) because it would imply that a partnership existed where none in fact did.
Background and rules framework
The opinion interprets Washington RPC 7.5(d) as it stood in 1986, which barred lawyers from stating or implying that they practice in a partnership when that is not the fact (corresponding to Model Rule 7.5). The committee applied it to a two-lawyer firm whose partnership had ended when one lawyer left for a legal services agency.
Citations and references
Rules of Professional Conduct:
- Washington RPC 7.5(d) (firm name may not falsely imply a partnership), corresponding to Model Rule 7.5.
See also
- WSBA Ethics Op. 977: keeping a part-time lawyer's name in the firm name
- WSBA Ethics Op. 1005: firm name implying a partnership with a non-partner associate
- WSBA Ethics Op. 1007: letterhead and firm name after withdrawing from a partnership
Source
- Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=98
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
Advisory Opinion: 987
Year Issued: 1986
RPC(s): RPC 7.5(d)
Subject: Firm name including name of departed lawyer
[One lawyer in a two lawyer firm accepted a position with a legal services agency and his partner asked if the firm name could be used for a five month wind-down period to save costs.] The Committee was of the opinion that after you assume employment with [a legal services agency] your law firm cannot continue to use your name in the firm name because it would be misleading and would violate RPC 7.5(d) as it would imply that a partnership existed where none it fact did.
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