Not-so-Firm Rules
On the heels of American Bar Association and Illinois State Bar Association efforts to discourage nonlawyer ownership of law firms, Michael L. Shakman and Diane F. Klotnia describe in their November Illinois Bar Journal article, “Not-so-Firm Rules,” the rule changes adopted by other jurisdictions, those recently proposed in Illinois, ethical issues that arise under proposed and adopted new rules, and the multi-jurisdictional conflicts that inconsistent rules can generate.
They particularly focus on issues that arise when a lawyer seeks to use or have an ownership interest in an ancillary service provider that sells services to the lawyer’s clients; when a nonlawyer seeks to acquire an ownership interest in a law firm; and when a technology provider proposes to sell services to a lawyer’s clients that may be deemed the practice of law.