Bar Group Affirms Ban on Partnerships With Nonlawyers
The American Bar Assn. reaffirmed a controversial rule Tuesday forbidding lawyers from entering partnerships with nonlawyers, including accountants and financial planners.
The ABA’s House of Delegates, its policymaking body, passed a resolution strengthening its opposition to joint business arrangements, known as multidisciplinary practices.
The ABA’s rules prohibit a lawyer or law firm from sharing legal fees with a nonlawyer, or forming a partnership with a nonlawyer, if the activities involve the practice of law.
Last year an ABA commission, set up to study multidisciplinary practices, proposed lifting the ban against fee-sharing. The proposal resulted in such bitter debate that the ABA’s house voted to defer the matter for further study.
More to Read
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
