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O'Rielly & Roche LLP | NYSBA Ethics Opinion 1288: A Trust Cannot Hold Ownership of a Law Firm

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O'Rielly & Roche LLP | NYSBA Ethics Opinion 1288: A Trust Cannot Hold Ownership of a Law Firm
February 20, 2025

Should Non-lawyers be Permitted to Own Law Firms?

In December, the Future of Lawyering Subcommittee of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL) issued its “Report Regarding Proposed Revisions to ABA Model Rule 5.4,” entering the intense debate over non-lawyer ownership and fee sharing. Read more from O’Rielly & Roche.

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When Is It Time to Consider a Law Firm Dissolution?

Law firm dissolutions happen for a variety of reasons. They are not always linked to the firm’s poor economic health or failed management. But the end of a law firm (or of certain partnerships or affiliations) marks a critical time for law firm owners and their clients and must be handled with the utmost care. 

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California Attorney Ethics Counsel

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NYSBA Ethics Opinion 1288: A Trust Cannot Hold Ownership of a Law Firm

Succession and estate planning for lawyers presents unique ethical challenges that do not arise in other professions. New York State Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics Opinion 1288 (December 19, 2025) offers a timely reminder that even carefully structured estate plans must comply with the Rules of Professional Conduct—particularly those governing nonlawyer ownership and fee […]

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San Francisco

1 Embarcadero Center, Suite 1200
San Francisco, CA 94111

PHONE 415-952-3002

LOS ANGELES

2121 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 800
Los Angeles, CA 90067

PHONE 213-437-3910

NEW YORK

1330 Avenue of the Americas, 23rd Floor
New York, NY 10019

PHONE 646-363-6332

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