Rule 5.4 Professional Independence of a Lawyer
Law Firms and Associations
Rule Text
(a) A lawyer or law firm shall not share legal fees with a nonlawyer, except that:
(1) an agreement by a lawyer with the lawyer’s firm or another lawyer associated in the firm may provide for the payment of money, over a reasonable period of time after the lawyer’s death, to the lawyer’s estate or to one or more specified persons;
(2) a lawyer who undertakes to complete unfinished legal business of a deceased lawyer may pay to the estate of the deceased lawyer that portion of the total compensation that fairly represents the services rendered by the deceased lawyer; and
(3) a lawyer or law firm may compensate a nonlawyer employee or include a nonlawyer employee in a retirement plan based in whole or in part on a profit- sharing arrangement.
(4) A lawyer or law firm may divide a fee with another lawyer or law firm that has nonlawyer owners or nonlawyer supervisors provided that:
(i) nonlawyer ownership of law firms is permitted in the jurisdiction whose professional conduct rules governs the other lawyer’s conduct;
(ii) the lawyer who divides the fee does not permit any nonlawyer to interfere with the lawyer’s independent professional judgment or with the client lawyer relationship; and
(iii) the division of fees with the other lawyer complies with Rule 1.5(g).
(b) A lawyer shall not form a partnership with a nonlawyer if any of the activities of the partnership consist of the practice of law.
(c) Unless authorized by law, a lawyer shall not permit a person who recommends, employs or pays the lawyer to render legal service for another to direct or regulate the lawyer’s professional judgment in rendering such legal services or to cause the lawyer to compromise the lawyer’s duty to maintain the confidential information of the client under Rule 1.6.
(d) A lawyer shall not practice with or in the form of an entity authorized to practice law for profit, if:
(1) a nonlawyer owns any interest therein, except that a fiduciary representative of the estate of a lawyer may hold the stock or interest of the lawyer for a reasonable time during administration;
(2) a nonlawyer is a member, corporate director or officer thereof or occupies a position of similar responsibility in any form of association other than a corporation; or
(3) a nonlawyer has the right to direct or control the professional judgment of a lawyer.