110518 NYEO, ETH 1157

• Case Date: November 05, 2018
• Court: New York

ETH 1157 Ethics Opinion 1157 New York Ethics Opinion New York State Bar Association Committee On Professional Ethics November 5, 2018          Topic: Legal and Non-legal Services Offered by a Single Entity          Digest: A lawyer who is a licensed professional engineer may operate both a law practice and an engineering practice in a single entity from the same office. The name of the law firm may not include reference to the lawyer’s engineering degree or practice, but the law firm may otherwise promote the lawyer’s engineering degree in listing the lawyer’s qualifications, as a branding device, or otherwise consistent with the rule governing lawyer advertising. Engineering is a non-legal service distinct from the rendition of legal services, and, as a result, the lawyer may overcome the presumption that the N.Y. Rules of Professional Conduct apply to the rendition of such services by advising the engineering client in writing that the services are not legal services and that the protections of the attorney-client relationship do not attach.          Rules: 5.7(a), 7.1, 7.5(b).          FACTS          1. The inquirer is a New York attorney and a licensed professional engineer. The inquirer wishes to establish a single-member professional entity – whether as a professional corporation or a professional limited liability company – to offer both legal and engineering services to the public. The inquirer would like to indicate the inquirer’s professional status as a licensed professional engineer in the name of this entity, and asserts a current intention to offer only one service (legal or engineering) to each client.          QUESTIONS          2. The inquiry presents three issues for consideration:

(a) May a lawyer offer legal services and non-legal services through a single professional entity out of the same office?

(b) May a lawyer include reference to the non-legal service in the name of the professional entity?

(c) Does the lawyer owe duties to clients of the lawyer’s non-legal services to clarify the lawyer’s status as a non-legal service provider?

         OPINION          3. The answer to the first question – whether the lawyer may use a single entity and office to provide both legal and non-legal services – is yes. Rule 5.7 of the New York Rules of Professional Conduct (the “Rules”) expressly contemplates that a law firm may offer both legal and non-legal services “to clients or other persons.” “For many years, lawyers have provided non-legal services to their clients. By participating in the delivery of these services, lawyers can serve a broad range of economic and other interests of their clients.” Rule 5.7, Cmt. [1]...