99-1.

• Case Date: March 09, 1999
• Court: Kansas

Kansas Ethics Opinion 1999. 99-1. March 9, 1999KBA Legal Ethics Opinion No. 99-1March 9, 1999 TOPIC: Law firms sharing office space DIGEST: The use of a common reception area by two law firms which formerly was a single partnership does not, by itself, create confidentiality problems for a lawyer, so long as counsel refrains from discussing client matters in front of other clients or third parties, files are segregated, personnel are not shared, and the firms take reasonable steps to insure clients are apprised of the arrangement. The firms cannot imply through their firm names or other documents that they are a "partnership" of any sort. Fee sharing is permissible, and conflicts on future clients where different sides of the same controversy are represented do not automatically occur if appropriate separation is maintained. Date of Request: January 4, 1999 Reference: MRPC 7.5, 1.10. FACTS A law firm with six partners dissolves the partnership, and two new firms are formed, one with two lawyers from the former firm and the remainder in the second firm. The two new firms desire to remain in the same location and share office space, the telephone number and the receptionist and runners. The firms are in a bank building, and the directory of the bank identifies the two firms by new names. In the future, the new firm names will be placed in the reception area too. The firms share reception areas, conference rooms, central filing storage areas, copiers and fax machines. The firms do not share computer networks and have different software. Accounting programs are separate, as are the financial records. QUESTIONS 1. Because so many items in the office are shared, to what extent must the firms consult each other on conflicts of interest? 2. Can the conflicts be waived? 3. Since the firms do not share computers, are there means of checking conflicts in this situation? ANALYSIS Since the firms are in a position to cooperate, each firm should have a list of the current and past clients of the old firm as of the date of separation. Neither firm should take on a divorce client where the spouse was previously or is currently represented by an attorney from the old firm. As to the future, however, if there is an appropriate division of information and a true wall of confidentiality is created, we see no reason why future clients could each use the...