Formal Opinion No. 48 Partnerships With Non-attorneys [revising Formal Opinion No. 8]

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut,United States
• Citation: Vol. 73 Pg. 395
• Pages: 395
• Publication year: 2021
• topic: Advertising Law,Business of Law,Contracts,Trust Law,Civil Procedure

Connecticut Bar Journal Volume 73.

73 CBJ 395. FORMAL OPINION No. 48 PARTNERSHIPS WITH NON-ATTORNEYS [Revising Formal Opinion No. 8]

FORMAL OPINION No. 48 PARTNERSHIPS WITH NON-ATTORNEYS [Revising Formal Opinion No. 8]

A Connecticut attorney contemplates a practice providing a consulting and research service in the areas of taxation and estate and business planning. The services would be provided only to attorneys, and no advice, opinion or suggestion would be given directly to the hiring attorney's client - only to the attorney. There would be no interaction between the attorney who provides the consulting and research services and the lay client who would be the subject of the services. Further, at the request and direction of the hiring attorney, the consultation and research attorney would prepare and finalize documents, forms, and contracts for subsequent adoption by the hiring attorney.

The following questions have been submitted to the Committee regarding the proposed service:

Is it permissible under the Rules of Professional Conduct for a Connecticut attorney to enter into a partnership with a non-attorney for the purpose of providing the contemplated services?

If such a partnership is not permitted under the Rules, may an attorney hire as an employee a non-attorney who would assist the attorney in providing the contemplated services?

In regard to either...