Pennsylvania Code › Title 204 - JUDICIAL SYSTEM GENERAL PROVISIONS › Part V - PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND CONDUCT › Subpart A - PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY › Chapter 81 - RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT › Subchapter A - RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT › INFORMATION ABOUT LEGAL SERVICES › Rule 7.5 - Firm Names and Letterheads

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a) A
						lawyer shall not use a firm name, letterhead or other professional designation
						that violates Rule
						7.1. A trade name may be used by
						a lawyer in private practice if it does not imply a connection with a
						government, government agency or with a public or charitable legal services
						organization and is not otherwise in violation of Rule
						7.1. If otherwise lawful a firm
						may use as, or continue to include in, its name, the name or names of one or
						more deceased or retired members of the firm or of a predecessor firm in a
						continuing line of succession.
(b)
						A law firm with offices in more than one jurisdiction may use the same name or
						other professional designation in each jurisdiction, but identification of the
						lawyers in an office of the firm shall indicate the jurisdictional limitations
						on those not licensed to practice in the jurisdiction where the office is
						located.
(c) The name of a lawyer
						holding a public office shall not be used in the name of a law firm, or in
						communications on its behalf, during any substantial period in which the lawyer
						is not actively and regularly practicing with the firm.
(d) Lawyers shall not state or imply that
						they practice in a partnership or other organization unless that is the fact.
Comment:
(1) A firm may be designated by the names of
						all or some of its members, by the names of deceased members where there has
						been a continuing succession in the firm's identity or by a trade name such as
						the "ABC Legal Clinic." A lawyer or law firm may also be designated by a
						distinctive website address or comparable professional designation. Although
						the United States Supreme Court has held that legislation may prohibit the use
						of trade names in professional practice, use of such names in law practice is
						acceptable so long as it is not misleading. If a private firm uses a trade name
						that includes a geographical name such as "Springfield Legal Clinic," an
						express disclaimer that it is a public legal aid agency may be required to
						avoid a misleading implication. It may be observed that any firm name including
						the name of a deceased partner is, strictly speaking, a trade name. The use of
						such names to designate law firms has proven a useful means of identification.
						However, it is misleading to use the name of a lawyer not associated with the
						firm or a predecessor of the firm, or the name of a nonlawyer.
(2) With regard to paragraph (d), lawyers
						sharing office facilities, but who are not in fact associated with each other
						in a law firm, may not denominate themselves as, for example, "Smith and
						Jones," for that title suggests that they are practicing law together in a
						firm.