The American Bar Association Commission on Multidisciplinary Practice has recommended that the ABA Model Rules be changed to permit sharing of fees between attorneys and other professionals. Two ABA sections, the Taxation Section and the General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm Section, have endorsed this concept previously. If approved and adopted by individual states, this may lead to the formation of law firms that provide other professional services. The ABA House of Delegates is slated to vote on the proposed changes in August.
The reason for the suggested changes in the rules is competition. "Consulting firms" bring together various professionals to provide a full service package to clients. Accounting firms have increasingly entered the consulting business, employing many attorneys. Worldwide, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Arthur Anderson employ the third and fourth largest number of attorneys, behind only the law firms of Baker & McKenzie and Clifford Chance. It is already common for solo attorneys and small firms to have informal alliances with other professionals in their community. Life insurance agents often cooperate with estate planning attorneys, for example. Such arrangements conceivably could become formal fee sharing arrangements or partnerships under the proposed rules.
The impact of these proposed changes on lawyer liability is still uncertain. In some cases, the work of the various professionals could create significant conflicts in purpose. For example, a firm which provides accounting auditing services and legal representation for a client could find itself torn as to how to fulfill one function without compromising the other. Lawyers could find themselves responsible for the errors of accountants, engineers, or insurance agents with whom they are affiliated. Professional liability insurance could change if the suggested changes are adopted. Current attorneys' professional liability policies usually cover "legal services performed as a lawyer," and not other professional services.
TLIE is very interested in your views regarding this potential change in the legal profession, and how it could impact your liability. Please contact us by phone, letter or email if you wish. The Commission on Multidisciplinary Practice maintains a web site at http://www.abanet.org/cpr/multicom.html. Included on the site are reports, hearing information, comments, and hypotheticals. Comments to the Commission may be directed to Arthur Garwin, Center for Professional Responsibility, American Bar Association, 541 North Fairbanks Court, Chicago, IL 60611-3314, email agarwin@staff.abanet.org.
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