Request for Comments
and Assistance on Multidisciplinary Practice and Ancillary
Business
The Special Commission on Multidisciplinary Practice and
Ancillary Business has been charged with enabling lawyers to
participate in business ventures not engaged in the practice of
law in conformance with The Rules Regulating The Florida Bar,
through research and development of business models, prototype
forms, ethical guidance and educational programs. The commission
was appointed after The Florida Bar Board of Governors June 2000
resolution against multidisciplinary practice, which the board
found inconsistent with core values of the legal profession.
The commission has studied rules adopted by the Appellate
Divisions of the Supreme Court of New York dealing with
“strategic alliances.” Strategic alliances may best be described
as an exclusive contract between a lawyer and another
professional service provider to refer matters to each other and
to work jointly on some client’s matters, the lawyer providing
legal services and the nonlawyer providing other professional
services. The commission has drafted proposed Rules Regulating
The Florida Bar adopting the concepts embodied in the New York
rules. The commission is seeking comments from The Florida Bar’s
sections and committees, and from the voluntary bars about these
rules before making a final recommendation to The Florida Bar
Board of Governors.
The commission also has developed two sample disclosure forms
that it suggests lawyers might use in connection with a lawyer’s
ancillary business. One form is for a lawyer’s use in referring
the lawyer’s client to the lawyer’s ancillary business. The form
discloses the lawyer’s interest in the ancillary business and
informs the client that the client will not have the protections
of the attorney-client relationship in dealing with the
ancillary business. The second form could be used for customers
of the ancillary business, to inform them that they do not have
an attorney-client relationship with the lawyer who owns the
business by virtue of being a customer. Neither of these forms
are required in order to comply with a lawyer’s ethical
obligations while engaging in an ancillary business. Any lawyer
is free to modify these forms to suit the lawyer’s individual
needs and concerns. The commission seeks comments on these
disclosure forms.
Finally, the commission seeks your assistance in investigating
alleged violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct engaging
in multidisciplinary practice. The bar has heard from members
who indicate that lawyers are engaging in prohibited fee-sharing
and assisting in the unlicensed practice of law routinely in the
state of Florida. Members of the bar who practice in
transactional law and other areas on a daily basis possess the
knowledge and information that will allow the bar to proceed.
The bar seeks your help to determine the parameters of what is
actually occurring in Florida. Any suspected violation of the
Rules Regulating The Florida Bar may be reported to Mr. John
Anthony Boggs, Director of The Florida Bar’s Legal Division, or
Deputy Division Director Mary Ellen Bateman.
Thank you for your assistance with the commission’s work. Any
comments regarding the draft proposed rules and the disclosure
forms may be provided to
Elizabeth Clark Tarbert, Ethics
Counsel, at The Florida Bar.
Sincerely,
John Hume, Co-chair William Kalish, Co-chair
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