The New Jersey State Bar Association is joining with several other bar associations and organizations to support efforts to ensure the public receives the highest levels of legal support possible.
Resolution 402 is on Monday's agenda before the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates next week when it convenes in Chicago. In addition to New Jersey, the resolution is co-sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, as well as the ABA’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section and Small Firm and General Practice Division.
The resolution states that: “The sharing of legal fees with non-lawyers and the ownership or control of the practice of law by non-lawyers are inconsistent with the core values of the legal profession. The law governing lawyers that prohibits lawyers from sharing legal fees with non-lawyers and from directly or indirectly transferring to non-lawyers ownership or control over entities practicing law should not be revised.”
Supporters of the resolution say it is a critical time for the legal community to reaffirm those principles, particularly because “external forces threaten the profession to lessen its commitment to the public and to professional independence,” according to a report that was filed with the resolution.
The NJSBA has long been a leading national voice opposed to non-lawyers having any control over law firms. The concept presents many issues that are contrary to the notion of protecting members of the public and ensuring they receive the highest standards of legal representation.
“On behalf of our 16,500 members, the NJSBA does not believe the public, nor the profession, benefits from non-lawyers being permitted to provide legal services,” said NJSBA President Jeralyn Lawrence. “The central underpinning of the legal system is to make certain that each client is able to access a just, fair and impartial system where attorneys zealously advocate on their behalf, within the guardrails of the ethics rules which do not apply to nonlawyers. These are important protections that are specific to the legal profession.”
“The Association is steadfast in its conviction that the public is best served by the traditional and longstanding relationship that exists between the Judiciary and the profession, which bring with it necessary and vital responsibilities attorneys must uphold related to the ownership of law firms. The rules of professional conduct, the ethical obligations every attorney must follow provide important protections when it comes to the regulation of conflicts, financial and otherwise, that could threaten the interests of the clients we serve."
The NJSBA also supports several other pending resolutions to the extent that they advance a commitment to diversity and inclusion and in particular the diversity and inclusion goals adopted by the American Bar Association to promote full and equal participation in the association, our profession, and the justice system by all persons; and eliminate bias in the legal profession and the justice system.