Committee on Professional Ethics — Spouses Sharing Office Space: Opinion 881

By Daily Record Staff
Posted: 6:40 pm Wed, February 1, 2012

NYSBA Committee on Professional Ethics

Spouses Sharing Office Space

Opinion 881

Background: The inquiring attorney asked whether it is permissible for her to use as contact information the address and telephone number of her spouse’s law firm as her own. She also asked whether the occasional use of a conference room at her spouse’s law firm would cause her to be “associated with” her spouse’s law firm.

Opinion: A solo-practitioner may not use the address and telephone number of her spouse’s law firm as contact information if the telephone is answered with the name of the spouse’s law firm unless steps are taken to avoid the misleading impression that the solo-practitioner is part of the spouse’s firm. However, the solo-practitioner’s occasional use of the conference room and telephone lines at her spouse’s firm do not render her “associated in” her spouse’s law firm for purpose of conflicts of interest.