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RPC 5.1 RESPONSIBILITIES OF PARTNERS, SUPERVISORY LAWYERS, AND LAW FIRMS.
(a) Every law firm, government entity, and organization authorized by the Court Rules to practice law in this jurisdiction shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that member lawyers or lawyers otherwise participating in the organization's work undertake measures giving reasonable assurance that all lawyers conform to the Rules of Professional Conduct.
(b) A lawyer having direct supervisory authority over another lawyer shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the other lawyer conforms to the Rules of Professional Conduct.
(c) A lawyer shall be responsible for another lawyer's violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct if:
(1) the lawyer orders or ratifies the conduct involved; or
(2) the lawyer having direct supervisory authority over the other lawyer knows of the conduct at a time when its consequences can be avoided or mitigated but fails to take reasonable remedial action.
RPC 5.2 RESPONSIBILITIES OF A SUBORDINATE LAWYER.
(a) A lawyer is bound by the Rules of Professional Conduct notwithstanding that the lawyer acted at the direction of another person.
(b) A subordinate lawyer does not violate the Rules of Professional Conduct if that lawyer acts in accordance with a supervisory lawyer's reasonable resolution of an arguable question of professional duty.
RPC 5.3 RESPONSIBILITIES REGARDING NONLAWYER ASSISTANTS.
With respect to a nonlawyer employed or retained by or associated with a lawyer:
(a) every lawyer, law firm or organization authorized by the Court Rules to practice law in this jurisdiction shall adopt and maintain reasonable efforts to ensure that the conduct of nonlawyers retained or employed by the lawyer, law firm or organization is compatible with the professional obligations of the lawyer.
(b) a lawyer having direct supervisory authority over the nonlawyer shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the person's conduct is compatible with the professional obligations of the lawyer; and
(c) a lawyer shall be responsible for conduct of such a person that would be a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct if engaged in by a lawyer if:
(1) the lawyer orders or ratifies the conduct involved;
(2) the lawyer has dire
RPC 5.4 PROFESSIONAL INDEPENDENCE OF A LAWYER.
Except as otherwise provided by the Rules of Court:
(a) A lawyer or law firm shall not share legal fees with a nonlawyer, except that:
(1) an agreement by a lawyer with the lawyer's firm, partner, or associate may provide for the payment of money, over a reasonable period of time after the lawyer's death, to the lawyer's estate or to one or more specified persons;
(2) a lawyer who undertakes to complete unfinished legal business of a deceased lawyer may pay to the estate of the deceased lawyer that proportion of the total compensation that fairly represents the services rendered by the deceased lawyer;
(3) lawyers or law firms who purchase a practice from the estate of a deceased lawyer, or from any person acting in a representative capacity for a disabled or disappeared lawyer, may, pursuant to the provisions of RPC 1.17 , pay to the estate or other representative of that lawyer the agreed upon price;
(4) a lawyer or law firm may include nonlawyer employees in a compensation or retirement plan, even though the plan is based in whole or in part on a profit-sharing arrangement; and
(5) a lawyer may share court-awarded legal fees with a nonprofit organization that employed, retained, or recommended employment of the lawyer in the matter.
(b) A lawyer shall not form a partnership with a nonlawyer if any of the activities of the partnership consist of the practice of law.
(c) A lawyer shall not permit a person who recommends, employs, or pays the lawyer to render legal services for another to direct or regulate the lawyer's professional judgment in rendering such legal services.
(d) A lawyer shall not practice with or in the form of a professional corporation, association, or limited liability entity authorized to practice law for profit, if:
(1) a nonlawyer owns any interest therein, except that a fiduciary representative of the estate of a lawyer may hold the stock or interest of the lawyer for a reasonable time during administration;
(2) a nonlawyer is a corporate director or officer thereof; or
(3) a nonlawyer has the right to direct or control the professional judgment of a lawyer.
ct supervisory authority over the person and knows of the conduct at a time when its consequences can be avoided or mitigated but fails to take reasonable remedial action; or
(3) the lawyer has failed to make reasonable investigation of circumstances that would disclose past instances of conduct by the nonlawyer incompatible with the professional obligations of a lawyer, which evidence a propensity for such conduct.
RPC 5.5 LAWYERS NOT ADMITTED TO THE BAR OF THIS STATE AND THE LAWFUL PRACTICE OF LAW.
(a) A lawyer shall not:
(1) practice law in a jurisdiction where doing so violates the regulation of the legal profession in that jurisdiction; or
(2) assist a person who is not a member of the bar in the performance of activity that constitutes the unauthorized practice of law.
(b) A lawyer not admitted to the Bar of this State who is admitted to practice law before the highest court of any other state, territory of the United States, Puerto Rico, or the District of Columbia (hereinafter a United States jurisdiction) may engage in the lawful practice of law in New Jersey only if:
(1) the lawyer is admitted to practice pro hac vice pursuant to R. 1:21-2 or is preparing for a proceeding in which the lawyer reasonably expects to be so admitted and is associated in that preparation with a lawyer admitted to practice in this jurisdiction; or
(2) the lawyer is an in-house counsel and complies with R. 1:27-2 ; or
(3) under any of the following circumstances:
(i) the lawyer engages in the negotiation of the terms of a transaction
in furtherance of the lawyer's representation on behalf of an existing
client in a jurisdiction in which the lawyer is admitted to practice
and the transaction originates in or is otherwise related to a
jurisdiction in which the lawyer is admitted to practice;
(ii) the lawyer engages in representation of a party to a dispute by
participating in arbitration, mediation or other alternate or
complementary dispute resolution program, the representation is on
behalf of an existing client in a jurisdiction in which the lawyer is
admitted to practice, and the dispute originates in or is otherwise
related to a jurisdiction in which the lawyer is admitted to practice;
(iii) the lawyer investigates, engages in discovery, interviews
witnesses or deposes witnesses in this jurisdiction for a proceeding
pending or anticipated to be instituted in a jurisdiction in which the
lawyer is admitted to practice; or
(iv) the lawyer practices under circumstances other than (i) through
(iii) above, with respect to a matter where the practice activity
arises directly out of the lawyer's representation on behalf of an
existing client in a jurisdiction in which the lawyer is admitted to
practice, provided that such practice in this jurisdiction is
occasional and is undertaken only when the lawyer's disengagement would
result in substantial inefficiency, impracticality or detriment to the
client.
(c) A lawyer admitted to practice in another jurisdiction who acts in this jurisdiction pursuant to sub-paragraph (b) above shall:
(1) be licensed and in good standing in all jurisdictions of admission and not be the subject of any pending disciplinary proceedings, nor a current or pending license suspension or disbarment;
(2) be subject to the Rules of Professional Conduct and the disciplinary authority of the Supreme Court of this jurisdiction;
(3) consent to the appointment of the Clerk of the Supreme Court as agent upon whom service of process may be made for all actions against the lawyer or the lawyer's firm that may arise out of the lawyer's participation in legal matters in this jurisdiction;
(4) not hold himself or herself out as being admitted to practice in this jurisdiction;
(5) maintain a bona fide office in conformance with R. 1:21-1(a) , except that, when admitted pro hac vice, the lawyer may maintain the bona fide office within the bona fide law office of the associated New Jersey attorney pursuant to R. 1:21-2(a)(1)(B) ; and
(6) annually complies with R. 1:20-1(b) and (c), R. 1:28-2 , and R. 1:28B-1(e) during the period of practice.
Official Comment by Supreme Court (November 17, 2003)
Three years from the January 1, 2004 effective date of the amendments to RPC 5.5 , the Supreme Court will have its Professional Responsibility Rules Committee undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the experience gained in multijurisdictional practice to determine whether any modifications to the RPC 5.5 amendments as adopted are necessary or desirable.
RPC 5.6 RESTRICTIONS ON RIGHT TO PRACTICE.
A lawyer shall not participate in offering or making:
(a) a partnership or employment agreement that restricts the rights of a lawyer to practice after termination of the relationship, except an agreement concerning benefits upon retirement; or
(b) an agreement in which a restriction on the lawyer's right to practice is part of the settlement of a controversy between private parties.
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