PRESERVING THE CORE VALUES OF THE AMERICAN LEGAL PROFESSION
The Place of Multidisciplinary Practice in the Law Governing Lawyers

Report of the New York State Bar Association Special Committee on the Law Governing Firm Structure and Operation  

The Special Committee is solely responsible for the contents of this report. Unless and until adopted in whole or in part by the Executive Committee and/or the House of Delegates of the New York State Bar Association, no part of the report should be considered the official position of the Association.

Albany, New York

April 2000

[The Special Committee | Table of Contents]

Special Committee on the Law Governing

Firm Structure and Operation

Robert MacCrate, Esq., Chairperson, New York, NY

Sydney M. Cone, III, Esq., Vice Chairperson, New York, NY

Steven C. Krane, Esq., Vice Chairperson, New York, NY

Members

Robert E. Brown, Esq., Rochester, NY

Robert E. Curry, Jr., Esq., New York, NY

Clover M. Drinkwater, Esq., Elmira, NY

A. Thomas Levin, Esq., Mineola, NY

Robert L. Ostertag, Esq., Poughkeepsie, NY

Erin M. Peradotto, Esq., Buffalo, NY

Joshua M. Pruzansky, Esq., Smithtown, NY

Kenneth G. Standard, Esq., New York, NY

Reporter

Prof. John David Leubsdorf, Rutgers School of Law-Newark, NJ

Advisors

Prof. Eleanor M. Fox, New York University School of Law, New York, NY

Prof. L. Harold Levinson, Vanderbilt University Law School, Nashville, TN

Executive Committee Liaison

Thomas O. Rice, Esq., Brooklyn, NY

NYSBA Staff Liaison

John A. Williamson, Jr., Esq., Albany, NY

Table of Contents

Introduction The Mission, Process and Report of the Special Committee

PART ONE APPRAISAL OF THE AMERICAN LEGAL PROFESSION IN THE YEAR 2000

Chapter 1 The Salient Changes in the Demography

• 1. Explosion in Numbers and in Use of Legal Services
• 2. Change in the Profession’s Gender Make-up
• 3. Opening the Profession to Minorities

Chapter 2 The Profound Effects of Specialization, Information Technology, Advertising and Law Practice Management

• 1. The Spread of Specialization
• 2. Information Technology in the Law
• 3. Advertising and Marketing Legal Services
• 4. Managing the Business of Lawyering

Chapter 3 The Differentiation in Practice Settings

• 1. The Variety of Practice Setting
• 2. The Core Sector of Traditional Practitioners
• 3. The Development of Legal Service Organizations
• 4. The Burgeoning of Entrepreneurial Practice
• 5. The Newly Pivotal In-house Counsel
• 6. Lawyers for Government

Chapter 4 Cooperative Arrangements With Other Professionals

• 1. Ad Hoc Cooperation Between Lawyers and Nonlawyer Professionals
• 2. Nonlegal Businesses of Law Firms and Dual Practitioners
• 3. Ancillary Businesses Conducted as Law Firm Subsidiaries
• 4. Ancillary Businesses in Which Autonomous Nonlawyers Have a Financial Interest
• 5. Law Firms in Which Nonlawyers Have a Financial Interest

Chapter 5 The Organization, Education and Maintenance of a Single American Legal Profession

Chapter 6 The Articulation and Enforcement of Professional Values

• 1. The Bar and the Courts
• 2. The Multiple Channels of Professionalization

PART TWO THE CHALLENGES TO MAINTAINING A SINGLE PUBLIC PROFESSION OF LAW

Chapter 7 Marketing Legal Services as Part of a Multidisciplinary Practice

• 1. The Metamorphosis in the Accounting Profession
• 2. The "Big Five" Phenomenon
• 3. The Regulation Today of the Discipline of Accountancy
• 4. Lawyer Recruitment and Employment By Accounting/Professional Services Firms

Chapter 8 The Globalization of American Law Practice

• 1. The Modest Beginnings
• 2. The Expansion Abroad of U.S. Law Firms
• 3. Professional Regulation

Chapter 9 A Survey of MDP in Selected Jurisdictions Abroad

• 1. Europe
• 2. France
• 3. United Kingdom
• 4. The Netherlands
• 5. Germany
• 6. Other European Jurisdictions (Austria, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland)
• 7. Ontario, Canada
• 8. New South Wales, Australia
• 9. Conclusions Regarding the Survey

Chapter 10 Identifying and Appraising the Factors Looking Toward Change 293

• 1. Increasing Transactional Complexity
• 2. The Growth of the Theory of "Market Regulation" and Consumerism
• 3. The Advance of Expert Systems
• 4. The Difficulty of Defining the "Practice of Law"
• 5. The Desire for Liquidity of Professional Interests
• 6. The Economic Power of Proponents of MDP

PART THREE ANALYSIS OF THE PRINCIPAL ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Chapter 11 Clients, the Public, Law Firms, and the Professional Responsibilities of Lawyers

• 1. Fiduciary Duties to Clients
• 2. Duties Arising From Lawyers’ Roles in the Adversary and Governmental Systems

Chapter 12 In The Public Interest, What Changes Should Be Made in the Law Governing Lawyers and Law Firms?

• 1. With Respect to Ancillary Services Offered by Lawyers and Law Firms
• 2. With Respect to Interprofessional "Strategic Alliances" and other Contractual Relationships Between Lawyers and Nonlawyers
• 3. With Respect to Lawyers Who Work for Organizations that Provide Consulting Services and Financial Productsto the Public
• 4. With Respect to the Unauthorized Practice of Law
• 5. With Respect to Nonlawyer Investment in Entities Practicing Law
• 6. With Respect to Transfers to Nonlawyers of Ownership or Control Over Entities Practicing Law
• New York Code Appendix A-1
• Model Rules Appendix B-1