of counsel

Of counsel is a designation provided by law firms for lawyers that are neither associates nor partners but are affiliated with the firm.

The ABA Formal Opinion 90-357 identified four different relationships that may be referred to as “of counsel”:

  1. “a part- time practitioner, who practices law in association with a firm, but on a basis different from that of the mainstream lawyers in the firm
  2. a retired partner of the firm who, although not actively practicing law, nonetheless remains associated with the firm and available for occasional consultation
  3. a lawyer who is, in effect, a probationary partner-to-be
  4. a permanent status in between those of partner and associate… but having the quality of tenure , or something close to it, and lacking that of an expectation of likely promotion to full partner status”

[Last reviewed in July of 2023 by the Wex Definitions Team ]

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