Ethics for Virtual Law Firms

Virtual offices are certainly permitted under the ABA’s Rules of Professional Conduct! The rules permit
virtual offices to operate under specific guidelines especially those pertaining to meetings and receiving
mail.

The concept of confidentiality runs deep in the legal profession. All lawyers have an ethical duty
of confidentiality. The ABA lists confidentiality as a heightened ethical concern when operating
a virtual law office. While it may be a valid concern, there are many ways for virtual firms to
protect the information of their clients. The ABA’s Model Rule 1.6 governs such disclosure.

The ABA refers to communication as a crucial aspect of the client-lawyer relationship. “Reasonable communication between the lawyer and the client is necessary for the client effectively to participate in the representation.”

Under the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct, “lawyers may state or imply that they practice in a partnership or other organization only when that is the fact.” Rule 7.5(d). Simply put, lawyers who are not partners are not able to hold themselves out as partners.