Kentucky Bar Association Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Kentucky Bar Association, with full citations and source links on every page.
No Kentucky Bar Association opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Can a Kentucky lawyer use a domain name that does not contain the lawyer's or firm's name, and can a law firm website be identified by the domain name alone?
A domain name unrelated to the lawyer's or firm's name is permissible only if it is not false or misleading and the linked site prominently identifies the lawyer or firm; a website identified by domai…
In Kentucky, may lawyers who are not in the same firm practice under a common name like 'Able, Baker, Charles & Dilbert, An Association of Attorneys'?
No. The opinion concluded that lawyers in separate firms may not use a common or umbrella firm name, because it misrepresents that they are one firm; a short association subtitle does not cure the mis…
In Kentucky, may lawyers who are not actually partners practice under a partnership name like 'Jones & Smith'?
No. The opinion concluded that practicing under a partnership name when the lawyers are not in fact partners is a false, deceptive, or misleading firm name prohibited by the rules, a result consistent…
In Kentucky, may lawyers form a separate mediation corporation under a trade name and solicit mediation business from attorneys, insurers, and the public?
Yes, with limits. The opinion concluded mediation is not the practice of law, so the corporation may use a trade name and solicit business, but any advertising identifying a participant as a lawyer mu…
In Kentucky, may a lawyer take part in cooperative (group-paid) advertising, and may a lawyer participate in a for-profit lawyer referral service?
Cooperative advertising is permitted in qualified form (lawyers may pay for advertising, but trade names are not approved and participants share responsibility for the content), while participating in…
May a Kentucky lawyer practice law for profit under a trade name, given that ABA Model Rule 7.5 permits non-misleading trade names?
No. The opinion concluded Kentucky lawyers may not practice under trade names; the Supreme Court deleted the trade-name language from Rule 7.5 and rejected trade names in Simon v. KBA, so the rule is …
Can a Kentucky lawyer whose office is set back from the road place a dignified nameplate on a sign or post shared with other businesses?
Yes. The opinion concluded a lawyer whose office is not visible from the main road may place a dignified nameplate on a post or display used by other businesses in the same or adjacent buildings.
Can a Kentucky firm add to its letterhead the name of a deceased relative, or a retired or disabled lawyer, who never practiced with the firm?
No. The opinion concluded that listing on a firm's letterhead a deceased relative, or a retired or disabled lawyer, who never practiced with the firm is misleading and impermissible.
Can two separate law firms describe themselves as affiliated or associated on their letterhead without misleading the public?
Yes. Refining KBA E-299, the opinion adopted ABA Formal Opinion 84-351 and concluded that firms may communicate an affiliation or association so long as the relationship is close and regular (not mere…
Could a Kentucky attorney practice law under a trade name in the mid-1980s?
No. The opinion concluded that DR 2-101(B) of the then-current Code prohibited practicing under a trade name; the Board declined to reach the legal and constitutional questions about that rule's conti…
Can three separate law offices share a common firm name or advertise that they are associated or affiliated on letterheads, cards, signs, and announcements?
No. Three separate offices that are not in fact a partnership may not use a common 'umbrella' firm name or hold themselves out as associated or affiliated, because doing so conveys the appearance of a…
When a law firm partner is elected to Congress, can the firm keep that partner's name on its firm name and letterhead?
Yes, but only if the member of Congress continues to actively and regularly practice law as a member of the firm; otherwise the name must be removed, and the firm and lawyer must avoid any suggestion …
Can a lawyer put the Scales of Justice symbol on a professional card and on letterhead?
Yes. The opinion concluded that the Scales of Justice, as the time-honored symbol of the practice of law, may be placed on a lawyer's professional card and letterhead, neither of which is advertising …
Can a lawyer have a lighted sign identifying the law office?
Yes. After Bates and In re R.M.J., the opinion concluded a lawyer may have a lighted law-office sign so long as it is not false, fraudulent, or misleading, and it modified the Committee's earlier sign…
Can one member of a law partnership be a professional service corporation while the firm is not?
Yes. The opinion concluded that a single member of a law partnership may be a professional service corporation, provided the firm's letterhead, cards, and other public representations disclose the P.S…
Can a law firm list a name and phone number in a city's telephone directory when the firm does not actually maintain an office there?
No. A telephone-directory listing that implies a firm is practicing in a city where it has no office is misleading on its face and is not permitted.
Can two Kentucky lawyers who are not partners hold themselves out as 'Jones & Jones,' and can a lawyer be a partner in more than one law firm?
No to the false partnership name: lawyers who are not in fact partners may not use a firm name that implies a partnership. As to belonging to more than one firm, the opinion gave a qualified yes, allo…
Can a Kentucky law firm run a newspaper announcement about new offices, new partners or associates, or a relocation?
Yes. The opinion concluded that since the Kentucky advertising rule SCR 3.135 took effect in 1978, a firm may publish such public announcements as long as they fully comply with that rule. It eliminat…
Can a Kentucky law practice incorporated as a P.S.C. operate under the name 'John Doe & Associates,' and may it use 'and Lawyers' or 'and Attorneys' instead?
Qualified yes. The opinion concluded a professional service corporation may practice as one member's name 'and Associates' if it employs two or more associates, but 'and Lawyers' or 'and Attorneys' is…
Can a lawyer advertise that he or she is in the general practice of law?
Qualified yes. Because the advertising rule lets a lawyer state the type of services rendered, including any limitation or concentration of practice, the committee found the words 'general practice' a…
Can a lawyer put a paralegal's name, address, and phone number on the firm's business cards and letterhead?
Qualified yes. The committee brought its earlier opinions into conformity with the Supreme Court's new paralegal rule (SCR 3.700), permitting a paralegal's name on cards and letterhead as qualified by…
Can a Kentucky lawyer form a 'partnership' with an out-of-state firm just to handle forwarded collection accounts and pay it a fixed cut of collections?
No. The committee found the arrangement a partnership in form only: the lawyers were not real partners, so holding out as such violated the firm-name rule, and the fixed fee split was an improper refe…
Can a law firm operate a 'legal clinic' under a geographic trade name that does not include any firm member's name?
No. A trade name like 'The Louisville Law Clinic' is barred as a misleading trade name that does not consist of the names of lawyers in the firm, and the geographic label could falsely suggest a conne…
Can a Kentucky firm list an out-of-state lawyer not admitted in Kentucky on its letterhead and office door?
Qualified yes. A Kentucky firm may list an Indiana lawyer not admitted in Kentucky on its stationery and office door, including as 'Of Counsel,' so long as the materials clearly indicate that the lawy…
Can a law firm give an office manager or paralegal a firm business card showing the nonlawyer's name and contact information?
No. Only lawyers' names may appear on a firm's professional cards and letterheads, so a firm card may not list an office manager or paralegal. The opinion was later modified by KBA E-223.
In a multi-state law firm, does every partner have to be admitted to the Kentucky Bar?
No. The committee answered that not every partner in a multi-state firm must be a member of the Kentucky Bar, deferring to its earlier opinion E-92 as the complete statement of the rules.
Can a law firm list a non-lawyer employee on the firm's letterhead?
No. Under this opinion a lawyer could not list an employee who is not licensed to practice law on the firm letterhead. The opinion was later modified by KBA E-223.
What can a Kentucky law firm put on its letterhead about out-of-state offices, of-counsel lawyers, and where its lawyers are admitted?
A firm may list bona fide out-of-state law offices, but may not show an of-counsel lawyer's separate office address or affirmative admission notations; non-admission notations are required only where …
Can a newly admitted lawyer give a local newspaper a biography and photo for a brief news story about starting practice?
Qualified yes. A factual, non-laudatory news announcement about a new lawyer is permissible; DR 2-101(A) bars only self-laudatory statements calculated to attract lay clients, and the test turns on la…
Can a law firm list its investigator, office manager, or medical assistant by name and title on its letterhead?
No. DR 2-102(A) prohibits letterhead content beyond its enumerated exceptions, and naming nonlawyer staff or their roles is not among the information DR 2-102(A)(4) allows.
Can a lawyer in private practice list a public office, such as county judge, on the firm letterhead?
No. The committee answered that a lawyer may not reference a position as county judge or other public official on private-practice letterhead, resting on the earlier Opinion KBA E-84.
Can a law firm's letterhead name a partner as the 'supervising partner' of a branch office, along with the branch address and resident associate?
Yes. The committee concluded that a letterhead may identify the partner responsible for supervising a branch office, because DR 2-102 permits listing firm members and the designation only helps client…
Can a Kentucky lawyer form an interstate law partnership, and can he list an out-of-state lawyer as an associate when their deal is really just fee-split referrals?
A true interstate partnership is fine if the letterhead discloses each lawyer's jurisdictional limits, but a referral-and-fee-split arrangement dressed up as a partnership, or listing the out-of-state…
Can a lawyer who is elected magistrate stay with his law firm and keep his name on the firm's stationery?
Yes. The committee concluded a lawyer elected magistrate may continue practicing with the firm and keep his name on the stationery, so long as it makes no reference to his elective office; but neither…
Can a Kentucky lawyer keep a branch office in another county, and what makes it a bona fide office?
Yes. The committee concluded a lawyer may maintain a branch office in another county if it is a bona fide office open during specified hours with qualified personnel present to take calls and make app…
Can a lawyer in private practice list a public office he holds on his private-practice letterhead?
No. The committee concluded that DR 2-102(A)(4) limits what an attorney may put on his private-practice letterhead, and a reference to a public position, legal or otherwise, is not among the permitted…
Can lawyers who take over a deceased attorney's practice keep her name in the firm name if they were never her partners?
No. The committee concluded that a firm may keep a deceased lawyer's name only in a continuing line of succession from a true partnership; lawyers who merely succeed to the practice without ever havin…
Can lawyers who share an office but are not true partners adopt a single firm name in Kentucky?
No. The committee concluded that lawyers whose relationship is something less than a true partnership may not adopt a firm name, because a firm name implies a partnership (shared responsibility and li…
Can a lawyer with a J.D. degree use the title 'Doctor' on business cards and letterhead?
No. The committee concluded a lawyer may not use 'Doctor' or 'Dr.' before his name on cards or letterhead, treating it as approaching advertising or solicitation, though placing the initials 'JD' afte…
Can a lawyer taking a government job hand his practice to a firm and become 'of counsel' to it?
Yes, with conditions. The committee concluded a lawyer entering government service could transfer his files and become 'of counsel' to a firm for a fixed retainer, provided he safeguarded client confi…
Can a Kentucky law firm keep a deceased partner's name in the firm name?
Yes. The committee concluded that continuing to use a deceased partner's name is not improper where local custom permits it and no deception results, here approving a name that showed the deceased par…
Browse Kentucky Bar Association opinions by topic
Legal ethics opinions from the Kentucky Bar Association interpret the rules of professional conduct for working lawyers, in response to inquiries from members and committees. They are not binding like court discipline decisions, but courts and discipline boards treat formal opinions as substantial guidance on how the rules apply. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the original source on the bar's site.