Comment on Proposed Changes to D.C. Rules Pertaining to Nonlawyer Owners in a Firm

June 25, 2025

The District of Columbia Bar’s Innovations in Legal Practice Committee (ILPC) is seeking comments on proposed amendments to D.C. Rule of Professional Conduct 5.4(b) and its Comments. The proposed revisions would allow D.C. Bar lawyers to cooperate and share fees with nonlawyers in a firm where its “principal” rather than “sole” purpose is the provision of legal services to clients, and where any other services provided by the firm are law-related services. If adopted, the proposed changes to Rule 5.4(b) would eliminate an unintended inconsistency that arose between Rule 5.4(b) (adopted in 1991) allowing D.C. Bar lawyers to partner with nonlawyers only if the partnership or organization has as its sole purpose the provision of legal services to clients and Rule 5.7 (adopted 16 years later in 2007) allowing law firms without nonlawyer owners to provide law-related services.

The committee also proposes that if a lawyer’s representation involves nonlawyer owners, the lawyer must disclose this fact to a prospective client and give notice to existing clients. Additional changes are recommended to ensure that nonlawyer owners are supervised by lawyers and to reiterate protections of the professional independence of lawyers. Finally, the committee proposes that law firms with nonlawyer owners be required to register with the D.C. Bar and annually update the registration. Nonlawyer owners would be required to complete the D.C. Mandatory Course on the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct and D.C. Practice. 

In addition, the committee recommends minor changes to Rule 5.3, Comment [1] to correspond to a proposed change to Rule 5.4(b). Minor changes to Rule 5.7, Comment [9] would expand the examples of law-related services.

The ILPC’s “Report for Public Comment of the Innovations in Legal Practice Committee of the District of Columbia Bar” (June 2025) can be found here. 

Comments must be in writing. Any future publications referencing the comments received will not include details that would identify commenters, regardless of whether feedback is submitted in an individual capacity or on behalf of a group or organization. Written comments should be submitted by email to [email protected] no later than 5 p.m. on August 25, 2025 (60 days after publication of the call for comment). 

The committee’s final recommendations will be transmitted to the Bar’s Board of Governors, which in turn will decide whether to forward such recommendations to the D.C. Court of Appeals for its consideration.