Question of ethics

Q I am an English solicitor partner in a multi-national partnership in London.

The registered foreign lawyer partners are US attorneys, who have a separate US practice that is a New York LLP and has two offices in New York City.

I will be joining that US practice as a partner.

What are the professional implications for me?

A You will be subject to the Solicitors' Overseas Practice Rules 1990 in respect of your practice in the US.

These include accounts provisions relating to how client money must be held, the maintenance of accounting records and the need for an accountant's report.

As you will be a partner these requirements will apply to all client money held by the US practice (whether held in one or both of the US offices) even if you take no active part in the US practice.

Bear the following points in mind:

- If you are held out as a partner in the US practice you will be treated as a partner for the purposes of our professional rules irrespective of whether you enter into a formal partnership agreement in relation to the US practice.

- If you are dually qualified as an English solicitor and a US attorney and you practise as both through the US practice, you will be subject to the Solicitors' Overseas Practice Rules 1990 in relation to your practice as an English solicitor in the US.

You can only avoid that if you practise as an English solicitor solely through the multi-national partnership in London and you are not described or otherwise held out as a solicitor or as an English lawyer by the US practice.

- All solicitors have a statutory duty to inform the Law Society of all their practising addresses under section 84 of the Solicitors Act 1974.

This means that if you join the US practice as an English solicitor you will have to notify the registration department at the Law Society of all the practising addresses of that firm.

Your prospective partners in the US practice may not be aware of these requirements.

To avoid embarrassment you may want to discuss the requirements with them before you take up the partnership.

Question of ethics is compiled by the Law Society's professional ethics guidance team.

Send questions for publication to Austin O'Malley, the Law Society, Ipsley Court, Berrington Close, Redditch B98 0TD; DX 19114 Redditch