A Virtual Law Office (VLO) is a facility that offers business services and work spaces to lawyers on an “as needed” basis. Virtually
Recently, the New York City Bar Ethics Committee offered guidance on whether a lawyer is permitted to use the street address of a virtual law office as a “principal law office address” for purposes of the Rules, even though most of the lawyer’s work is done at another location; and whether a lawyer may be permitted to use the street address of a virtual law office on business cards, letterhead, and law firm website.
The Committee’s analysis begins by noting that the intent of New York’s Rule 7.1(h) requires all lawyer advertisements to disclose the address of an office where a lawyer is present and available for contract and where personal service and delivery of legal papers could be delivered. The purpose of the principal office address requirement in the Rules includes that: “disclosure of physical address should facilitate a prospective client’s ability to make an intelligent selection of lawyer; . . . the absence of an address could be misleading by suggesting a physical proximity that does not in fact exist or the ability to service in jurisdictions in which the advertising firm or lawyer is not qualified to practice.”
The Committee found that each of these purposes can be served by the use of a VLO. First, the fact that a lawyer uses a VLO may be a relevant factor a prospective client considers in selecting or rejecting a particular lawyer. For instance, prospective clients may conclude that a lawyer using a VLO may be able to provide greater quality service due to lower overhead costs. Second, a VLO provides a physical location for clients to contract, or members of the public to meet or serve legal papers. Third, use of a VLO in advertising is not inherently misleading. Given the prevalence of alternative work arrangements, the Committee concluded that the general public would not necessarily assume that a physical street address is akin to a traditional, single-purpose, law office.
The Committee concluded that a lawyer “may designate the street address of a VLO as the ‘principal law office address’ for purposes of New York Rule 7.1(h) provided the VLO qualifies as an office for the transaction of law business under the Judiciary Law. In addition, the lawyer may use the VLO address on business cards, letterhead and law firm website. A lawyer who uses a VLO must also comply with all other ethical obligations, including duties under New York Rules 1.4, 1.6, 5.1, 5.3, 7.1(a), 7.1(h), 7.5(a)(4), 8.4(a) and 8.4(c).”
Check out Formal Opinion 2019-2 here.
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