Non-Lawyer “Officers” Barred By Texas Ethics Committee

The Texas Bar’s Professional Ethics Committee last month said that no law firms in the state could give non-lawyer employees the designation of “officer” or “principal.” Non-lawyers in the state are not allowed to have ownership interests in a law firm and, the committee explained, terms that connote ownership like “principal” are therefore misleading to the public. The committee also ruled out the practice of tying bonuses for non-lawyer employees to firm revenue or profit. Doing so would “provide incentive for the firm’s non-lawyer employees to increase revenues … which could be accomplished by interfering with a lawyer’s independent judgment in practicing law,” the ethics committee wrote.