Comment on Proposed Amendments Regarding Fee Sharing and Nonlawyer Ownership in Law Firms

May 14, 2026

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is soliciting written comments on proposed amendments to D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct 5.3 (Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistants), 5.4 (Professional Independence of a Lawyer), and 5.7 (Responsibilities Regarding Law-Related Services).

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. The changes would also ensure that nonlawyer owners are supervised by lawyers and reiterate protections of the professional independence of lawyers.

Additional proposed revisions would require disclosure and notice to prospective and existing clients if a lawyer's representation involves nonlawyer owners, require that law firms with nonlawyer owners register with the D.C. Bar and annually update the registration, require nonlawyer owners to complete the D.C. Mandatory Course on the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct and D.C. Practice, and clarify how District of Columbia attorneys may share fees and provide legal services with firms in jurisdictions that have less restrictive rules about nonlawyer ownership of law firms.

On April 14, 2026, the D.C. Bar Board of Governors voted unanimously to approve the revisions, proposed by the Bar's Innovations in Legal Practice Committee (ILPC). Read the Bar's letter to the court as well as the ILPC's final report of April 2026 here.

Comments must be submitted by August 12, 2026, either electronically to
[email protected] or by mail to Clerk, D.C. Court of Appeals, 430 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001.