ABA nixes multidisciplinary practices.

The American Bar Association in July voted to maintain its position that lawyers should not share fees with nonlawyers and that nonlawyers should not own or control entities that practice law. The 3-1 vote rejected the concept of multidisciplinary practice (MDP), which has been under review by lawyers and legal organizations for at least the last two years.

Multidisciplinary practices relax ethical and professional standards that preclude nonlawyers from practicing law and profiting from the ownership of law firms. Supporters of the arrangement say MDPs would save clients time and money by allowing them to do "one-stop shopping" and get a variety of professional services from one entity. Opponents of multidisciplinary practices argue that nonlawyer ownership of practices offering legal services would jeopardize the ability of lawyers to protect client confidences, lower client protections against conflicts of interest, and subject lawyers to interference with their professional judgment in representing clients.

The ABA's policy-making body, the House of Delegates, received a recommendation from the association's Commission on Multidisciplinary Practice that would have allowed lawyers to form practices with professionals from other disciplines, such as accountants, financial planners, and health care providers. The commission, which has held hearings and studied the issue since September 1998, said its proposal was carefully drawn to protect client confidentiality, client loyalty, and lawyer independence, and would have allowed lawyers to offer comprehensive services to meet client needs.

The House of Delegates disagreed, finding that MDPs would compromise the core values of the legal profession. ATLA was among several trial lawyer groups that opposed multidisciplinary practices out of concern that nonlawyer ownership of law firms would lead lawyers to put corporate interests before client interests.

The American Bar Association's rejection of MDPs is an advisory to states, which modetermine how to regulate the lawyers who practice in their jurisdictions.