Your firm name is important. It often provides the first impression your clients have of your firm. It is your corporate identity, your nom de guerre, and for some it can be an ethics violation. The ABA Journal is reporting that solos who add “and Associates” to their firm names may be in violation of ethics rules.

After reading the ABA Journal article, I called the Minnesota Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board and confirmed that they agree that were a solo to add “and Associates” to their firm name, they would not be making a truthful representation. This also applies to phrases such as “The Law Offices of …” if there is only one physical office, “and Associates” if there is only one associate, “and Associate” if the person referred to by the word associate is not an attorney (paralegals don’t count).