Lawyers should review ABA Rule 1.17 before buying or selling a legal practice. Some states have enacted versions of ABA Rule 1.17. Lawyers are urged to consult with ethics counsel.

ABA Rule 1.17: Client-Lawyer Relationship

A lawyer or a law firm may sell or purchase a law practice, or an area of law practice, including good will, if the following conditions are satisfied:

(a) The seller ceases to engage in the private practice of law, or in the area of practice that has been sold, [in the geographic area] [in the jurisdiction] (a jurisdiction may elect either version) in which the practice has been conducted;

(b) The entire practice, or the entire area of practice, is sold to one or more lawyers or law firms;

(c) The seller gives written notice to each of the seller's clients regarding:

(1) the proposed sale;

(2) the client's right to retain other counsel or to take possession of the file; and

Illinois attorneys should study the differences between Illinois Supreme Court Rule 1.17 and ABA Rule 1.17.

Ill. Sup.Ct. R. 1.17 -Sale of Law Practice:

A lawyer or a law firm may sell or purchase, and the estate of a deceased lawyer or the guardian or authorized representative of a disabled lawyer may sell, a law practice, including good will, if the following conditions are satisfied:

(a) The seller ceases to engage in the private practice of law in the geographic area in which the practice has been conducted;

(b) The entire practice is sold to one or more lawyers or law firms;

(c) The seller gives written notice to each of the seller's clients regarding:(1) the proposed sale;(2) the client's right to retain other counsel or to take possession of the file; and(3) the fact that the client's consent to the transfer of the client's files will be presu…