ABA-464
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| A lawyer may ethically share fees with another lawyer who is authorized to participate in the matter and share fees, even if that other lawyer practices in a law firm (in jurisdictions like the District of Columbia and the United Kingdom) owned in part by nonlawyers. Model Rule 5.4(a) generally prohibits fee-sharing with a nonlawyer, although it contains an exception "for firm compensation and retirement plans [which] depends on whether the profits being shared are 'tied to particular clients or particular matters.'" (citation omitted); "[A] division of a legal fee by a lawyer or law firm in a Model Rules jurisdiction with a lawyer or law firm in another jurisdiction that permits the sharing of legal fees with nonlawyers does not violate Model Rule 5.4(a) simply because a nonlawyer could ultimately receive some portion of the fee under the applicable law of the other jurisdiction."; Among other things, "there is no reason to believe that the nonlawyer in the [other jurisdiction] might actually influence the independent professional judgment of the lawyer in the Model Rules jurisdiction, who practices in a different firm, in a different jurisdiction." |