MS · rules
Miss. R. Prof. Conduct 5.4
PROFESSIONAL INDEPENDENCE OF A LAWYER
(a) A lawyer or law firm shall not share legal fees with a nonlawyer, except that:
(1) an agreement by a lawyer with the lawyer's firm, partner, or associate may
provide for the payment of money, over a reasonable period of time after the lawyer's
death, to the lawyer's estate or to one or more specified persons;
(2) a lawyer who purchases the practice of law of a deceased, disabled or
disappeared lawyer may pursuant to the provisions of Rule 1.17, pay to the estate or
other representative of that lawyer the agreed-upon purchase price; and
(3) a lawyer or law firm may include nonlawyer employees in a compensation
or retirement plan, even though the plan is based in whole or in part on a
profit-sharing arrangement.
(b) A lawyer shall not form a partnership with a nonlawyer if any of the activities of
the partnership consist of the practice of law.
(c) A lawyer shall not permit a person who recommends, employs, or pays the lawyer
to render legal services for another to direct or regulate the lawyer's professional judgment
in rendering such legal services.
(d) A lawyer shall not practice with or in the form of a professional corporation or
association authorized to practice law for a profit, if:
(1) a nonlawyer owns any interest therein, except that a fiduciary representative
of the estate of a lawyer may hold the stock or interest of the lawyer for a reasonable
time during administration;
(2) a nonlawyer is a corporate director or officer thereof; or
(3) a nonlawyer has the right to direct or control the professional judgment of
a lawyer.
History
[Amended August 20, 1998]. Comment: The provisions of this Rule express traditional limitations on sharing fees. These limitations are to protect the lawyer's professional independence of judgment. Where someone other than the client pays the lawyer's fee or salary, or recommends employment of the lawyer, that arrangement does not modify the lawyer's obligation to the client. As stated in paragraph (c), such arrangements should not interfere with the lawyer's professional judgment.
Provenance
- Source
- courts.ms.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-25
- Edition
- 2026-09-25
- Content hash
f6c921f8599b950d76e63b3d91c4dd3bd7fd207fdf051b81f19ef7dc0cc37943
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