MINNESOTA COURT RULES

PROFESSIONAL RULES

Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board Opinions

OPINION NO. 8

Attorneys' Guidelines for Law Office Services by Non-lawyers

Except to the extent permitted by the Supreme Court of the State of Minnesota, (e.g., Student Practice Rules) neither law students nor any other person not duly admitted to the practice of law shall be named on pleadings under any identification.

Legal assistants, or other paralegal employees, may be listed on professional cards, professional announcement cards, office signs, letterheads, telephone directory listings, law lists, legal directory listings, or similar professional notices or devices, so long as the paralegals are clearly identified as such, and so long as no false, fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive statements or claims are made concerning said paralegals, their legal status and authority, or their relationships to the firms by which they are employed. Paralegals may use business cards so identifying themselves, which cards carry the law firm's name and address.

Such a paralegal, so identified, may sign correspondence on behalf of the law firm, provided he or she does so by direction of an attorney-employer.

Non-lawyers must be supervised by an attorney who is responsible for their work. See, Rules 5.3 and 5.5 and Comments, Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct.

	Adopted:	June 26, 1974.
	Amended:	June 18, 1980; December 4, 1987; January 26, 2006.