Tallahassee partner Richard Greenberg addressed The Florida Bar’s Professional Ethics Committee during the Fall Meeting regarding an inquiry from a Florida lawyer seeking to invest in an Arizona entity that is expected to practice law in Arizona, but includes nonlawyer owners. The Florida Bar News wrote about the meeting and outcome in an article published on October 27, 2022 where Greenberg is quoted.

“We’re not asking for an ABS [alternative business structure] in Florida. We’re asking if lawyers in Florida can follow the rules in Arizona for an ABS,” said Greenberg. “I’m not sure that complying with the rules of Arizona presents an ethics problem in Florida.”

Greenberg pointed to the ABA’s Formal Ethics Opinion 499 as a potential precedent. Published in September 2021, the opinion states that, even if a lawyer is admitted to practice law in a jurisdiction that does not authorize non-lawyer ownership of law firms, a lawyer may passively invest in an ABS in another jurisdiction so long as the relevant jurisdiction permits those entities.

After spirited debate during the Fall Meeting of the Florida Bar’s Professional Ethics Committee, the committee voted in favor of having staff draft an opinion which would allow the inquiring Florida lawyer to invest in an Arizona entity that is expected to practice law in Arizona.

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