New York State Bar Offers Website Guidance to Freelance Lawyers

New York lawyers seeking freelance work solely from other lawyers can set up websites with their last name and the word “esquire” that don’t have to comply with attorney advertising rules, a recent state bar association opinion said.

But even if a freelancer doesn’t intend to set up a law firm, under state professional ethics rules, “the proposed [Surname] Esquire is a law firm governed by the same ethical provisions as any other law firm,” the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Professional Ethics said on March 10.

The past decades have seen a rise in freelance, or contract ...