An ethical opinion, citing the example of a firm in the District of Columbia, will now modify the ABA's code of conduct, the Model Rules. The ABA's standing committee on ethics, said: 'Where there is a single billing to a client in such situations, a lawyer subject to the Model Rules may divide a legal fee with a lawyer or law firm in the other jurisdiction, even if the other lawyer or law firm might eventually distribute some portion of the fee to a non-lawyer, provided that there is no interference with the lawyer’s independent professional judgement.'

'Peacemakers'

The change of approach coincides with the publication of an article by Patrick Kelly, president of the California Bar, in which he urges lawyers to be more responsive to the needs of clients. According to Legal Futures, he wrote: 'It is time to refocus our thinking to include a more vital need in the current social and economic climate – our responsibility to act as problem solvers and peacemakers…With the decline in available court resources, this need is more critical than ever.'