Also known as: area of practice · practice area · practice areas
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A specialized field of legal work that a lawyer or firm may sell as a distinct practice segment including its goodwill. The sale requires the seller to cease engaging in that field within the relevant geographic area or jurisdiction.
Alfred Ashford sold his higher-education law practice including client files and goodwill to Alliance Holdings. The agreement required him to stop that work in the city. After closing he opened a new office across town and began representing charter schools in employment and accreditation disputes that mirrored the sold matters. Because he continued the same area of practice in the same locality he violated the sale condition.
Antonio Alvarado placed an advertisement stating that his firm handled personal injury and real estate matters and that he was admitted in two states. State regulators sought to discipline him for listing those fields without additional qualifying language. The advertisement used common descriptive terms that were neither false nor misleading so the regulators could not prohibit it.
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The seller must cease engaging in the sold area of practice in the geographic area or jurisdiction where the practice was conducted. Failure to stop that work subjects the seller to discipline even if the sale documents and client transfers were otherwise proper.
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No. States may not ban truthful non-misleading descriptions of practice areas in lawyer advertisements. Such speech receives First Amendment protection and rigid rules that suppress it are invalid.
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No. The rule requires sale of the entire area of practice to one or more lawyers or firms. Transferring only selected clients while continuing the same type of work locally does not qualify as a proper sale.
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