Also known as: managerial authorities
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Authority held by a partner or by a lawyer who individually or together with others exercises comparable control within a law firm. This status imposes an obligation to implement reasonable measures that provide assurance all lawyers and nonlawyers in the firm will act in ways compatible with professional conduct rules.
Matthew Martinez, managing partner at a small firm, allowed each practice group to design its own ethics training without any firm-wide reporting or auditing requirement. One group used only informal shadowing, leaving junior lawyers without guidance on trust account rules. A client later complained about a commingling error by an associate from that group. The bar inquiry focused on whether Matthew had taken reasonable steps to ensure firm-wide compliance.
Mason McCarthy, a partner with overall managerial responsibility, hired a paralegal to handle client intake but never established written protocols for confidentiality or conflict checks. The paralegal inadvertently disclosed sensitive information to an opposing party. Mason learned of the disclosure yet took no steps to revise intake procedures or retrain staff. The resulting ethics complaint examined whether managerial authority required preventive measures for nonlawyer conduct.
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Mustafa Mahmoud, a partner with managerial authority, discovered that an associate had filed a pleading containing a false statement. He knew the filing could still be corrected before the court acted. Mustafa took no remedial steps and the court later sanctioned the firm. The disciplinary proceeding turned on whether his failure to act while consequences remained avoidable triggered responsibility under his managerial role.
A lawyer possessing managerial authority must make reasonable efforts to ensure the firm maintains measures that give reasonable assurance all lawyers will conform to the Rules of Professional Conduct. This duty is firm-wide and does not require direct supervision of every lawyer. Failure to implement systematic policies, such as training requirements or auditing procedures, can violate the obligation even when individual groups adopt their own methods.
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No. Managerial authority requires reasonable assurance of conformity across the entire firm. Permitting completely independent training without any reporting, cross-group audits, or verification leaves gaps that cannot be detected. A managing partner cannot rely solely on delegation to specialized groups when no mechanism confirms that measures providing reasonable assurance are actually in place for all lawyers.
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Responsibility arises when the lawyer knows of the conduct at a time when its consequences can still be avoided or mitigated yet fails to take reasonable remedial action. This standard applies to partners and those with comparable managerial authority. Knowledge alone is not enough. The failure to act while mitigation remains possible triggers liability.
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