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MARYLAND STATE BAR ASSOCIATION, INC.
COMMITTEE ON ETHICS
ETHICS DOCKET NO. 1989-25
Attorney’s Use of Diminutive Form of Name in filing formal documents
Your letter of inquiry asks us to consider whether it is unethical for an attorney to either (1) inscribe work-related stationery or (2) sign formal documents utilizing a diminutive form of the attorney's given name when the attorney is professionally licensed under his/her name as stated on his/her birth certificate or given name. By diminutive form, we mean only a shortened version of a first name, such as the use of Beth in lieu of Elizabeth or simply the use of initials; we do not include the use of a trade name in this regard.
I. May an attorney utilize work-related stationery which is inscribed with the diminutive form of his/her given name?
An attorney who practices law in the State of Maryland is licensed under the name used in registering with the Court of Appeals of Maryland, State Board of Law Examiners and the Client's Security Trust Fund. The Maryland Rules Governing Admission to the Bar specifically require an applicant to designate his/her ""full name"" in the application. Unfortunately, there is no corresponding law which specifies the proper form of the name an attorney must use in practice or, more particularly, whether a diminutive form of a given name will constitute the attorney's full name.
The Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct prescribe some general guidelines regarding a lawyer's general use of letterhead used in communications with clients and third parties. Rule 7.5, in conjunction with Rule 7.1, states that ""[a) lawyer shall not use a firm name, letterhead or other professional designation"" which constitutes ""a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's services."" Model Code DR 2-102 is substantially similar. The ethical considerations which underlay these Rules recognize the potential problem of allowing an attorney to use a trade name or an assumed name which may ""mislead laypersons concerning the identity, responsibility and status of those practicing thereunder."" EC 2-11.
An opinion issued by the Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas (Opinion No. 434, dated June 20, 1986) addressed this issue and states that a lawyer may not practice under an assumed name even though he is well known under that name. Although the degree of likelihood for deception or mistake is diminished, the problem endures with the allowance of the diminutive form of a licensed name.
Hence, because an attorney must practice under the name with which he/she is licensed and because an attorney's stationery is a primary medium for communication, an attorney's letterhead should reflect the same name. If an attorney, for whatever reason, desires to practice under a diminutive form of his/her name, the attorney should apply to affect a change in the register.
II. May an attorney sign formal documents with the diminutive form of his/her given name?
Neither the Annotated Code of Maryland nor the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct directly address the form with which an attorney must sign pleadings or other formal documents. The Annotated Code of Maryland simply requires that every pleading and paper of a party represented by an attorney shall be signed by at least one attorney admitted to practice in Maryland (Rule 1-311). The form of signature is not specified. However, Opinion No. 434 (referenced above) further provides that a lawyer is licensed under his legal name and must sign all pleadings accordingly. Consequently, we believe that any document which requires an attorney's signature must, at the very least, clearly designate the attorney's full legal name below the signature line.
An attorney's signature is the written symbol of his/her full name. It is a certification that the attorney has read the pleading or paper. A signature which uses the diminutive form of
person's given name (as compared to an assumed or incorrect name) is not, in and of itself, a false or misleading communication by or about the lawyer. Therefore, the use of the diminutive form in signing the document above the signature line does not appear to be a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
References: Model Rule 7.1 and 7.5 of the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct
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