is analogous to DR 2-108

Rule 5.6(a) tracks DR 2-108(A) by prohibiting restrictive agreements, except in conjunction with payment of retirement benefits. Unlike DR 2-108(A), however, Rule 5.6(a) does not reference an exception in conjunction with a sale of a law practice, as that situation is addressed separately in Rule 1.17. Rule 5.6(b) is substantially similar to DR 2-108(B), except that Rule 5.6(b) prohibits restrictive agreements in connection with settling “a claim or controversy.” DR 2-108(B) uses the phrase “controversy or suit.” Comparison to ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 5.6(b) is modified to track current Ohio prohibitions relative to restrictive agreements. Specifically, Model Rule 5.6(b) prohibits restrictive agreements only in conjunction with the settlement of a “client controversy.” The Ohio version of Rule 5.6(b) does not limit the prohibition in conjunction with settling a claim on behalf of a client but, instead, prohibits restrictive agreements in conjunction with any “claim or controversy.” 152 RULE 5.7: RESPONSIBILITIES REGARDING LAW-RELATED SERVICES (a) A lawyer shall be subject to the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct with respect to the provision of law-related services, as defined in division (e) of this rule, if the law-related services are provided in either of the following circumstances: (1) by the lawyer in circumstances that are not distinct from the lawyer’s provision of legal services to clients; (2) in other circumstances by an entity controlled or owned by the lawyer individually or with others, unless the lawyer takes reasonable measures to ensure that a person obtaining the law-related services knows that the services are not legal services and that the protections of the client-lawyer relationship do not exist. (b) A lawyer who controls or owns an interest in a business that provides a law- related service shall not require any customer of that business to agree to legal representation by the lawyer as a condition of the engagement of that business. A lawyer who controls or owns an interest in a business that provides law-related services shall disclose the interest to a customer of that business, and the fact that the customer may obtain legal services elsewhere, before performing legal services for the customer. (c) A lawyer who controls or owns an interest in a business that provides a law- related service shall not require the lawyer’s client to agree to use that business as a condition of the engagement for legal services. A lawyer who controls or owns an interest in a business that provides a law-related service shall disclose the interest to the client, and the fact that the client may obtain the law-related services elsewhere, before providing the law-related services to the client. (d) Limitations or obligations imposed by this rule on a lawyer shall apply to both of the following: (1) every lawyer in a firm who knows that another lawyer in his or her firm controls or owns an interest in a business that provides a law-related service; (2) every lawyer in a firm that controls or owns an interest in a business that provides a law-related service. (e) The term “law-related services” denotes services that might reasonably be performed in conjunction with the provision of legal services and that are not prohibited as unauthorized practice of law when provided by a nonlawyer. 153 Comment [1] When a lawyer performs law-related services, sometimes referred to as “ancillary business,” or controls an organization that does so, there exists the potential for ethical problems. Principal among these is the possibility that the person for whom the law-related services are performed fails to understand that the services may not carry with them the protections normally afforded as part of the client-lawyer relationship. The recipient of the law-related services may expect, for example, that the protection of client confidences, prohibitions against representation of persons with conflicting interests, and obligations of a lawyer to maintain professional independence apply to the provision of law-related services when that may not be the case. [2]