Ohio Board Advisory Opinion Op 89-011

The Supreme Court of Ohio
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ON GRIEVANCES AND DISCIPLINE
41 SOUTH HIGH STREET-SUITE 3370, COLUMBUS, OH 43215-6105
(614) 644-5800 FAX: (614) 644-5804
OFFICE OF SECRETARY
OPINION 89-11
Issued April 14, 1989
[CPR Opinion-provides advice under the Ohio Code of Professional Responsibility which is superseded by the Ohio
Rules of Professional Conduct, eff. 2/1/2007.]
SYLLABUS: Non-lawyer employees of a law firm may use the firm's letterhead as long as under
their signature they indicate their capacity with clarity including indicating that they are not
licensed to practice law.
OPINION: We have before us your request for an advisory opinion on whether an attorney's legal
assistant may sign letters using her own name on the attorney's letterhead if she designates herself
as a legal assistant.
A legal assistant employee of a law firm may sign letters using her employer's law firm
letterhead, provided that she is sufficiently identified as a legal assistant so as not to mislead the
receiver of the correspondence. ABA Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility,
Informal Op. 1367 (1976).
In conclusion, it is our opinion and you are so advised that a legal assistant may sign
correspondence on the letterhead of her employer's law firm stationary. Again, the legal assistant
should be clearly identified so as not to give the impression that the person is admitted to the
practice of law.
This is an informal, non-binding advisory opinion based upon the facts presented and
limited to questions arising under the Code of Professional Responsibility.