Summary
approving corporate name where it did not violate the Rules of Professional Conduct
Summary of this case from Petition for Trade NameOpinion
Misc. No. 21, September Term, 1986.
April 3, 1987.
Submitted to MURPHY, C.J., and ELDRIDGE, COLE, RODOWSKY, COUCH, McAULIFFE and ADKINS, JJ.
ORDER
The Court having considered the petition for certificate of authorization for corporate name — Lord Whip, P.A. and the response to the petition filed by the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland, indicating that the use of the name, Lord Whip, P.A. would not be in violation of the appropriate sections of the Corporation and Associations Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland and Rules 7.1 and 7.5 of the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct, it is this 3rd day of April 1987
ORDERED, by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, that the petition be, and it is hereby, granted and the petitioner is authorized to change its name to Lord Whip, P.A.
COLE, J., dissents.
In this petition the law firm of Lord, Whip, Coughlan Green, P.A. seeks a certificate of authorization to change its name to Lord Whip, P.A.J. Walter Lord and George W.P. Whip were former partners of the petitioner and are now long deceased. Rule 7.5 of the Maryland Lawyers' Rules of Professional Conduct governs the use of law firm names and forbids those that are "false or misleading." When the Rule was adopted I stated that I did not concur with that portion of the Comment to Rule 7.5 that states: "A firm may be designated . . . by the names of deceased . . . members. . . ." I believed then that it was false and misleading for a firm to state as part of its name the name of a lawyer who has been deceased for more than five years. My view today is unchanged. I therefore would not grant the certificate of authorization in this case.