New York City Law Association Endorses Legal Ghostwriting

     In Opinion 742 dated April 16, 2010, the NYCLA expressly supported the practice of legal ghostwriting for the first time. The law association noted legal ghostwriting's close relationship to unbundled legal services in its opinion, which the New York State Bar Association expressly approved in 2009.

Excerpt: "Given New York’s adoption of Rule 1.2(c) and the allowance of limited scope representation, it is now ethically permissible for an attorney, with the informed consent of his or her client, to play a limited role and prepare pleadings and other submissions for a pro se litigant without disclosing the lawyer’s participation to the tribunal and adverse counsel…"

READ THE ENTIRE OPINION:

NYCLA Committee on Professional Ethics, Opinion 742. 

Topic: Can a lawyer ethically remain behind the scenes of a litigation and prepare pleadings and other submissions for a pro se litigant without disclosing the lawyer's participation to the court and adverse counsel? April 16, 2010.