§ discipline

No improper fee-sharing or partnership profession

The lawyer must not share legal-practice fees or enter partnership for the practice of law with unqualified or disqualified persons except as expressly permitted.

22 cases 59% strike-off avg fine 15,750 6 with dishonesty finding

How the codes express this duty

E&W Solicitors SRA Principles & Code CCS 5.4 partial 20 cases
5.4 You must not be a manager, employee, member or interest holder of a business that: (a) has a name which includes the word "solicitors"; or (b) describes its work in a way that suggests it is a solicitors' firm; unless it is an authorised body.

SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs · 2019 · archived copy · official source ↗

E&W Barristers BSB Handbook rC149; rC150 partial
rC149 You must not share your fees with a person situated in a CCBE State other than the UK who is not a lawyer except where otherwise permitted by the terms of this Handbook or Rule rC150 below.

BSB Handbook · current · archived copy · official source ↗

Cayman Islands Legal Services Code 2026 no clear equivalent
AU Solicitors Solicitors' Conduct Rules Rule 40.1 strong
A solicitor must not, in relation to the conduct of the solicitor's practice, or the delivery of legal services, share, or enter into any arrangement for the sharing of, the receipts arising from, or in connection with, the provision of legal services by the solicitor, with: 40.1.1 any disqualified person; or 40.1.2 any person: (i) who has been found guilty of an indictable offence...

Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules · 2015 (June 2026 compilation) · archived copy · official source ↗

AU Barristers Uniform Barristers Rules r16 partial
A barrister must be a sole practitioner, and must not: (i) practise in partnership with any person; (ii) practise as the employer of any legal practitioner ... (v) be a member of a multi-disciplinary partnership; or (vi) hold or have any interest in a law practice, other than a barrister's own practice, whether directly or indirectly.

Legal Profession Uniform Conduct (Barristers) Rules · 2015 (as amended 14 May 2025) · archived copy · official source ↗

IE Solicitors Law Society Guide Ch10 — Fee sharing strong
A solicitor is prohibited by law from sharing professional fees generated by the provision of legal services by that solicitor, with a solicitor who does not hold a current practising certificate or with a non-solicitor, unless that person is a duly qualified legal agent in another country.

Solicitor's Guide to Professional Conduct (Law Society of Ireland) · 4th ed. (2022) · archived copy · official source ↗

IE Barristers Bar Code of Conduct Rule 7.11; Rule 8.4 strong
In the interests of maintaining the independence of the Bar a Barrister as an independent practitioner must not enter into any professional partnership or any other form of unincorporated association or seek to practice the profession through a corporate entity and the Barrister must not enter into any professional partnership or relationship (including the sharing of briefs) with another Barrister.

Code of Conduct for the Bar of Ireland · 2024 · archived copy · official source ↗

JM Attorneys Canons of Professional Ethics Canon IV(a); Canon II(a) strong 1 case
An Attorney may enter into partnership with one or more Attorneys but he shall not enter into partnership or fee sharing arrangements concerning the practice of law with non-qualified persons or bodies. ... [II(a)] An Attorney shall not hold out any person (not qualified to practise as a lawyer) as a partner, associate consultant or Attorney.

Legal Profession (Canons of Professional Ethics) Rules · 1978 (principal) · archived copy · official source ↗

JE Lawyers Law Society of Jersey Code R.9.1; R.11.2 strong
Without the prior approval of the Committee, members may only share fees/profits of their legal practice a) with other members (including partners) or former partners or dependants of former partners; or b) pursuant to a staff bonus scheme... A member must not practise Jersey law in a partnership practising Jersey law... with any person other than another member.

Law Society of Jersey Code of Conduct · 1 January 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗

ON Lawyers LSO Rules of Prof. Conduct r 3.6-7 strong
A lawyer shall not (a) directly or indirectly share, split, or divide their fees with any person who is not a lawyer or paralegal, or (b) give any financial or other reward to any person who is not a lawyer or paralegal for the referral of clients or client matters.

Law Society of Ontario — Rules of Professional Conduct · current · archived copy · official source ↗

BC Lawyers BC Code r 3.6-7 strong 1 case
A lawyer must not: (a) directly or indirectly share, split or divide his or her fees with any person other than another lawyer; or (b) give any financial or other reward for the referral of clients or client matters to any person other than another lawyer.

Code of Professional Conduct for British Columbia (BC Code) · 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗

NZ Lawyers Conduct & Client Care Rules r 9.13 / r 9.15 partial
The sharing of a fee between lawyers is permitted where all the lawyers concerned have provided regulated services in relation to the matter and the total fee is fair and reasonable. ... The sharing of a fee with a patent attorney is permissible provided that it complies with rules made pursuant to section 94(h) of the Act.

Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 · SR 2008/214 · archived copy · official source ↗

SCO Solicitors LSS Standards of Conduct no clear equivalent
SG Lawyers Professional Conduct Rules 2015 r 19 (Unauthorised persons) partial
19 Unauthorised persons

Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules 2015 · 2015 · archived copy · official source ↗

HK Solicitors Solicitors' Guide Principle 4.16 strong
Subject to the exceptions set out in rule 4 of the Solicitors' Practice Rules (Cap. 159 sub. leg. H), a solicitor shall not share or agree to share his profit costs with any person other than a practising solicitor.

Hong Kong Solicitors' Guide to Professional Conduct (Volume 1) · current · archived copy · official source ↗

HK Barristers Bar Code of Conduct paras 5.15 and 9.11 strong
A practising barrister cannot enter into partnership, employment or other similar relationship with another practising barrister or any other person in connection with his practice as a barrister. Two or more practising barristers may agree to share professional expenses ... but they may not (save as provided in paragraphs 6.25 to 6.26) agree to share professional receipts or agree that any one or more of them shall assume responsibility for the professional work of the other or others. ... no practising barrister shall share or agree to share with any person (including his clerk) his fees by paying a commission or otherwise a percentage of the barrister's earnings.

Code of Conduct of the Bar of the Hong Kong SAR · 2018 · archived copy · official source ↗

Cases dealing with this duty

Clear

22 decisions · link basis: found breached = a tribunal finding; rule cited = the mapped provision is cited in the decision; text match = high-precision text pattern

Duty classification does not yet cover every jurisdiction (Ontario, New Zealand and Singapore decisions are indexed but not yet duty-classified), so counts here understate those corpora.