Copyright 1995-1999 Touch N' Go Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No claim made to official government works.
Rule 5.6. Restriction on Right to Practice.
A lawyer shall not participate in offering or making:
(a) a partnership or employment agreement that restricts the rights of a lawyer to practice after termination of the relationship, except an agreement concerning benefits upon retirement; or
(b) an agreement in which a restriction on the lawyer's right to practice is part of the settlement of a controversy between private parties. (SCO 1123 effective July 15, 1993)
COMMENT
An agreement restricting the right of partners or associates to practice after leaving a firm not only limits their professional autonomy but also limits the freedom of clients to choose a lawyer. Paragraph (a) prohibits such agreements except for restrictions incident to provisions concerning retirement benefits for service with the firm.
Paragraph (b) prohibits a lawyer from agreeing not to represent other persons in connection with settling a claim on behalf of a client.
In 1990, the American Bar Association amended the comment to Rule 5.6 to include the following provision:
00This Rule does not apply to prohibit restrictions that may be included in the terms of the sale of a law practice pursuant to Rule 1.17.
The Alaska Supreme Court has declined to adopt this amendment.
PUBLIC SERVICE
These Court Rules were automatically converted to HTML (Hyper-Text Markup Language) format from electronic files provided by the Alaska Court System. Every effort has been made to ensure their accuracy, but neither Touch N' Go Systems, Inc., The Alaska Legal Resource Center, nor the Law Offices of James B. Gottstein are responsible for their accuracy or for any damages arising out of any possible inaccuracy. If any mistakes are found, please let us know at one of the addresses listed below.
Return to Touch N' Go Systems, Inc. Home Page.
Copyright 1995-1999 by Touch N' Go Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. No copyright claim is made to the text of the rules.
Last Modified 7/14/1999