Multidisciplinary Practices: Prohibit or Regulate?

The formation of a multidisciplinary practice, or MDP, is a phenomenon that has arrived with great suddenness. At a recent program on the subject, fewer than 10% of the attorneys in attendance had heard of MDPs more than a year ago.1 The position to be taken by the organized bar towards MDPs is one of the most important issues facing the legal profession in the United States and throughout the world. Whatever position the bar takes on MDPs, it will have an impact on the practice of law for many years to come. It is sure to influence not only how we practice law, but also how we define ourselves as lawyers and how the public perceives us. This is an issue whose effect is not limited to only one segment of the bar. It is not a large firm issue or a small firm issue or a specialty issue. The decision to prohibit or regulate MDPs will affect virtually all practicing lawyers, no matter what their practice situation. In addition, the resolution of the MDP issue involves many of the fundamental core values of the legal profession that are not re-examined on a regular basis.