Of counsel is a title given to an attorney in the legal profession of the United States who has a relationship with a law firm or an organization but is neither an associate nor partner. The American Bar Association Formal Opinion 90-357 defines "of counsel" as a "close, personal, continuous, and regular relationship" between the firm and counsel lawyer. The title is used for lawyers who have the experience of a partner but do not carry the same workload or business development responsibility. The term can also be used to refer to attorneys hired on a temporary basis to assist with a particular case.
There are different types of "of counsel" relationships, including:
- A part-time practitioner who practices law in association with a firm, but on a basis different from that of the mainstream lawyers in the firm.
- A retired partner of the firm who, although not actively practicing law, nonetheless remains associated with the firm and available for occasional consultation.
- A lawyer who is, in effect, a probationary partner-to-be.
- A permanent status in between those of partner and associate, having the quality of tenure, or something close to it, and lacking that of an expectation of likely promotion to full partner status.
The counsel position used to be reserved for very senior attorneys no longer in the partnership or for those who share a unique relationship with the firm, but the title is now used in a handful of different ways. The position can be flexible, and counsels are permitted to work across multiple law firms, although such a scenario is rather rare.
