APPLICATION FOR TRADE NAME REGISTRATION
This is an application to the North Carolina State Bar, pursuant to North Carolina Rule of
Professional Conduct 7.5(a), for the registration of a trade name for use by a law firm.
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Registration of a trade name may be denied, or a remedial disclaimer may be required, if a trade
name is potentially misleading.
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Fill in all of the blanks below (attach additional sheets if
necessary). If an inquiry is not applicable, please write “not applicable” in the blank.
Incomplete applications will be returned.
1. State the requested trade name. The trade name may not include a professional entity
designation (PC, PA or PLLC), because the inclusion of an entity designation in a trade name
is potentially misleading in violation of Rule 7.5(a).
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2. State the official/legal name of the law firm.
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3. The law firm is (check one):
sole proprietorship professional corporation
partnership professional limited liability company
limited liability partnership
4. List the street addresses and telephone numbers for all offices of the law firm:
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5. List the names and positions (owner, partner, shareholder, member) of all lawyers who are
principals with the law firm:
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State the number of lawyers who are employed by the law firm as associates.
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6. If the trade name includes the name of a lawyer who is deceased or retired, state the full
name of the lawyer(s), whether the lawyer(s) is deceased or retired, the dates that the
lawyer(s) was affiliated with the firm, and the position(s) that the lawyer held with the firm
(e.g., partner, shareholder, of counsel, etc.).
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1 The State Bar makes every effort to avoid the registration of trade names that are the same or deceptively similar to trade names that are already
registered with the State Bar. However, State Bar registration does not provide legal protection from infringement.
2 See N.C. Gen. Stat.
§
66-68(a) and (e) with regard to the duty to file a certificate of assumed name with register of deeds in each county in which
business is conducted under an assumed name.
3 The use of the names of deceased former members of a firm and the use of such designations as “Law Offices of John Doe,” “Smith and
Associates,” “Jones Law Firm,” and the like, does not render the firm name a trade name. Rule 7.5(a).
4 The NC Secretary of State’s Office requested this prohibition to avoid misleading members of the public who access its records for PCs, PAs,
and PLLCs.
