One question that comes up with some regularity is how to ethically navigate the situation where lawyers who practice law also have other businesses which provide goods or services, including businesses that are considered law-related businesses. The overall goal when this is the case is to ensure that no conflict exists when providing both legal and other services to a client, as well as to ensure that the client or customer of the other business clearly understands that the goods or services provided through the other business are not legal services, and being a client or customer of the other business does not give rise to an attorney client relationship.  

ABA Model Rule 5.7 speaks directly to the issue of lawyers who have a law-related businesses, which are defined as “services that might reasonably be performed in conjunction with and in substance are related to the…