A partner with managerial authority in a firm is responsible for another lawyer's violation if:

A partner with managerial authority in a firm is responsible for another lawyer's violation if:

• A. The partner orders the violation.
• B. The partner, knowing of the conduct, orders or ratifies the conduct or has comparable managerial authority and direct supervisory authority.
• C. The partner has no knowledge of the conduct.
• D. The partner never supervises any lawyer.

Answer: (B)

Under MRPC 5.1, a partner with managerial authority is responsible for another lawyer’s violations when they know about the conduct and order or ratify it, or when they have comparable managerial authority and direct supervisory authority over the lawyer. This means accountability attaches not only to the act itself but also to situations where a supervising partner approves or tolerates the misconduct or has the power to direct the lawyer’s actions and fails to intervene. The correct option captures this full scope by including both actual direction or ratification and the presence of real supervisory authority. Simply having no knowledge or never supervising any lawyer does not meet the threshold for supervisory liability, and while ordering a violation would implicate responsibility, the broader standard encompasses ratification and supervisory control as well.

Under MRPC 5.1, a partner with managerial authority is responsible for another lawyer’s violations when they know about the conduct and order or ratify it, or when they have comparable managerial authority and direct supervisory authority over the lawyer. This means accountability attaches not only to the act itself but also to situations where a supervising partner approves or tolerates the misconduct or has the power to direct the lawyer’s actions and fails to intervene. The correct option captures this full scope by including both actual direction or ratification and the presence of real supervisory authority. Simply having no knowledge or never supervising any lawyer does not meet the threshold for supervisory liability, and while ordering a violation would implicate responsibility, the broader standard encompasses ratification and supervisory control as well.