What do the different abbreviations after lawyer names mean?

Question

There are numerous. I'm looking for anyone that could list them and answer what all mean and what they entail.

For example, ESQ, P.A., PLLC, etc.

Answer 1

"Esq" Is short for "Esquire" which was once the lowest level of the English system of titles for nobility and gentry (originally an esquire was a sort of apprentice knight, and later it indicated that a person was a "gentleman" but without any higher title) Lawyers started using it to indicate that although paid professionals, they claimed a social status above that of tradesmen and shopkeepers. It is now largely obsolete, but some lawyers still use it.

Most of the other initials refer to the form of business organization that a lawyer or law firm uses. More specifically:

• "PA" means "professional association" a form of organization which reduces the individual liability of members of the firm. See this q&A A pay is in many ways similar to a corporation or an LLC.

• "PLLC" means "professional limited liability company" which is a version of an LLC used specifically by groups of doctors and lawyers.

• "PLC" like "PLLC" means "professional limited liability company". The two terms are interchangeable when used for law firms, but PLC is also used for a Public Limited Company, which is a quite different sort of thing, and will not be a lawyer or law firm.

• APC, A.P.C., PC, P.C., and Prof. Corp. all stand for "Professional Corporation" a form of organization which is similar to a PLLC.

• "LLP" means "Limited Liability Partnership" a variation on the classic partnership organization.

• "SP" means "Sole Proprietorship", that is one lawyer working alone.

None of these tell you anything about the kind of law a lawyer or firm does. None except SP tell you anything about how many lawyers a firm has. And none tell you anything about how competent a lawyer is.

For the most part, none of these terms is of any importance to a client or would-be client of a lawyer or law firm. Reputation of the specific firm is far more important.