A partnership may be defined as the relationship which subsists between persons carrying on a business in common with a view of profit. The maximum size of a partnership is normally 20 persons although for certain professional practices such as solicitors and accountants the number can exceed 20 as long as such partnerships are registered under the Companies Act. Under most circumstances each partner is an agent of the firm for the purpose of carrying on the normal business of the firm. This means that individual partners can bind the other partners to contracts they negotiate on behalf of the firm. They may also recover from the partnership any funds they spend for the benefit of the partnership.