PORTLAND — A state supreme court justice on Friday dismissed the disciplinary case of six partners in the Verrill Dana law firm who responded to thefts by their partner John D. Duncan, and issued a warning to the lawyers.

Maine Supreme Judicial Court Associate Justice Donald Alexander issued the order after a hearing for the lawyers who served as the Portland firm’s executive committee: David Warren, James Kilbreth III, Eric Altholz, Mark Googins, Roger Clement Jr. and Juliet Browne.

In December, the court found that the lawyers had violated an ethics rule requiring partners to make reasonable efforts to have policies to make lawyers in their firm act responsibly.

Duncan’s thefts were discovered in 2007. He stole about $300,000 from clients and the firm over 10 years, an audit showed.

He served two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to theft and tax evasion. He was disbarred for life.

The court agreed with Alexander that the firm’s executive committee did not violate a rule regarding when a lawyer must report another’s misconduct. The court remanded the case to Alexander for judgment consistent with its opinion, and for appropriate sanction.

Alexander found earlier that the lawyers acted in good faith based on the information they had at the time.

The Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar then appealed Alexander’s ruling to the supreme court.

The lawyers for the Verrill Dana partners had requested the outcome that Alexander delivered Friday, said Melissa Hewey, a lawyer with Drummond Woodsum who represented Kilbreth.

The bar counsel had asked for a reprimand, she said.

Hewey said it was important that no discipline was imposed, and that the judge recognized that the partners’ violation was a technical one.

J. Scott Davis, the bar counsel, did not return a call seeking comment.

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