LAWYER MARKETING: AN ETHICS GUIDE - McGuireWoods

Lawyer Marketing: An Ethics Guide

Hypotheticals and Analyses

ABA Master

McGuireWoods LLP

T. Spahn (2/8/18)

LAWYER MARKETING:

AN ETHICS GUIDE

Hypotheticals and Analyses*

Thomas E. Spahn

McGuireWoods LLP

* These analyses primarily rely on the ABA Model Rules, which represent a voluntary organization's suggested

guidelines. Every state has adopted its own unique set of mandatory ethics rules, and you should check those when

seeking ethics guidance. For ease of use, these analyses and citations use the generic term "legal ethics opinion"

rather than the formal categories of the ABA's and state authorities' opinions -- including advisory, formal and

informal.

______________________

? 2018 McGuireWoods LLP. McGuireWoods LLP grants you the right to download and/or reproduce this work for

personal, educational use within your organization only, provided that you give proper attribution and do not alter the

work. You are not permitted to re-publish or re-distribute the work to third parties without permission. Please email

Thomas E. Spahn (tspahn@) with any questions or requests.

9723312.24

Lawyer Marketing: An Ethics Guide

Hypotheticals and Analyses

ABA Master

McGuireWoods LLP

T. Spahn (2/8/18)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Hypo

No.

Subject

Page

Standards for Judging Lawyer Marketing

1

Possible Sanctions .....................................................................................

1

2

Constitutional Standard .............................................................................

10

3

Reach of State Ethics Rules: General Approach ....................................

36

4

Reach of State Ethics Rules: Websites ...................................................

43

General Marketing Rules: Content

5

Prohibition on False Statements ...............................................................

47

6

Self-Laudatory and Unverifiable Claims ...................................................

54

7

Depictions ...................................................................................................

70

8

Testimonials and Endorsements...............................................................

77

Law Firm Marketing

9

Law Firm Names .........................................................................................

89

10

Law Firm Trade Names and Telephone Numbers .................................... 112

11

Law Firm Associations and Other Relationships .................................... 121

Individual Lawyer Marketing

12

Use of Individual Titles............................................................................... 127

13

Areas of Practice ........................................................................................ 136

14

Use of Terms Like "Expert" and "Authority" ............................................ 148

15

Inclusion in Honorary Lists Such as "Best Lawyers in America"

and "Super Lawyers" ................................................................................. 153

16

Past Successes .......................................................................................... 166

9723312.24

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Lawyer Marketing: An Ethics Guide

Hypotheticals and Analyses

ABA Master

Hypo

No.

McGuireWoods LLP

T. Spahn (2/8/18)

Subject

Page

Other Marketing Techniques

17

Referral Arrangements ............................................................................... 180

18

Money-Back Guarantees ............................................................................ 187

Direct Mail

19

General Rules for Direct Mail ..................................................................... 188

In Person and Telephonic Marketing (Solicitation)

20

Different State Rules Governing Solicitation ........................................... 202

New Forms of Marketing Using Electronic

Communications and the Internet

21

Law Firm Websites: Content .................................................................... 220

22

Websites Offering Legal Advice but Attempting to Disclaim an

Attorney-Client Relationship ..................................................................... 228

23

Law Firm Domain Names and URLs ......................................................... 231

24

"Virtual" Law Firms .................................................................................... 235

25

Lawyers' Favorable Reviews on Other Websites..................................... 243

26

Intruding Into Other Law Firms' Internet Marketing ................................ 252

27

Internet Referral Arrangements ................................................................. 254

28

Firms' Joint Advertisements...................................................................... 267

29

Lawyers' Use of Social Media in Their Marketing .................................... 269

30

Lawyers Blogs ............................................................................................ 278

31

Daily Deals .................................................................................................. 286

32

New Forms of Marketing Using Automatic Means................................... 297

33

Texting and Social Media Postings ........................................................... 301

34

Characterizing the Intrusiveness of Electronic Marketing ...................... 307

9723312.24

ii

Lawyer Marketing: An Ethics Guide

Hypotheticals and Analyses

ABA Master

McGuireWoods LLP

T. Spahn (2/8/18)

Possible Sanctions

Hypothetical 1

Your state bar recently adopted new marketing rules. You are trying to convince

your partner to take the changes seriously. One partner has argued that your law firm's

risks are fairly low, because inappropriate lawyer marketing at most brings a "slap on

the wrist."

Can inappropriate lawyer marketing result in:

(a)

Greater likelihood of malpractice liability?

YES

(b)

Disqualification?

YES

(c)

Suspension of the lawyer conducting the marketing?

YES

(d)

Claims against the lawyer under state consumer protection laws?

YES

(e)

Discipline for violating state and federal laws governing spam faxes?

YES

(f)

Criminal charges?

YES

(g)

Suits against the lawyer for intentional interference with the relationship between

another lawyer and her client?

YES

9723312.24

1

Lawyer Marketing: An Ethics Guide

Hypotheticals and Analyses

ABA Master

McGuireWoods LLP

T. Spahn (2/8/18)

Analysis

The vast majority of lawyer marketing issues arise in the fairly benign context of

bars disapproving lawyer marketing in advance, or bars informally asking lawyers to

alter their marketing. But lawyers can sometimes face far more severe punishment.

(a)

The Restatement explains that a lawyer who touts his or her competence

or diligence might be held to that higher standard, which presumably would apply in a

malpractice case.

A lawyer's representations or disclaimers and qualifications

may constitute circumstances affecting what a client is

entitled to expect from the lawyer. Thus, a lawyer who

represents to a client that the lawyer has greater

competence or will exercise greater diligence than that

normally demonstrated by lawyers in good standing

undertaking similar matters is held to that higher standard,

on which such a client is entitled to rely. See Restatement

Second, Torts ¡ì 299A, Comment d. Likewise, a lawyer must

'exercise any special skill that he has.' Restatement

Second, Agency ¡ì 379(1). A representation may be made

directly, for example when a lawyer claims to be an expert or

specialist in a given field through an advertisement or listing

or by an assertion of specialization on a letterhead. The

representation may be on behalf of the lawyer in question or

of a law firm in which the lawyer practices.

Restatement (Third) of Law Governing Lawyers ¡ì 52 cmt. d (2000). (emphasis added).

(b)

In some situations, lawyers might face disqualification because they

engaged in improper marketing tactics.

?

(c)

9723312.24

Samuel Howard, Arent Fox, Elliott Greenleaf Tossed From UBP Ch. 11,

Law360 (Nov. 5, 2010),

(disqualifying the law firm of Arent Fox from representing a bankruptcy

creditor's committee, because the law firm had solicited creditors to serve on

the committee through an intermediary in China).

Lawyers violating ethics marketing rules can face ethics sanctions.

2

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