Lawyer Ad's, Solicitation, & Pro Bono Services Flashcards
Rule 7.1: Communications Concerning a Lawyer’s Services
- A lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services.
- A communication is false or misleading IF it contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law, or omits a fact necessary to make the statement considered as a whole
Rule 7.2(a): Communications
(a) A lawyer may communicate information regarding the lawyer’s services through any media
Rule 7.2(b): Communications
(b) 5 exceptions: A lawyer shall not compensate, give or promise anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer’s services except that a lawyer may:
(1) a lawyer may pay for advertisements
(2) a lawyer may pay customary charges of a legal service plan or a not-for-profit or qualified lawyer referral service;
(3) lawyer may purchase a law firm and the clients w/such firm
(4) a lawyer may refer clients to another lawyer or nonlawyer professional under a referral agreement involving NO payment
• Agreement MUST not be exclusive
• Agreement MAY be reciprocal
• Client MUST be informed of it
(5) lawyer may give nominal gifts of appreciation as long as it isn’t expected or given as payment fir the recommendation
Rule 7.2(c): Communications
(c) A lawyer shall not state or imply that a lawyer is certified as a specialist in a particular field of law, unless:
(1) the lawyer has been certified as a specialist by an organization that has been approved by an appropriate authority of the state or the District of Columbia or a U.S. Territory or that has been accredited by the American Bar Association; and
(2) the name of the certifying organization is clearly identified in the communication.
Rule 7.2(d): Communications
(d) Any communication made under this Rule must include the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for its content.
Rule 7.3(a): Lawyer Solicitation
(a) “Solicitation” or “solicit” denotes a communication initiated by or on behalf of a lawyer or law firm that is directed to a specific person the lawyer knows or reasonably should know needs legal services in a particular matter and that offers to provide, or reasonably can be understood as offering to provide, legal services for that matter
Rule 7.3(b): Lawyer Solicitation
(b) A lawyer shall not solicit professional employment by live person-to-person contact when a significant motive for the lawyer’s doing so is the lawyer’s or law firm’s pecuniary gain
unless the contact is with a:
(1) lawyer;
(2) person who has a family, close personal, or prior business or professional relationship with the lawyer or law firm; or
(3) person who routinely uses for business purposes the type of legal services offered by the lawyer.
Rule 7.3(c): Lawyer Solicitation
(c) A lawyer shall not solicit professional employment even when not otherwise prohibited by paragraph (b), if:
(1) the target of the solicitation has made known to the lawyer a desire not to be solicited by the lawyer; or
(2) the solicitation involves coercion, duress or harassment
Rule 7.3(d): Lawyer Solicitation
(d) This Rule does not prohibit communications authorized by law or ordered by a court or other tribunal.
Rule 7.3(e): Lawyer Solicitation
(e) Notwithstanding the prohibitions in this Rule, a lawyer may participate with a prepaid or group legal service plan operated by an organization not owned or directed by the lawyer that uses live person-to-person contact to enroll members or sell subscriptions for the plan from persons who are not known to need legal services in a particular matter covered by the plan.
Rule 6.2: Accepting Appointments
A lawyer shall not seek to avoid appointment by a tribunal to represent a person except for good cause, such as:
(a) representing the client is likely to result in violation of the Rules or other law;
(b) representing the client is likely to result in an unreasonable financial burden on the lawyer; or
(c) the client or the cause is so repugnant to the lawyer as to be likely to impair the client-lawyer relationship or the lawyer’s ability to represent the client.
Rule 6.1(a): Voluntary Pro Bono Service
Every lawyer has a professional responsibility to provide legal services to those unable to pay. A lawyer should aspire to render at least (50) hours of pro bono public legal services per year. In fulfilling this responsibility, the lawyer should:
(a) provide a substantial majority of the (50) hours of legal services without fee or expectation of fee to:
• (1) persons of limited means or
• (2) charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters that are designed primarily to address the needs of persons of limited means; and
Rule 6.1(b): Voluntary Pro Bono Service
(b) provide any additional services through:
(1) delivery of legal services at no fee or substantially reduced fee to individuals, groups or organizations seeking to secure or protect civil rights, civil liberties or public rights, or charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters in furtherance of their organizational purposes, where the payment of standard legal fees would significantly deplete the organization’s economic resources or would be otherwise inappropriate;
(2) delivery of legal services at a substantially reduced fee to persons of limited means; or
(3) participation in activities for improving the law, the legal system or the legal profession.
- In addition, a lawyer should voluntarily contribute financial support to organizations that provide legal services to persons of limited means.
