Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee Topic: attorneys participating in fixed fee limited scope legal services referral programs The fixed-fee legal referral service works as follows: A for-profit business (the “Business”), which is not a law firm or lawyer-owned, assists in pairing up potential clients seeking certain legal services with lawyers who are willing […]
Texas Ethic Opinion 661 Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas Topic: Use of competing lawyer or law firm’s name as keyword in advertising services offered by search-engine companies Conclusion of the Committee: “A lawyer does not violate the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct by simply using the name of […]
On May 4, 2016, the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Attorney Advertising issued a notice to the Bar on “attorney advertising of awards, honors, and accolades that compare a lawyer’s services to other lawyers’ service”. After the Committee received numerous grievances regarding attorney advertising of awards – such as “Super Lawyers,” “Best Lawyers,” “Superior […]
Ethics Advisory Committee Topic: attorneys participating in websites providing a fixed-fee legal referral service From the Opinion The fixed-fee legal referral service works as follows: Attorney signs up for the service by agreeing to offer certain flat fee services. The fee for the service is set by the internet advertising directory website(service). The […]
Topic: Attorney Advertising and LinkedIn Digest: “An attorney’s individual LinkedIn profile or other content constitutes attorney advertising only if it meets all five of the following criteria: (a) it is a communication made by or on behalf of the lawyer; (b) the primary purpose of the LinkedIn content is to attract new clients to […]
On June 29, 2015, the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) released Opinion 1062, allowing law firms to engage in certain types of crowdfunding. Several law school graduates, who planned to start a small firm asked the NYSBA if it was ethically permissible to raise start-up funds via internet websites through “crowdfunding” to cover start-up […]
On July 31, 2015, Consiglio Nazionale Forense (Italian National Bar Association) (CNF) published its opinion concerning the possibility for attorneys to advertise their practice in stadiums. According to the CNF, there is no law prohibiting attorneys to hang posters in stadiums to advertise their area of practice, provided they comply with the relevant principles of professional conduct. […]
On September 22, 2015, the West Virginia Office of Disciplinary Counsel Legal Ethics issued a comprehensive opinion to provide the guidance for lawyers on the use of social media for both business and personal matters. West Virginia Office of Disciplinary Counsel Legal Ethics Opinion 2015-02 Lawyer Disciplinary Board – L.E.O. 2015-02 The Disciplinary Board provided […]
On September 16, 2015, Google filed a complaint in federal court against a Californian corporation that provides Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services. SEO companies help businesses to have their website rank high on search engines. According to the complaint, Defendant falsely claimed to represent Google, or to be certified and affiliated with it. Google also claimed […]
On June 15, 2015, the Italian Competition Authority (Antitrust Authority) clarified that lawyers are allowed to use any website – being it managed by the lawyer himself or by third parties – to promote their services in Italy. Based on this decision, Italian lawyers should finally be able promote their legal services on social networks like, for […]