Category: Advertising

New York has joined a growing list of states with ethics boards limiting an attorney’s ability to participate in online legal service providers like Avvo and LegalZoom. Similar to other jurisdictions, the New York ethics board authored an opinion honing in on the so called “marketing fee” charged by Avvo for attorney use of its website. Although the opinion declines to decide a list of other potential ethical issues with the company, it concludes that the “marketing fee” is actually a referral fee in violation …

Social media is ubiquitous in the workplace.  Professionals use social media to write about their achievements, to discuss developments in their field, and to promote their practices.  Professionals who use social media as an extension of their practice must be cautious, however, that the discussion of pending matters does not violate their duty of confidentiality to clients or expose confidential information that would prejudice others.

The potential liability for uncensored social media posts was recently brought to the forefront in a lawsuit in Florida federal …

We work hard. We achieve results. We want to develop business as a result of those successes. That’s all understandable since self-promotion is an important part of the development of professionals.  By touting personal achievements, professionals are better able to position themselves to compete for new clients.  Not surprisingly, many professionals include personal accolades in advertising materials. While the use of awards may be an effective advertising tool, if can also lead to ethical violations when done improperly.

The New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on …

Professionals love to advertise success stories. We want would-be clients to know the results we achieved for current clients. However, publicizing specific results could lead to the disclosure of confidential information. Professionals therefore must be cognizant of whether advertising a particular case or representation is likely to cause embarrassment or harm to the client, and ensure client confidentiality.

The New York State Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics recently issued an opinion regarding the ethics of client confidentiality in advertising.  The Committee considered a scenario …

Professionals are continuously looking for new ways to reach new clients.  Given the popularity of text messaging, many firms have considered incorporating SMS messaging into their marketing plans.  However, sending direct advertising to individuals’ cell phones could violate ethics rules on advertising and implicate federal laws prohibiting certain unsolicited telephone communications.

These issues were recently presented to the Florida Bar’s Standing Committee on Advertising by a criminal defense firm seeking to use text message in its advertising.  Specifically, the firm requested guidance on its plan …