Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, I have recently developed an expertise concerning a new and complex federal regulation of the importation of spirits as a result of my work for a liquor industry client. I would like to develop a practice in the area but do not have any other contacts in the industry. With the assistance of marketing folks, I have now developed an industry list and a slick promotional piece highlighting expertise on the new regulation that I want to mail to every company on the list. Are there any ethical issues?
A: The various state enactments of the Model Rules vary substantially in the attorney solicitation and advertising rules (Rules 7.1-7.3), so please examine the rule in effect in your jurisdiction and any others that are relevant.
The current version of Model Rule 7.3 addresses “solicitation” of clients, defined as “a communication initiated by or on behalf of a lawyer or law firm 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.” It precludes solicitation by “live person-to-person contact” for the lawyer’s or law firm’s pecuniary gain, unless the contact is with a lawyer, a person with whom the lawyer or firm has a family, close personal or prior business relationship, or a “person who routinely uses for business purposes the type of legal services offered by the lawyer.” It does not address or prohibit solicitation by other means.
You propose a written solicitation campaign, and therefore it falls outside the prohibition of the rule. Even if your solicitation were in person, it would probably fall within the exception for a person who regularly uses legal services of this type for business purposes. You must comply, however, with certain provision of Rules 7.1 (no false or misleading communications) and 7.2 (re paid referrals, statements concerning specialization, and inclusion of responsible lawyer contact information).