Advertising, Solicitation, Judicial Ethics and Discipline: every key term you need (+ practice quiz)
25 flashcard terms for Professional Responsibility Topic 8, written to match the course framework. Study them here, then drill them as interactive flashcards, or test yourself with the 15-question quiz — free, no account needed.
Model Rule 7.1 forbids a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's services, meaning one containing a material misrepresentation or omitting a fact needed to keep the statement from being materially misleading.
Misleading results and testimonials
Reporting past successes or client endorsements is permitted only if not likely to create unjustified expectations, which usually calls for context explaining that results depend on the facts of each case.
Advertising generally permitted
Model Rule 7.2 allows advertising through any media, reflecting the First Amendment protection commercial speech by lawyers received in Bates and later cases, subject to the ban on false or misleading content.
Paying for recommendations
A lawyer may not give anything of value for a recommendation, except paying the reasonable costs of advertisements, usual charges of a qualified lawyer referral service, the price of a law practice, and nominal thank-you gifts.
Reciprocal referral arrangements
Nonexclusive reciprocal referral agreements with another lawyer or a nonlawyer professional are permitted if the client is informed of the arrangement, and the agreement must not be open-ended in duration.
Lead generation services
A lawyer may pay a lead generator only if the service does not recommend the lawyer, is not misleading about its own independence, and the payment does not otherwise amount to sharing legal fees with a nonlawyer.
Required contact information
Any communication about a lawyer's services must include the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for its content.
Firm names and letterhead
Model Rule 7.1 principles bar a misleading firm name, so a trade name may not imply a connection with a government agency or a charitable legal services organization, and a lawyer holding public office may not be named in the firm name while not actively practicing.
Claiming specialization
A lawyer may state areas of practice and may claim to be certified as a specialist only if certified by an organization approved by an appropriate authority or accredited by the American Bar Association, with that organization clearly identified.
Solicitation defined
Model Rule 7.3 defines solicitation as a communication initiated by or on behalf of a lawyer, directed to a specific person the lawyer knows needs legal services in a particular matter, and offering to provide those services.
Live person-to-person contact ban
Solicitation by in-person, live telephone, or real-time electronic contact is prohibited when a significant motive is the lawyer's pecuniary gain, because of the risk of overreaching a vulnerable person who cannot easily reflect or refuse.
Exceptions to the solicitation ban
Live solicitation is permitted when the target is another lawyer, a person with a family, close personal, or prior business or professional relationship with the lawyer, or someone who routinely uses the type of legal services offered for business purposes.
Coercion and duress in solicitation
Even a permitted solicitation becomes improper if the target has made known a desire not to be solicited or if the contact involves coercion, duress, or harassment.
Nonprofit and class action solicitation
Constitutional protection for associational advocacy allows a nonprofit organization to solicit members for litigation advancing political objectives, so the prohibitions target commercially motivated in-person contact.
Prepaid and group legal service plans
A lawyer may participate in a plan operated by an organization that uses live contact to enroll members, provided the plan is not owned or directed by the lawyer and the lawyer does not direct the solicitation.
Intake and screening obligations
Materials and staff soliciting business must not make claims the lawyer could not make directly, because Model Rules 8.4(a) and 5.3 bar accomplishing through another what the rules forbid the lawyer to do.
Model Code of Judicial Conduct structure
The judicial code is organized around canons requiring a judge to uphold the independence and integrity of the judiciary, avoid impropriety and its appearance, perform duties impartially and diligently, and limit extrajudicial and political activity.
Judicial disqualification standard
A judge must disqualify herself whenever her impartiality might reasonably be questioned, including personal bias about a party or lawyer, personal knowledge of disputed facts, prior involvement as a lawyer in the matter, and specified economic interests.
Economic interest of a judge
A judge is disqualified where she, her spouse, domestic partner, or a minor child living in the household has an economic interest in the subject matter or a party, however small, or any other more than de minimis interest that could be substantially affected.
Remittal of disqualification
For many grounds other than personal bias, a judge may disclose the basis on the record and, if the parties and lawyers agree without the judge's participation that she should proceed, the disqualification is remitted.
Judicial ex parte communications
A judge must not initiate or consider ex parte communications about a pending matter, subject to narrow allowances for scheduling and administrative purposes with notice, emergencies, settlement efforts with consent, and consultation with court staff or a disinterested expert with notice.
Judicial public comment rule
A judge may not make public statements that might reasonably be expected to affect the outcome or impair the fairness of a pending or impending matter in any court, and must require similar restraint from court staff.
Judicial extrajudicial activities
A judge may teach, write, and take part in civic or charitable organizations, but may not personally solicit funds except from family or fellow judges, may not serve as a legal adviser to others, and must avoid activities that cast reasonable doubt on impartiality.
Judicial political activity
Judges and judicial candidates may not act as leaders in a political organization, publicly endorse candidates for other offices, or make pledges inconsistent with impartial performance, and candidates in elective systems must use committees to raise funds.
Judicial supervision and reporting
A judge must require order and decorum, act patiently and without bias toward all participants, supervise court staff, and take appropriate action when receiving information indicating a substantial likelihood that a lawyer or another judge has committed a violation.