Ethics Hotline & Opinions

ETHICS DOCKET NO. 1987-41

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MARYLAND STATE BAR ASSOCIATION, INC.

COMMITTEE ON ETHICS

ETHICS DOCKET NO. 1987-41

Advertising and Solicitation - participation in advertised lawyer referral program


You have been solicited by an out of state corporation to participate in a lawyer referral plan and you inquire whether this plan is violative of the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct. Your letter and enclosures state the following elements of this proposed plan:

1. Participating lawyer pays a monthly fee to the plan operator which fee purchases an exclusive right to all persons responding from the contracted zip code area.

2. Plan operator airs television commercials under the name ""Injury Helpline"" purporting to show citizens how to benefit from the legal system. These prospective clients are invited to call the plan operator's 800 number.

3. Plan operator then ""connects"" all responding persons within the contracted zip code area exclusively to the subscribing attorney.

Rule 7.2 (c) of the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct states:

A lawyer shall not give anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer's services except that a lawyer may pay the reasonable cost of advertising or written communications permitted by this rule and may pay the usual charges of a not-for-profit lawyer referral service or other legal service organization.""

  This Committee is of the opinion that for a lawyer referral system or other legal service organization to be within the exception of 7.2 (c), it must be not-for-profit. The ""Comment"" designated ""Paying Others to Recommend a Lawyer"" following Rule 7.2 clearly supports this position.

Therefore, assuming the subject ""Injury Helpline"" is not a not-for-profit system, a lawyer subscribing and paying the fee would be in violation of Rule 7.2 (c).

Additionally, Rule 7.2 (d) states:

""Any communication made pursuant to this Rule shall include the name of at least one lawyer responsible for its content.""

The information you provide does not indicate the required listing of an attorney and therefore the proposed plan is also violative of Rule 7.2 (d).


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DISCLAIMER: Opinions of the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA) Ethics Committee are an uncompensated service of the MSBA. This Committee’s opinions are not binding on the Maryland Court of Appeals, Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission, MSBA or this Committee. The reader is advised that subsequent judicial opinions, revisions to the rules of professional conduct, and future opinions of this Committee may render the Opinions stated herein outdated. As such, the Committee’s opinions are advisory only and neither the Committee nor the MSBA assumes any liability whatsoever with respect thereto. Accordingly, reliance upon the opinions of this Committee is solely at the risk of the user.