For purposes of this blog post, issues relating to social media for lawyers fall into two general categories: (1) What can a lawyer say and not say in social media? (2) What is misconduct in relation to a lawyer’s social media-related activities? Prohibited communications: California Rule of Professional Conduct 1-400 deals with what are impermissible […]
Social Media
Should I use social media to advertise my practice? What are the risks? Any time you post advertising content to your social media thread, it is a risky proposition, and the normal rules, 7.1 apply. Additionally, some municipalities require that you include disclaimers to make it clear to consumers that you are, in fact, advertising. Case result success […]
Links to Other Websites
Almost certainly, at some point in the course of your ecosystem development, you’ll be linking to other websites from your website, social media and your blog. There is no Model Rule on point, nor are there any formal opinions that I have found, that speak to whether a website visitor may be misled into thinking […]
Are You a “Specialist”?
Rule 7.4 of the Model Rules speaks to the use of the word “Specialist” and “Specialization” in certain areas of law. Different States have different ways of interpreting this, but based on my research, most States have taken Rule 7.4 exactly as it’s formulated by the ABA. “Lawyers shall not state or imply that they are […]
Statements About Contingency Fees
Often, personal injury attorneys will place potentially misleading statements on their websites such as, “No fees until we win!” With respect to statements like these, we must refer to Rule 7.1, which states that a communication is misleading if it omits a fact necessary to make the statement not misleading. While the Model Rules do not speak specifically […]