1. IT
IS PERMISSIBLE TO PUBLISH PERIODICALLY IN THE CREIGHTON LAW REVIEW
AND THE NEBRASKA LAW REVIEW THE INQUIRER'S DIGNIFIED STATEMENT
OF AVAILABILITY AS A CONSULTANT TO OTHER LAWYERS.
IT
IS PERMISSIBLE IN A BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT ACCOMPANYING
AN ARTICLE ON SECURITIES LAW IN A LEGAL JOURNAL (SUCH AS A LAW
REVIEW OR OTHER LEGAL PUBLICATION CIRCULATED PRIMARILY TO LAWYERS)
TO STATE THAT THE AUTHOR IS AVAILABLE AS CONSULTANT TO OTHER LAWYERS,
BUT IT WOULD NOT BE PROPER TO STATE THAT THE AUTHOR SPECIALIZES
IN OR IS PRINCIPALLY ENGAGED IN THE PRACTICE OF A LIMITED FIELD
OF LAW FOR A SPECIFIED NUMBER OF YEARS YEARS.
3. REFERENCE
TO DR 2-105 (A) (3) IN A PERMISSIBLE ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT PROPER.
CODE PROVISIONS INTERPRETED:
DR
2-105 Limitation of Practice.
A
lawyer shall not hold himself out publicly as a specialist or
as limiting his practice, except as permitted under DR 2-102(A)(6)
or as follows: ... (3) A lawyer available to act as a consultant
to or as an associate of other lawyers in a particular branch
of law or legal service may distribute to other lawyers and publish
in legal journals a dignified announcement of such availability,
but the announcement shall not contain a representation of special
competence or experience. The announcement shall not be distributed
to lawyers more frequently than once in a calendar year, but it
may be published periodically in legal journals.
FACTUAL SITUATION
The inquirer spends the bulk of his practice in the field of securities
law, and he poses three questions:
1. Is it permissible to publish periodically
in the Creighton Law Review and the Nebraska Law Review a dignified
statement that he is available to act as consultant to other lawyers
in the field of securities law?
2. Is
it proper in a brief biographical statement accompanying an article
on securities law in a legal journal such as a law review to permit
a statement to be included to the effect that he acts as consultant
to other lawyers on matters of corporate securities law, or alternately
a statement that he has been principally engaged in the practice
of securities law for the past years?
3. Is it proper in such announcement to include
a statement that the announcement appears, pursuant to DR 2-105?
DISCUSSION
1. It is clear that DR 2-105(A)(3) permits
a dignified announcement to other lawyers by means of publication
in legal journals. The only question is whether the Creighton and
Nebraska Law Reviews qualify as "legal journals." It appears
that there can be no doubt that the law reviews do qualify as legal
journals and thus the publication therein would be permissible.
2. As to the biographical statement, it would
appear that the statement that the author acts as consultant to
other lawyers on matters of securities law would be proper, because
the publication is to be limited to a law review or other publication
circulated primarily to lawyers; thus this statement would qualify
as being published in a legal journal under DR 2-105(A)(3). Such
a statement would not be proper if published in other than a legal
journal. The alternate suggestion that the author was engaged in
the securities law practice for the past years would not be proper
in view of informal opinion no. 530 of the ABA stating that announcement
of years of practice is self-toting and improper. It would also
appear to conflict with DR 2-105, which prohibits a lawyer from
holding himself out publicly as a specialist or as limiting his
practice (with specified exceptions).
Reference to DR 2-105(A)(3) is not a proper inclusion in the announcement
to be published in the legal journals. The only permitted published
announcement is "a dignified announcement of availability,"
which should not include arguments or statements of compliance or
non-compliance with disciplinary rules or other factors beyond the
"dignified announcement of availability."
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