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A LAWYER OR A LAW FIRM MAY NOT ETHICALLY PLACE THE NAME OF SUCH LAWYER
OR LAW FIRM WITH ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER ON THE PAMPHLETS THAT
ARE MADE AVAILABLE BY THE NEBRASKA BAR ASSOCIATION FOR THE GENERAL
INFORMATION OF THE PUBLIC.
FACTS
The Nebraska State Bar Association presently furnishes nine brochures
with a display rack at nominal cost to Nebraska lawyers. The titles
to these brochures are: "What to do in Case of an Automobile
Accident", "Wills", "Are You Sure You Want to
Sign That?", "Landlord Tenant Law", "Joint Tenancy",
"Buying a Home", "Be a Good Witness", "Small
Claims Court", and "When You Need a Lawyer".
INQUIRIES MADE
A lawyer practicing in the State of Nebraska inquired as follows:
1. Would it be unethical to have a rubber
stamp or a stick-on label with our firm's name, address, telephone
number, and our individual names applied to these pamphlets?
2. Is this a permissible
form of advertising?
DISCUSSION
The ultimate question seems to be, "Does the use of the brochures
supplied by the Nebraska Bar Association as a vehicle for advertising
by an individual lawyer or firm by placing the name of the lawyer
or firm with address and telephone number thereon, violate the Code
of Professional Responsibility of the Nebraska State Bar Association?"
DR2-102 (A)
provides, "A lawyer or law firm shall not use or participate
in the use of professional cards, professional announcement cards,
office signs, letterheads, or similar professional notices or
devices, except that the following may be used if they are in
dignified form:"
Here follows
in some detail four exceptions. None of these exceptions seem
to be broad enough to permit the activity of which was inquired
notwithstanding the liberalization of DR2-101 on publicity.
Certainly if
the Nebraska State Bar Association brochures are made available
in a display rack in the office of a lawyer, all of such lawyer's
clients will know where they came from and said lawyer will be
given credit for furnishing the brochures.
It is the conclusion,
therefore, that both of the inquiries must be answered in the
negative.
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