May a for-profit Arizona law firm use a .org website address?
Short answer The opinion says a for-profit law firm's mere use of a .org domain does not violate Arizona's professional-conduct rules. The address still cannot falsely imply nonprofit or government affiliation or otherwise mislead; Opinion 01-05 is modified accordingly.
Bar
AZBAR
Issued
2011
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 2011. Ask about yours and see what the current Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct say for your facts, with citations.
Currency note: this opinion is from 2011
Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later opinions or rule amendments may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
How much weight this carries: Reliance on a final opinion of the Arizona Supreme Court's Attorney Ethics Advisory Committee (opinions since 2019) can be raised as a defense in a discipline proceeding (Ariz. R. Sup. Ct. 42.1(l)). Earlier State Bar of Arizona opinions are advisory only.
Source.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official ethics opinion. The original opinion (linked on this page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
Plain-English summary
The committee reconsiders Opinion 01-05, which had treated a for-profit firm's .org domain as misleading because it appeared to imply nonprofit status. Opinion 11-04 observes that .org registration is open to for-profit entities and that such use had become widespread. It concludes that the suffix alone does not make a firm's address false or misleading.
A law firm's website address remains a professional designation under ER 7.5 and must satisfy ER 7.1. The opinion says the address need not match the firm name, but it cannot falsely imply qualifications, competence, experience, or an affiliation the firm does not have. In particular, a domain that falsely suggests a connection to a specific nonprofit or government entity remains impermissible. The committee modifies Opinion 01-05 only on the categorical .org conclusion.
In practice
Under the opinion's treatment of ERs 7.1 and 7.5, the .org suffix alone does not establish a misleading communication. The content and implications of the full address remain subject to those rules.
Common questions
Q: Does a for-profit Arizona law firm violate the rules merely by using .org?
A: No. The committee says the suffix alone does not violate the Rules of Professional Conduct, modifying Opinion 01-05 on that point.
Q: May a law firm's domain differ from its firm name?
A: Yes. The opinion says an address need not match the firm name, but it must not be false or misleading under ERs 7.1 and 7.5.
Q: Can a domain imply affiliation with a nonprofit or government entity?
A: Only if that affiliation actually exists. The committee retains Opinion 01-05's prohibition on a domain that falsely implies such a relationship.
Background and rules framework
The opinion applies Arizona ER 7.1's ban on false or misleading communications and ER 7.5's treatment of firm names and professional designations. It revises the earlier premise that .org itself signals nonprofit status, while leaving the broader truthful-address rule in place.
Citations and references
Rules of Professional Conduct:
AZ ER 7.1: false or misleading communications
AZ ER 7.5: firm names, letterheads and professional designations
Other opinions cited:
Arizona Opinion 01-05: categorical .org conclusion modified by this opinion
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
FACTS
In March 2001, the Committee issued Ariz. Ethics Op. 01-05, which discussed the limitations to which a law firm is subject when creating or using a website address for its law firm website. Among other conclusions, the Committee opined that a for-profit law firm may not use a domain name that contains the suffix “.org,” on the ground that such use “creates a false impression that the firm either is a non-profit or is in some way specifically affiliated with a non-profit.”
A law firm has requested that the Committee reconsider its position that the use of the suffix “.org” violates the Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct.
QUESTION PRESENTED
May a for-profit law firm use a website address that contains the suffix “.org”?
APPLICABLE ARIZONA RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT (“ER __”)
ER 7.1 Communications Concerning a Lawyer’s Services
A lawyer shall not make or knowingly permit to be made on the lawyer’s behalf a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services. A communication is false or misleading if it contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law, or omits a fact necessary to make the statement considered as a whole not materially misleading.
ER 7.5 Firm Names and Letterheads
(a) A lawyer shall not use a firm name, letterhead or other professional designation that violates ER 7.1. A trade name may not be used by a lawyer in private practice.
As we indicated in Ariz. Ethics Op. 01-05, a law firm’s website address is the mechanism by which the law firm’s website is located by persons using the Internet. The website address frequently differs from the law firm name. The website address is typically used on business cards, letterhead, telephone directories, and other listings so that actual and potential clients and others will be able to identify and remember the firm easily. Since the website address is intended to identify the law firm, it is a “professional designation” within the meaning of ER 7.5, and its selection and use is therefore subject to the requirements of ER 7.1. Thus, while the website address need not be the same as the law firm name, it cannot be false or misleading. For example, the website address may not state or imply that the law firm has qualifications, competence, or experience that it does not, or that the law firm has an affiliation or relationship with another organization unless that affiliation or relationship actually exists.
The website address contains a suffix (.com, .gov, .edu, .net, .org, etc.) that identifies the domain in which the website is located. Opinion 01-05 relied on U.S. Department of Commerce guidelines that identified “.org” as pertaining to a non-profit entity. On that basis, the Committee concluded that a for-profit law firm’s use of “.org” as a suffix “creates a false impression that the firm either is non-profit or is in some way specially affiliated with a non-profit,” and was not permitted under the Ethical Rules.
Since 2001, use of Internet domain names, including those with the suffix “.org,” has skyrocketed. Of particular significance here, notwithstanding the “guidelines” in the Department of Commerce document relied on in Op. 01-05, the use of an “.org” suffix for Internet domain names has not been restricted to “non-profit” entities. To the contrary, anyone may register a website address that contains the suffix “.org,” and the person registering the address is not required to demonstrate that the website is or will be owned or used by a non-profit entity.
Moreover, in light of the widespread use of the “.org” suffix by for-profit organizations in the years since Ariz. Ethics Op. 01-05 was issued, the possibility that the public will be misled by a for-profit law firm’s use of “.org’ in its website address is remote. “Whether a communication about a lawyer or legal services is false or misleading is based upon the perception of a reasonable person.” ER 7.1 [comment 5] (emphasis added). A reasonable person, desiring to verify whether an entity is non-profit, would not rely solely on the entity’s website address.
In light of the foregoing, the Committee does not believe that the mere use of “.org” by a for-profit law firm is a violation of the Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct. Opinion 01-05 is modified accordingly.
Except to the extent modified by this opinion, the Committee believes that Ariz. Ethics Op. 01-05 is correct. Thus, a lawyer or a law firm may not use a domain name that falsely implies that the lawyer or the law firm is affiliated with a particular non-profit organization or with a governmental entity or which otherwise is false or misleading.
CONCLUSION
Subject to the requirement that a law firm’s website address not be false or misleading, the mere use of “.org” by a for-profit law firm does not violate the Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct. Ariz. Ethics Op. 01-05 is modified accordingly.