Can a law professor list a J.D. degree in university or law school publications without explaining the degree or stating its date of award?

Plain-English summary

A Florida Bar member who taught at a law school asked, in light of the committee's earlier Opinion 68-28, whether it was proper for a university or law school publication to list the degrees held by administrative officers and faculty, including his own J.D., and in particular whether it was appropriate to list the J.D. degree without further explanation or date of award.

The committee distinguished its prior Opinion 68-28, which had addressed how the J.D. degree (which had replaced the LL.B.) should be noted in a legal directory where a date of award was necessarily part of the listing. In that earlier setting, the committee had advised on how to present the circumstances of the award to avoid a misleading connotation about timing. The present question raised no such concern, because the proposed faculty publication stated no more than that the person held the J.D. degree, with no mention of date. Treating that as a truism, the committee saw no necessity for the listing to further reflect that the J.D. had been awarded in place of the LL.B.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1970, before The Florida Bar's adoption of the 2006 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct. It applied former Canon 27 of the Canons of Professional Ethics, concerning advertising and self-promotion; questions about misleading communications regarding a lawyer's credentials are now addressed by Rule 4-7.13 (Model Rule 7.1) of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar. The opinion built on Opinion 68-28, which it noted has since been withdrawn. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against the current rules before relying on any specific requirement mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Can a lawyer list a J.D. degree without explaining it?

A: On the facts of this opinion, yes. The committee found that a bare faculty listing of the J.D. degree, with no date of award, was a truism that carried no misleading connotation and needed no further explanation.

Q: Why did the earlier Opinion 68-28 require more detail?

A: The committee explained that 68-28 concerned a legal directory listing where a date of award was necessarily included; in that setting the date could create a misleading impression about timing, so the committee had advised how to present the J.D.'s award. The faculty listing here included no date, so that concern did not arise.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied former Canon 27 of the Canons of Professional Ethics, which addressed advertising and the manner in which a lawyer could present professional information. Concerns about misleading statements regarding a lawyer's credentials are now addressed by the Florida advertising rules, including Rule 4-7.13 (Model Rule 7.1) of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar. The committee's analysis turned on whether the particular listing could mislead, concluding that a bare J.D. listing without a date could not.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• Canon 27 [Canons of Professional Ethics; see current Rule 4-7.13]

Other opinions cited:

• Florida Opinion 68-28 [since withdrawn]: presenting the J.D. degree (which replaced the LL.B.) in a legal directory

See also

• FL Bar Ethics Op. 62-42: Home Law Office and Residence Business Card
• FL Bar Ethics Op. 68-33: 'Division Counsel' and 'Law Department' Stationery

Source

• Landing page: https://www.floridabar.org/etopinions/etopinion-69-5/
• Original PDF: https://www-media.floridabar.org/uploads/2017/04/FL-Bar-Ethics-Op-69-5-1.pdf

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

FLORIDA BAR ETHICS OPINION
OPINION 69-5
May 23, 1970
Advisory ethics opinions are not binding.
A member of the teaching faculty of a law school may properly permit his holding of a J.D. degree to be reflected in a faculty listing in university or law school publications without further explanation or date of award.
Canon: 27
Opinion: 68-28
Chairman MacDonald stated the opinion of the committee:
In the light of our Opinion 68-28 [since withdrawn], a member of The Florida Bar who is a member of the teaching faculty of a law school inquires as to the propriety of a listing of degrees possessed by various administrative officers and members of the faculty, including himself, in publications of the university or of the law school. More particularly, he inquires if it is appropriate to list the J.D. degree without further explanation or date of award.
Our Opinion 68-28, issued to a practicing member of The Florida bar, inter alia related to the manner in which a description of the J.D. degree which had replaced an LL.B. degree could be noted in a legal directory wherein a date of award was necessarily a part of the listing. In order to avoid any misleading connotations, we stated in 68-28 the manner in which the circumstances of the award of the J.D. degree could be most conveniently and properly presented in a legal directory. The present question does not involve any possibility of a misleading reference to the date of award of the J.D. degree because the proposed publication states no more than that the person listed has the J.D. degree without mention of date. This being a truism, we see no necessity for the particular listing in question to further reflect that the J.D. degree was awarded in place of the LL.B. degree.