Can a lawyer display a decal or insignia in the office showing membership in a legal services plan?

Plain-English summary

The committee considered whether a lawyer who is a member of the Kentucky Legal Services Plan, Inc. may display a decal on the desk or in the reception area indicating that membership. It answered with a qualified yes.

The committee reasoned from its own and ABA precedent on in-office insignia. It had previously ruled in KBA E-172 (1977) that a lawyer may discreetly indicate in the office that payment by credit card is acceptable, and ABA Formal Opinion 338 had said a small insignia may be tactfully displayed in the office. With advertising now permitted in Kentucky under SCR 3.135, the committee noted lawyers may advertise acceptable credit arrangements. It held that the same approach governs the plan decal: so long as the decal or insignia is "tactful" or "dignified" within the office or reception area, it may be displayed. The qualification is the dignity limit; the committee said an advertisement should still be dignified.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1980 under Kentucky's former Code of Professional Responsibility (in effect 1971 to 1990), before the Kentucky Bar Association's 1990 adoption of the Rules of Professional Conduct (SCR 3.130) and the substantial 2009 revisions to those rules. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against the current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Can a lawyer display a legal-services-plan membership decal in the office?

A: Yes, with a qualification. The opinion concluded a member may display the decal or insignia in the office or reception area as long as it is tactful and dignified.

Q: What is the limit on such a display?

A: Dignity. The committee said an advertisement should still be dignified, and allowed the decal only so long as it is "tactful" or "dignified."

Q: What earlier guidance did the committee build on?

A: KBA E-172 (1977), allowing a discreet in-office indication that credit cards are accepted, and ABA Formal Opinion 338, allowing a small insignia tactfully displayed in the office.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applies Kentucky's then-new advertising rule SCR 3.135 to in-office signage, treating a membership decal as a form of office advertising subject to a dignity standard. The modern analogs are Model Rule 7.1 (communications about a lawyer's services must not be false or misleading) and Model Rule 7.2 (advertising), which no longer impose the older "dignified" requirement but still govern truthful communications about a lawyer's services.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• SCR 3.135 (Kentucky advertising rule); modern analogs Model Rules 7.1 and 7.2

Other opinions cited:

• KBA E-172 (1977) (in-office indication of credit-card acceptance); ABA Formal Opinion 338 (small insignia tactfully displayed)

See also

• KBA Ethics Op. E-285: Lighted Law Office Sign
• KBA Ethics Op. E-263: Lawyer's Photo in Advertising
• KBA Ethics Op. E-260: Out-of-State Lawyer Advertising

Source

• Landing page: https://kybar.org/For-Members/Rules-Ethics-Information/Ethics-Opinions
• Original PDF: https://kybar.org/Portals/0/Admin/Ethics%20Opinions/KBA_E-231.pdf

Original opinion text

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

KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION
Ethics Opinion KBA E-231
Issued: March 1980

This opinion was decided under the Code of Professional Responsibility, which was in effect from 1971 to 1990. Lawyers should consult the current version of the Rules of Professional Conduct and Comments, SCR 3.130 (available at http://www.kybar.org), especially Rules 7.01-7.50 and the Attorneys' Advertising Commission Regulations, before relying on this opinion.

Question:

May an attorney who is a member of the Kentucky Legal Services Plan, Inc. display a decal on his desk or in the reception area indicating that he is a member of this Plan?

Answer:

Qualified yes.

References:

SCR 3.135; Opinion KBA E-172 (1977); ABA Formal Opinion 338

OPINION

The Committee has previously ruled that one may discreetly indicate in the law office that payment is acceptable through the mode of credit cards, Opinion KBA E-172 (1977). The American Bar Association has stated that one may place a small insignia to be tactfully displayed in the attorney's office, ABA Formal Opinion 338. With the advent of advertising in Kentucky, the lawyer is clearly allowed to advertise the use of credit cards or other credit arrangements which are acceptable, SCR 3.135.
It is the Committee's feeling that an advertisement should still be dignified. Accordingly, as long as the decal or insignia is "tactful" or "dignified" within the attorney's office and/or reception area it may be displayed.

Note to Reader
This ethics opinion has been formally adopted by the Board of Governors of the Kentucky Bar Association under the provisions of Kentucky Supreme Court Rule 3.530 (or its predecessor rule). The Rule provides that formal opinions are advisory only.