Does a North Carolina lawyer have to include an office address when the firm name appears on a promotional item like a pen, mug, or vanity license plate?

Plain-English summary

The inquiry asks whether a lawyer must include an office address when she puts only her firm name on a non-state-issued license plate mounted on the front of her car. The opinion answers no. Rule 7.2(c) requires that any advertisement for legal services include the name and office address of at least one lawyer or firm responsible for its content, and the opinion explains that the rule's purpose is to let a responsible lawyer or firm be identified, located, and held accountable for the advertisement.

The opinion concludes that where a gift or promotional item displays only the name or logo of the lawyer or firm, and the item is used or disseminated in a manner otherwise permitted by the rules, the address requirement does not apply. It gives examples: pens, pencils, hats, and coffee mugs bearing a firm's name or logo. A non-state-issued license plate showing only the firm's name falls in the same category and is exempt from the address requirement.

In practice

Under the North Carolina rule as it stood at the time of the opinion, conduct that places only a firm's name or logo on a promotional item is permitted without an accompanying office address. Per the opinion, the Rule 7.2(c) name-and-address requirement is aimed at advertisements that need a responsible, locatable contact, and a name-or-logo-only promotional item does not trigger it, provided the item is otherwise distributed consistently with the rules.

Common questions

Q: Does a firm name on a pen or coffee mug need an office address?

A: No. The opinion concludes that a gift or promotional item displaying only the lawyer's or firm's name or logo does not have to display an office address, and it lists pens, pencils, hats, and mugs as examples.

Q: What about a vanity (non-state-issued) license plate with just the firm name?

A: The opinion treats a non-state-issued license plate showing only the firm's name as a promotional item exempt from the Rule 7.2(c) address requirement, on the same footing as pens and mugs.

Q: Why does Rule 7.2(c) normally require an office address?

A: Per the opinion, the requirement exists to facilitate identifying and locating a responsible lawyer or firm so that lawyer or firm can be held accountable for the content of the advertisement.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applies North Carolina Rule 7.2 (advertising, the analogue of Model Rule 7.2). Rule 7.2(c) requires any advertisement for legal services to include the name and office address of at least one responsible lawyer or firm. The opinion reads that requirement in light of its accountability purpose and concludes it does not extend to name-or-logo-only promotional items.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• MR 7.2 / NC Rule 7.2(c) (advertising; name and office address of responsible lawyer)

See also

• ABA Formal Op. 465: Daily-Deal Marketing
• FL Bar Ethics Op. 65-14: 'Attorney at Law' on Checks
• FL Bar Ethics Op. 62-42: Home Law Office and Business Card

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ncbar.gov/for-lawyers/ethics-and-governing-rules/ethics-opinions/opinions/2012-formal-ethics-opinion-14/

Original opinion text

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

Inquiry:

Lawyer would like to put her firm name on a non-state issued license plate to be placed on the front of her automobile. The graphics on the license plate would consist only of the firm name. No other content would appear on the plate. Is Lawyer required to include an office address on the license plate?

Opinion:

No. Rule 7.2(c) provides that any advertisement for legal services must include the “name and office address of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for [the advertisement’s] content.” The purpose of the rule is to facilitate the identification and location of a responsible lawyer or firm in order to hold that lawyer or firm accountable for the content of the advertisement. However, we conclude that where a gift/promotional item displays only the name or logo of the lawyer or law firm, and the items are used/disseminated by the lawyer or law firm in a manner otherwise permissible under the Rules of Professional Conduct, the gift/promotion item does not have to display an office address.

Examples of such items would include pens, pencils, hats, or coffee mugs bearing the name or logo of a law firm or lawyer. A non-state issued license plate displaying a law firm’s name is also exempt from the address requirement.