Can a lawyer run a TV debt-relief commercial that promises creditors can be paid 'as little as $25 a week' without mentioning that the relief is bankruptcy?

Plain-English summary

A lawyer's television commercial told viewers they "can get financial relief" and "can pay your creditors as little as $25 per week pursuant to a federal payroll deduction plan," and referred to relief "under 11 U.S. Code Section 109," without ever mentioning bankruptcy. The commercial gave no attorney name and directed viewers to a phone number, where a twelve-minute recording (the "24-hour information hotline for debt reorganization") discussed bankruptcy options, including Chapter 13 bill consolidation, but did not explain the circumstances allowing the $25-per-week figure. The inquiry asked whether the advertisement complied with the Rules of Professional Conduct.

The opinion concluded that it did not. Rule 2.2(a) permits television advertising if the commercials comply with Rule 2.1, which bars false or misleading communications. Under Rule 2.1(a), a communication is misleading if it omits a fact necessary to keep the statement, as a whole, from being materially misleading, and under Rule 2.1(b), a communication is misleading if it is likely to create an unjustified expectation about results. The opinion held that the failure to mention bankruptcy as the form of relief was a materially misleading omission, and that the "$25 per week" statement was inherently misleading and created an unjustified expectation about results, which the additional information in the recording did not cure. The opinion further held, under Rule 2.4(c), that because callers to the information line must be presumed to be in need of legal services, the recorded messages must include the statement "This is an advertisement for legal services" at the beginning and end, citing RPC 115.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1994, before the North Carolina State Bar's adoption of the 2003 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Can a debt-relief TV ad leave out that the relief is bankruptcy?

A: No. The opinion held that omitting that the relief being described is bankruptcy was a materially misleading omission under Rule 2.1(a).

Q: Is promising creditors "as little as $25 per week" a problem?

A: Yes. The opinion held the statement inherently misleading and that it created an unjustified expectation about results under Rule 2.1(b), not cured by the recorded phone message.

Q: Does the recorded phone-line message need a disclosure?

A: Yes. The opinion held that because callers must be presumed to need legal services, the recordings must include the Rule 2.4(c) statement "This is an advertisement for legal services" at the beginning and end.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied North Carolina's then-current advertising rules: Rule 2.2(a) permitting television advertising subject to Rule 2.1; Rule 2.1(a) and (b), the false-or-misleading-communication provisions corresponding to Model Rule 7.1; and Rule 2.4(c), the recorded-solicitation disclosure requirement related to Model Rule 7.3. It applied the disclosure requirement to the telephone information line by analogy to RPC 115.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• MR 7.1 (communications concerning a lawyer's services)
• MR 7.3 (solicitation; required disclosures)
• North Carolina Rule 2.2(a); Rule 2.1, 2.1(a), 2.1(b); Rule 2.4(c)

Statutes:

• 11 U.S.C. §109 (bankruptcy eligibility; referenced in the commercial)

Other opinions cited:

• North Carolina RPC 115 (recorded-message advertising disclosure)

See also

• NC Ethics Op. RPC 164: television advertising with fictional clients
• NC Ethics Op. 2000 Formal Op. 6: implying early settlement in a TV advertisement
• NC Ethics Op. 2000 Formal Op. 1: advertising a verdict record

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ncbar.gov/for-lawyers/ethics-and-governing-rules/ethics-opinions/opinions/rpc-161/

Original opinion text

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

Editor's Note: This opinion was originally published as RPC 161 (Revised).

Inquiry:

Attorney A advertises on television. The commercial does not mention bankruptcy but the announcer on the commercial says "you can get financial relief" and "you can pay your creditors as little as $25 per week pursuant to a federal payroll deduction plan."During the commercial, it is stated that relief is "under 11 U.S. Code Section 109." At the end of the commercial, no attorney's name is mentioned. Instead viewers are directed to call a telephone number which has additional recorded information about financial relief from debts. Viewers who call this telephone number listen to a 12-minute tape recording during which bankruptcy filing options, including bill consolidation under Chapter 13, are discussed. Callers are advised that they have reached "the 24-hour information hotline for debt reorganization." The 12-minute tape does not explain the circumstances under which creditors can be paid "as little as $25 per week" but it does state that the caller can combine "every bill...into one low monthly payment."Does this advertisement fall within the guidelines set forth in the Rules of Professional Conduct?

Opinion:

No. Rule 2.2(a) allows a lawyer to advertise his services on television provided the commercials comply with Rule 2.1. Rule 2.1 prohibits false and misleading communications about a lawyer's services. A communication is false or misleading if it omits a fact necessary to make the statement, as a whole, not materially misleading. Rule 2.1(a). A communication is also false or misleading if it is likely to create an unjustified expectation about the results the lawyer can achieve. Rule 2.1(b).

Under the circumstances described in this inquiry, the failure of the television commercial to mention bankruptcy as the form of relief being described is an omission which makes the commercial materially misleading. Moreover, the statement in the commercial that the viewer "can pay creditors as little as $25 per week" is inherently misleading and creates an unjustified expectation about the results the lawyer can achieve which is not cured by the additional information in the 12-minute tape.

Rule 2.4(c) requires that the words, "This is an advertisement for legal services" be included at the beginning and ending of any "recorded communication from a lawyer soliciting professional employment from a prospective client known to be in need of legal services in a particular matter and with whom the lawyer has no family or prior professional relationship." Viewers who call the telephone number for additional information must be presumed to be in need of legal services. Therefore, the recorded messages must include the statement described in Rule 2.4(c). See RPC 115.