Could a Nebraska lawyer pay a welcome service to hand-deliver the lawyer's business card to newcomers?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 1983. Ask about yours and see what the current Nebraska Rules of Professional Conduct say for your facts, with citations.
Plain-English summary
A welcome organization proposed charging a lawyer for each newcomer personally visited by a host. The host would provide community materials and a card carrying the lawyer's contact information, service invitation, specialties, and office hours.
Amended DR 2-101(B) permitted public-media and written advertising only when it did not involve personal contact.
Although the lawyer would not attend the visit, the paid distribution method depended on a host personally calling on the newcomer and delivering the promotional packet.
The committee therefore classified the arrangement as personal contact and prohibited the lawyer or firm from subscribing.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1983, before Nebraska's adoption of the 2005 Rules of Professional Conduct. Subsequent solicitation, third-party marketing, lead-generation, advertising, and personal-contact rules or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. The 2005 adoption date is stated in Nebraska Ethics Advisory Opinion 06-12.
Common questions
Q: Did the lawyer personally make the visit?
A: No. A paid welcome-service host did.
Q: Why was the arrangement still personal contact?
A: The lawyer's advertisement was delivered during the host's in-person welcome visit.
Q: Could the disclaimer on the reverse side cure the issue?
A: No. The opinion focused on the personal-contact delivery method.
Background and rules framework
The former advertising rule distinguished impersonal written communication from promotion delivered through a paid in-person contact. The committee attributed the host's contact to the subscribing lawyer.
Citations and references
Former Nebraska Code of Professional Responsibility:
- DR 2-101(B)
See also
- Nebraska Ethics Op. 83-2: Direct-mail lawyer advertising
- Nebraska Ethics Op. 88-4: Targeted direct-mail solicitation
- Nebraska Ethics Op. 09-05: Coupon mailer and business-expo booth
Source
- Landing page: Nebraska lawyer ethics opinions archive
- Original PDF: Nebraska Ethics Advisory Opinion 83-1
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
Nebraska Ethics Advisory Opinion for Lawyers No. 83-1
A LAWYER OR LAW FIRM CANNOT ETHICALLY
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SERVICE OF A WELCOME WAGON
TYPE ORGANIZATION TO DISTRIBUTE THE LAWYER'S
OR LAW FIRM'S BUSINESS CARD, SINCE A PERSONAL
CONTACT WOULD BE INVOLVED.
QUESTION PRESENTED
Would it be proper for a lawyer or law firm to use the
promotional activities of Welcome Wagon?
If the lawyer or law firm subscribed to the service,
Welcome Wagon would charge $2.50 for each contact
made. In return Welcome Wagon would pass out a card
in words substantially as follows:
Your Firm Name
Business Office Address
City, State, Zip
Telephone No.
We wish you health, joy and prosperity on this special occasion. If now, or at any time in the future, you have need for our professional services, please call.
(Professional Specialities and Office Hours may be listed)
Distributed by
______
Hostess/Host
Date
_______
_
WELCOME WAGON
Please see reverse side.
On the reverse side of the card would be the following:
Dear Call Recipient:
The selection of a lawyer is a very personal decision. Welcome Wagon International,
Inc., and its representatives do not presume to judge the professional capabilities of the sponsors represented.
Welcome Wagon International, Inc.
DISCUSSION
Recently, the Supreme Court of Nebraska adopted a
number of amendments to the Code of Professional
Responsibility (Code) in the area of advertising by
lawyers. Among the Disciplinary Rules amended was DR
2-101. DR 2-101 (B), as amended, now provides:
(B) Subject to the requirements of DR 2- 101 (A) and DR 9-104 (B), a lawyer may advertise services through public media, such as a telephone directory, legal directory, newspaper or other periodical, radio or television, or through written communication not involving personal contact . . . (Emphasis supplied).
The contact made by Welcome Wagon would be a
personal one. It would involve a host or hostess of
Welcome Wagon personally calling on a newcomer or
new family and extending a welcome and greeting. At
that time the person contacted would also be provided a
packet of materials, which would include names of
merchants who subscribe to Welcome Wagon,
premiums, discounts, other information concerning the
city, and, of course, the card of the lawyer or law firm.
It would involve a personal contact. This now is
prohibited by DR 2-101(B), and therefore the
distribution of the card of a lawyer or law firm in this
manner would be a violation of the Code.
Nebraska Ethics Advisory Opinion for Lawyers No. 83-1
What do the rules say today, for your facts?
This opinion is from 1983. Ezel checks the current Nebraska Rules of Professional Conduct against your situation and cites the rules it relies on.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Checks the law as it stands today, not only this page
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace