Can a New Jersey lawyer list other-state bar memberships or professional certificates in a yellow-pages telephone directory listing?

Plain-English summary

The Committee was asked whether a New Jersey attorney may list his other bar memberships or professional certificates, such as admission in New York or the District of Columbia, registration as a patent attorney, or a CPA designation, under "Lawyers" or elsewhere in the yellow pages of a telephone directory.

The Committee held that such listings, including the four examples submitted, are improper. It reasoned that any classified yellow-pages listing by a lawyer that differs from the general, simple, informative listing of fellow lawyers violates Canon 27, and that if it indicates specialized legal services it also violates Canon 46.

The Committee explained that the alphabetical listing of lawyers under "Lawyers" exists for the convenience of readers seeking a particular lawyer's telephone number and address; it is not an advertising medium. A lawyer who departs from that normal listing with a distinctive entry that attracts special attention is clearly attempting to advertise his legal talents.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in December 1963, before New Jersey's September 13, 1971 adoption of the Disciplinary Rules (Code of Professional Responsibility), and well before the 1984 Rules of Professional Conduct and all later revisions. It applied Canons 27 and 46 of the former Canons of Professional Ethics to lawyer advertising. The constitutional ground for lawyer advertising shifted after Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977), and such listings are now analyzed under RPC 7.1, 7.2, and 7.4. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule or requirement mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Could a New Jersey lawyer list his New York or D.C. bar admission in the yellow pages?

A: No. The Committee held that a listing showing other bar memberships departs from the simple uniform listing of lawyers and is improper under Canon 27.

Q: What about listing a patent-attorney registration or a CPA designation?

A: The Committee found those examples improper as well; a listing indicating specialized legal services additionally violates Canon 46.

Q: Was an ordinary alphabetical "Lawyers" listing itself a problem?

A: No. The Committee described the plain alphabetical listing as a convenience for readers, not an advertising medium; the impropriety arose only from a distinctive listing that attracts special attention.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied Canon 27 (advertising and solicitation) and Canon 46 (notice of specialized legal services) of the former Canons of Professional Ethics. Lawyer advertising is now governed by RPC 7.1 (communications concerning a lawyer's services), RPC 7.2 (advertising), and RPC 7.4 (communication of fields of practice and certification).

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct (as in effect at the time):

• Canon of Professional Ethics 27 (advertising and solicitation)
• Canon of Professional Ethics 46 (notice of specialized legal service)

Other opinions cited:

• ABA Committee on Professional Ethics, Opinion 284 (1951)
• Drinker, Legal Ethics 246 (1953)

See also

• NJ ACPE Op. 298: Classified Listing in a Community Directory
• NJ ACPE Op. 219: Listing in a University Alumni Booklet
• NJ ACPE Op. 107: Advertising Specialized Legal Services

Source

• Landing page: https://law.justia.com/cases/new-jersey/advisory-committee-on-professional-ethics/2004/acp16-1.html

Original opinion text

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

86 N.J.L.J. 734
December 26, 1963

OPINION 16

Advertising
Telephone Directories

The Committee has received the following inquiry concerning the listing of an attorney's name, bar memberships or professional certificates in the yellow pages of a telephone directory:

Is it proper for a New Jersey attorney to list his other bar memberships or professional certificates under lawyers or elsewhere in the yellow pages of the telephone directory? For example, are the following listings proper:

Doe, John, Atty. N.J., N.Y., address, telephone;
Doe, Samuel, Atty., N.J., PE N.Y. & N.J., address, telephone;
Doe, Walter, Atty. N.J., D.C., Registered Patent Atty., address, telephone;
Doe, William, Atty. N.J., C.P.A. N.J., N.Y., address, telephone?

In the opinion of the Committee such listings, including the examples set forth in the inquiry, are improper. Any classified listing by a lawyer in the yellow pages of a telephone directory which differs from the general simple informative listing of fellow lawyers violates the Canons of Professional Ethics, Canon 27, and if it indicates specialized legal services it also violates Canon 46.

The listing of lawyers' names in alphabetical order in the yellow pages of a telephone directory under the classification "Lawyers" is for the convenience of readers in finding the telephone number and address of the lawyer of their choice. It is not an advertising medium. But any lawyer who departs from the normal by a distinctive listing which attracts special attention is clearly attempting to advertise his legal talents. See American Bar Association, Committee on Professional Ethics, Opinion 284 (1951); Drinker, Legal Ethics (1953) 246.