Can a New Jersey lawyer place a notice in the Law Journal or the Lawyers Diary and Manual advertising that he is available to act as a consultant to or associate with other attorneys in a particular field of law?
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This page answers the general question as of 1976. Ezel answers yours: whether it's allowed on your facts, under the current rules of professional conduct in your state, with citations.
Plain-English summary
The inquirer, a member of the New Jersey Bar who also published the New Jersey Law Journal and the Lawyers Diary and Manual, asked whether it would be proper for a New Jersey lawyer to advertise his availability to act as a consultant to or associate with another attorney in a particular field of law by placing a notice in the New Jersey Law Journal (a weekly publication) or in the Lawyers Diary and Manual (an annual publication). The inquiry was limited to fields of law of the kind approved for publication by the American Bar Association, and the inquirer argued the answer should be affirmative under DR 2-105(A)(3) as applied in the Committee's Opinion 242.
The Committee concluded that it is not improper for a member of the New Jersey Bar to advertise his availability to act as a consultant to or associate with another attorney in a particular field of law by inserting such a notice in the New Jersey Law Journal or the Lawyers Diary and Manual. The Committee later restated this holding in its Opinion 354, 99 N.J.L.J. 977 (1976), when distinguishing the separate question of a deputy surrogate acting as a probate consultant.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1976, before New Jersey's adoption of the 2004 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct, and predates the 1984 replacement of the Disciplinary Rules by the RPCs. Lawyer-advertising rules, then in DR 2-105, have since changed substantially and are now addressed under RPC 7.2; the constitutional landscape for lawyer advertising also shifted after Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (1977). Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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 lawyer advertise that he is available to consult for other lawyers in a field?
A: Under this opinion, yes, by a notice in the New Jersey Law Journal or the Lawyers Diary and Manual.
Q: Was the permission limited to particular fields?
A: The inquiry concerned fields of the kind approved for publication by the American Bar Association, and the Committee answered in that context.
Background and rules framework
The opinion applied DR 2-105(A)(3), as developed in its Opinion 242, to a notice advertising a lawyer's availability to consult or associate in a particular field. In current New Jersey terms, lawyer advertising is governed by RPC 7.2.
Citations and references
Rules of Professional Conduct:
- DR 2-105(A)(3) (notice of availability and fields of practice), as in effect 1976; now analyzed under MR 7.2 / NJ RPC 7.2
Other opinions cited:
- NJ ACPE Opinion 242, 95 N.J.L.J. 973 (1972); restated in Opinion 354, 99 N.J.L.J. 977 (1976)
See also
- NJ ACPE Op. 354: A Deputy Surrogate Consulting on Probate Matters
- NJ ACPE Op. 330: Office Letterhead, "and Associates," and Listing an Administrator
Source
- Full text (Justia mirror): https://law.justia.com/cases/new-jersey/advisory-committee-on-professional-ethics/2004/acp332-1.html
- Issuing authority: New Jersey Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, via the NJ Courts Supreme Court Committees page
Original opinion text
Full opinion text unavailable from the official source; see the linked source above for the complete text.
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