Ezel / Ethics Opinions / NYSBA
NYSBA 2016-11-23

Can a lawyer host educational seminars and webinars for non-lawyers, publicize them, and discuss representation with attendees afterward?

Short answer: Yes. The opinion concludes a lawyer may organize and present such programs and follow up about representation, subject to the advertising and solicitation rules: a hiring pitch can turn the program into advertising or solicitation, and real-time or targeted solicitation is restricted.
Currency note: this opinion is from 2016
Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later opinions or rule amendments may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Disclaimer: Advisory only. Not binding precedent.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official ethics opinion. The original opinion (linked at the bottom of this page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

NY State Bar Ethics Opinion 1110: Seminars and webinars for non-lawyers

Short answer: A lawyer may organize and present seminars and webinars for non-lawyers on topics within the lawyer's competence, publicize them by invitation, social media, or other lawful means, and discuss representation with participants afterward, all subject to the advertising and solicitation rules.

Disclaimer: This is an advisory ethics opinion. Advisory opinions are not binding; they interpret the New York State Bar Association's rules of professional conduct and are persuasive authority. This summary is for research purposes only and is not legal advice. Verify current rules before acting on any specific guidance.

About this page: The plain-English summary and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official opinion. We do not reproduce the opinion text on this page; follow the linked source for the official text, which controls.

View original opinion

Plain-English summary

An intellectual-property lawyer planned to run webinars and live seminars for businesspeople who might need legal services, identifying invitees from commercial and government business-entity lists, sometimes charging admission. He asked whether he could solicit attendees by mailed invitation, target social-media ads, charge fees, and follow up with participants about representation.

The committee first confirmed that lawyers may sponsor educational seminars for non-lawyers, and that such participation is "not only permitted but encouraged" (¶ 3-4). The key analytic question is whether a given program or its publicity is "advertising" under Rule 1.0(a) or "solicitation" under Rule 7.3. Drawing on N.Y. State 848, the committee weighed three factors: the intent (primarily educational or to secure retention), the content, and the audience (¶ 9). Comment [9] to Rule 7.1 explains that a lawyer's participation in an educational program is ordinarily not advertising, but becomes advertising if participants are expressly encouraged to hire the lawyer; biographical or contact information alone does not convert it (¶ 11-12). If the program stays educational, it is neither advertising nor solicitation and the lawyer may publicize it freely (¶ 15).

The opinion then assumed the program does have a substantial retention purpose, making it advertising, and analyzed solicitation. Under Rule 7.3(b), an advertisement is a solicitation when "directed to, or targeted at, a specific recipient or group of recipients" (¶ 18). A live seminar or a real-time, interactive webinar that includes a pitch is in-person or real-time solicitation, permitted only to close friends, relatives, and current or former clients (¶ 22). A non-real-time webinar is not so limited but is subject to Rule 7.3(c)'s filing requirements (¶ 23). Mailed or emailed invitations with a hiring pitch are targeted solicitations that must comply with Rule 7.3 (¶ 24). Following up with former participants is treated the same way; attending a webinar does not make someone a client or close friend (¶ 26). Charging a fee is permissible, but the lawyer should make clear the seminar gives no individualized legal advice (¶ 27). For targeted social-media ads, the result depends on facts the inquirer did not supply, such as whether the messages are individually addressed or use real-time media (¶ 28-29).

In practice

Under the advertising and solicitation rules as they stood at the time of the opinion, a genuinely educational seminar or webinar for non-lawyers is neither advertising nor solicitation, and the lawyer may publicize it by any lawful means. Adding a hiring pitch changes that: the program or its publicity becomes advertising under Rule 7.1, and if it is also directed at specific recipients it is solicitation under Rule 7.3. Live or real-time interactive programs containing a pitch may be limited to close friends, relatives, and clients; non-real-time and broadly published programs are subject to Rule 7.3's filing requirements. Charging admission is allowed if the lawyer makes clear the program does not give individualized advice.

Common questions

Q: Can a lawyer host free or paid seminars and webinars for non-lawyers?

A: Yes. The opinion confirms lawyers may organize and present educational programs for non-lawyers, and that participation is encouraged (¶ 3, ¶ 30).

Q: When does a seminar become "advertising"?

A: When, beyond educating, it expressly encourages participants to hire the lawyer. A bona fide educational program with only biographical or contact information is not advertising (¶ 11-12).

Q: Can the lawyer pitch services during a live webinar?

A: Only to a limited audience. A pitch in a live or real-time interactive program is in-person or real-time solicitation, permitted only to close friends, relatives, and current or former clients (¶ 22).

Q: Can the lawyer follow up with attendees about representation?

A: Yes, subject to the same rules; attending a program does not make a participant a client or close friend, so real-time or targeted follow-up solicitation must comply with Rule 7.3 (¶ 26).

Background and rules framework

The opinion applies New York Rule 7.1 (advertising; ABA Model Rule 7.1) and Rule 7.3 (solicitation; ABA Model Rule 7.3), with Rule 1.0(a) defining "advertisement." A solicitation under Rule 7.3(b) is an advertisement directed to or targeted at a specific recipient or group with a primary retention purpose and a significant pecuniary motive; in-person and real-time interactive solicitation is restricted to close friends, relatives, and clients.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

  • MR 7.1 / NY RPC 7.1 (advertising)
  • MR 7.3 / NY RPC 7.3 (solicitation); NY RPC 1.0(a) (definition of advertisement)

Cases:

  • Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977), First Amendment protection for lawyer advertising

Other opinions cited:

  • N.Y. State 848 (2010): three-factor test for whether a communication is advertising
  • N.Y. State 918 (2012), N.Y. State 508 (1979): lawyer-sponsored educational seminars
  • N.Y. State 1016 (2014): advertising through internet message boards is not solicitation

See also

Source