NYSBA February 9, 1979

Can a New York lawyer get a newspaper to run an article about opening a new office, and mail announcement cards to strangers?

Short answer: The opinion concluded that, after Bates and the 1978 Code amendments, a lawyer may try to convince a newspaper to run a story about his new office and may mail announcement cards to anyone, but he may not pay or give anything of value to the press for the publicity.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1979. Ezel answers yours: whether it's allowed on your facts, under the current New York Rules of Professional Conduct, with citations.

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 Not binding precedent.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 on this page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

The committee answered two questions from a recently admitted lawyer opening an office: whether he could prompt a local newspaper to run an article about the opening, and whether he could send announcement cards to people with whom he had no prior social or professional relationship. It framed both against the changes triggered by Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977), and the liberalizing 1978 amendments to the Ethical Considerations and Disciplinary Rules under Canon 2, noting that before Bates each part would have been answered no.

On the newspaper article, the committee assumed the lawyer was actively contacting the paper to convince it the office opening was newsworthy, not responding to a reporter. Under amended DR 2-101 it saw no impropriety; generating a news article about oneself is qualitatively no different from advertising. The committee cautioned, however, that DR 2-101(J) forbids a lawyer from paying or giving anything of value to the press in anticipation of or return for professional publicity in a news item. The concern, it explained, is deception: a news article carries the appearance of an independent editorial judgment that the matter is newsworthy, and where that judgment has been bought, the public is misled. So the lawyer may try to convince a paper he deserves coverage, but may not use unfair or deceptive means to get it.

On announcement cards, the committee read the 1978 amendment of DR 2-102. The prior rule generally barred announcement cards except in stated situations, listing "lawyers, clients, former clients, personal friends, and relatives" as permitted recipients. The amendment eliminated the general prohibition; DR 2-102(A) now permits professional announcement cards so long as they violate no statute or court rule and accord with DR 2-101. The committee concluded the surviving list of recipients in DR 2-102(A)(2) is only an illustration, not a limitation, and that announcement cards may now be sent to anyone. Both parts were answered in the affirmative, subject to those qualifications.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1979, before New York replaced the Code of Professional Responsibility with the Rules of Professional Conduct in 2009 (lawyer advertising and communications about a lawyer's services are now governed mainly by Rules 7.1 and 7.2). 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: Could a New York lawyer try to get a newspaper to write about his new office?

A: Under this opinion, yes. The committee held that persuading a paper the office opening is newsworthy is, after Bates and amended DR 2-101, ethically no different from advertising.

Q: Could the lawyer pay the newspaper for the coverage?

A: No. DR 2-101(J) barred giving anything of value to the press for professional publicity in a news item, because paid coverage that looks like independent editorial judgment deceives the public.

Q: Who could receive the lawyer's announcement cards?

A: Anyone. The committee read the 1978 amendment of DR 2-102 as removing the old limit on recipients, so the listed categories were illustrations only, not a restriction.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied Canon 2 as amended after Bates: DR 2-101 (advertising and publicity, including the DR 2-101(J) bar on paying the press for news coverage) and DR 2-102 (professional notices and announcement cards). The closest current Model Rule analogues are Rule 7.1 (communications about a lawyer's services) and Rule 7.2 (advertising, including limits on giving value for recommendations).

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

MR 7.1 (communications concerning a lawyer's services)
MR 7.2 (advertising)
NY Canon 2; DR 2-101(A) and (J), DR 2-102(A)(2), DR 2-103(B)

Cases:

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

Other opinions cited:

N.Y. State 487 (1978) and 500 (1978): the post-Bates liberalization of New York's advertising rules

Source

Landing page: https://nysba.org/opinion-505/

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