Ezel / Ethics Opinions / NYSBA
NYSBA March 17, 2011

Can a lawyer have a paralegal hand-deliver law firm name-change announcements to nearby homes?

Short answer: Yes, but only without personal contact. The announcement is an advertisement and a solicitation, so a paralegal who leaves it on a door or porch is fine, but a paralegal who comes into personal contact with residents commits barred in-person solicitation, since a lawyer cannot do through an employee what the lawyer could not do directly.

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This page answers the general question as of 2011. Ezel answers yours: whether it's allowed on your facts, under the current New York Rules of Professional Conduct, with citations.

Currency note: this opinion is from 2011
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.
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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

A lawyer who changed her firm's name wanted her paralegal to personally deliver announcements of the renaming to residences near the office. Rule 7.5(a)(2) permits name-change announcements if they comply with Rule 7.1, but Rule 7.3(a) bars solicitation by in-person or telephone contact unless the recipient is a close friend, relative, former client, or existing client.

The committee first rejects the inquirer's argument that the announcement is not an "advertisement" or "solicitation." It concludes the announcement is an advertisement under Rule 1.0(a) because its primary purpose is the retention of the lawyer, and a solicitation under Rule 7.3(b) because a significant motive is pecuniary gain and it is targeted at specific recipients. It distinguishes N.Y. State 659 (1994), where hand-delivery of a lawyer's ad inside a car dealer's information package was permitted, because there the deliverer was an unpaid third party who would not discuss the ad; here the deliverer is the lawyer's own paid paralegal, and under Rule 8.4(a) a lawyer cannot have an employee do what the lawyer may not do.

Because the announcement is a solicitation, the result turns on the manner of delivery. If the paralegal comes into personal contact with residents, that is impermissible in-person solicitation (absent the close-friend, relative, former-client, or existing-client exception). But if the paralegal simply leaves the announcement, for example on a door handle or porch, with no personal contact, the delivery is not in-person solicitation; Rule 7.3(a) bars only in-person solicitation, not all solicitation. The committee assumes the inquirer will comply with Rule 7.3's other requirements for solicitations directed to New York recipients.

In practice

Under the New York rules as they stood at the time of the opinion, a firm name-change announcement is treated as advertising and solicitation, so a lawyer may have a paralegal distribute it to homes only by leaving it without personal contact; a paralegal who interacts with residents engages in barred in-person solicitation that is attributed to the lawyer under Rule 8.4(a). The opinion also notes the announcement must conform to Rule 7.1 and the inquirer must satisfy Rule 7.3's other requirements, which it does not separately address.

Common questions

Q: Is a law firm name-change announcement an "advertisement"?

A: Yes. The opinion concludes the announcement is an advertisement under Rule 1.0(a) because its primary purpose is the lawyer's retention, and a solicitation under Rule 7.3(b) because it is targeted and pecuniary gain is a significant motive.

Q: Can a paralegal hand the announcement directly to a resident?

A: No, absent an exception. The opinion holds that personal contact by the paralegal is in-person solicitation barred by Rule 7.3(a) unless the recipient is a close friend, relative, former client, or existing client.

Q: How can the announcements be delivered without violating the rule?

A: By leaving them with no personal contact, for example on a door handle or porch. The opinion holds Rule 7.3(a) bars only in-person solicitation, so a no-contact drop-off is permissible.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applies Rule 7.5(a)(2) (name-change announcements), Rule 7.1 (advertising standards), and Rule 7.3 (definition of solicitation and the in-person/telephone bar), together with the "advertisement" definition in Rule 1.0(a) and Rule 8.4(a)'s prohibition on acting through another. These correspond to Model Rules 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, and 7.5 (New York's solicitation rules are more detailed than the Model Rule).

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

  • New York Rule 7.3(a), (b) (solicitation definition and the in-person/telephone bar); Model Rule 7.3
  • New York Rule 7.1 (advertising standards); Model Rule 7.1
  • New York Rule 7.5(a)(2) (name-change announcements); Model Rule 7.5
  • New York Rule 8.4(a) (no violation through the acts of another); Model Rule 8.4

Other opinions cited:

  • N.Y. State 659 (1994): third-party hand-delivery of a lawyer's ad was not in-person solicitation

See also

Source

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