May a lawyer run newspaper ads offering 'Income Tax Service' if the ads omit that he is an attorney?

Plain-English summary

The Central Committee referred to the Ethics Committee three advertisements a bar member had published in newspapers offering "Income Tax Service." The ads did not say he was an attorney; they simply stated the offer of the service, his name, and the places and times he would be available to render it.

The committee held the advertisements were a flagrant violation of Canon 27, which makes it unprofessional to solicit professional employment by circulars or advertisements. It characterized the omission of any reference to his profession as a mere subterfuge designed to avoid the restrictions of Canon 43 (governing professional cards) and Canon 46 (notice of specialized legal service). The committee found the ads particularly reprehensible because the service, though also performed by laymen, is generally considered the practice of law when performed by attorneys, and because the member was well known as a lawyer through his recent candidacy for a judicial post in the county. Quoting ABA Opinion No. 272 (October 1946), the committee said that when a lawyer performs services for a client that would be performed by a non-lawyer, he is nevertheless acting as a lawyer in the course of his legal services and is subject to the canons.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1959, decades before Oklahoma replaced its original Rules of Professional Conduct (patterned on the ABA Canons of Professional Ethics) with the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct (adopted 1988) and the later Ethics 2000 revisions. The advertising prohibitions underlying the opinion no longer reflect current law: the United States Supreme Court held in Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977), that categorical bans on truthful lawyer advertising violate the First Amendment, and lawyer communications are governed by different rules today. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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 lawyer advertise an "Income Tax Service" in the newspaper?

A: No. The committee held the advertisements were a flagrant violation of Canon 27, which makes it unprofessional to solicit professional employment by circulars or advertisements.

Q: Did it matter that the ads did not mention he was a lawyer?

A: No, it made it worse. The committee called the omission a mere subterfuge designed to avoid the restrictions of Canons 43 and 46.

Q: Why was tax-preparation advertising treated as a violation of the canons at all?

A: The committee said income-tax work, though also done by laymen, is generally considered the practice of law when performed by attorneys; quoting ABA Opinion No. 272, it said a lawyer performing such services is acting as a lawyer and is subject to the canons.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied Canon 27 of the Canons of Professional Ethics, adopted in Oklahoma, which condemned soliciting employment by advertisement, and referred to Canon 43 (professional cards) and Canon 46 (notice of specialized legal service) as the restrictions the advertiser sought to evade. It relied on ABA Committee Opinion No. 272. The opinion predates the Model Rules and made no Model Rule citation.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• Canon 27 (ABA Canons of Professional Ethics, adopted by the Oklahoma Bar): it is unprofessional to solicit professional employment by circulars or advertisements.
• Canon 43 (ABA Canons of Professional Ethics, adopted by the Oklahoma Bar): governs the use of professional cards.
• Canon 46 (ABA Canons of Professional Ethics, adopted by the Oklahoma Bar): governs notice of specialized legal service.

Other opinions cited:

• ABA Formal Opinion No. 272 (October 1946): a lawyer performing for a client work a non-lawyer could do is nevertheless acting as a lawyer and subject to the canons.

See also

• Okla. Bar Ethics Op. 164: Newspaper income-tax preparation notice
• Okla. Bar Ethics Op. 174: Tax leaflet mailed to clients as solicitation
• Okla. Bar Ethics Op. 197: Telephone-directory listing under "Adjuster"
• Okla. Bar Ethics Op. 165: Insurance and real-estate business run from a law office

Source

• Landing page: https://www.okbar.org/ethics/ethics-opinion-no-196/

Original opinion text

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

Adopted August 13, 1959

INQUIRY

The Central Committee has referred to the Ethics Committee three advertisements published by a member of the Bar in three issues of the same or different newspapers in which he offers “Income Tax Service.” The advertisements do not indicate that he is an attorney but simply contain the offer of the service, the attorney’s name and the various points at which he will be available at stated times to render the “Service.”

OPINION

The advertisements constitute a flagrant violation of Canon 27 which provides that: “It is unprofessional to solicit professional employment by circulars or advertisements …” The omission of reference to his profession is considered a mere subterfuge designed to avoid the restrictions of Canons 43 (governing the use of professional cards) and 46 (pertaining to “notice of specialized legal service”). In the present instance advertisements are particularly reprehensible, not only as they pertain to a service, which although performed by laymen, is generally considered the practice of law when performed by attorneys, but also because the offending member is well known as a member of the bar through his recent candidacy for a judicial post in the County.

“In every case where a lawyer performs services for a client which would be performed by one not a member of the bar, nevertheless, in performing them in the course of his legal services, he is acting as a lawyer and subject to the Canons.”

Opinion No. 272, Oct. 1946. Opinions of the Committee on Professional Ethics and Grievances of the American Bar Association.