May a law firm list itself in the telephone directory under the heading 'Adjuster' without noting that its members are lawyers?

Plain-English summary

A firm of attorneys was listed in the telephone directory of a state city under the heading "Adjuster," with no reference to their status as members of the bar. The committee was asked whether the listing violated the canons.

The committee held it violated Canon 27, which prohibits soliciting professional employment by advertisement. It reasoned that the business of adjusting claims, while performed by laymen, is so closely associated with the practice of law and so often performed by lawyers as an incident of their practice that it would be next to impossible for any attorney so engaged not to be practicing law, directly or indirectly. Any solicitation of such business by an attorney was therefore improper. The committee added that condoning the listing would be virtually the same as condoning a similar listing under a subheading under "attorneys," and such "specialty listings" had often been held to violate Canon 27 by the committee, citing its Opinions No. 146 (June 14, 1950) and No. 164 (June 14, 1953).

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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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 law firm list itself under "Adjuster" in the telephone directory?

A: No. The committee held the listing violated Canon 27, which prohibits soliciting professional employment by advertisement.

Q: Did it matter that the listing did not say the adjusters were lawyers?

A: No. The committee said claims adjusting is so closely tied to the practice of law that an attorney doing it would be practicing law directly or indirectly, so any solicitation of such business by an attorney was improper.

Q: Would a listing under an "attorneys" subheading have been allowed instead?

A: No. The committee said condoning the "Adjuster" listing would be virtually the same as condoning a specialty subheading under "attorneys," which it had often held to violate Canon 27.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied Canon 27 of the Canons of Professional Ethics, adopted in Oklahoma, which prohibited soliciting professional employment by advertisement, to a directory listing under a non-legal heading. It relied on the committee's prior opinions on "specialty listings," Opinions No. 146 and No. 164. 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): prohibits the solicitation of professional employment by advertisement.

Other opinions cited:

• Oklahoma Opinion No. 146 (June 14, 1950): specialty directory listings held to violate Canon 27.
• Oklahoma Opinion No. 164 (June 14, 1953): specialty directory listings held to violate Canon 27.

See also

• Okla. Bar Ethics Op. 146: Attorney advertising his casualty-adjuster services
• Okla. Bar Ethics Op. 129: Bold-type listing in a telephone directory
• Okla. Bar Ethics Op. 196: Newspaper "Income Tax Service" ads omitting attorney status
• Okla. Bar Ethics Op. 119: Insurance-adjusting service cards sent to companies

Source

• Landing page: https://www.okbar.org/ethics/ethics-opinion-no-197/

Original opinion text

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

Adopted August 13, 1959

INQUIRY

A firm of attorneys are listed in the telephone directory of a state city under the heading “ADJUSTER.” No reference to their status as members of the Bar appears under this listing. Does such a listing constitute a violation of the Canons?

OPINION

The Committee is of the opinion that such a listing is a violation of Canon 27 which prohibits the solicitation of professional employment by advertisement. The business of adjusting claims, while performed by the layman, is so closely associated with the practice of law and is so often performed by lawyers as an incident of their practice, that we believe it would be next to impossible for any attorney so engaged not to indirectly or directly be engaged in the practice of law. Hence any solicitation of such business by an attorney would be improper. The result of condoning such a practice would be virtually the same as condoning a similar listing under a subheading under attorneys, and such “specialty listings” have often been held to be violative of Canon 27 by this Committee. See Opinions No. 146, June 14, 1950, and No. 164, June 14, 1953.