Can a lawyer state a specialty like 'prosecute and defend damage suits' on his office door or professional card?

Plain-English summary

A lawyer who wished to specialize in the law of damages asked two questions: whether the rules preclude an attorney from specializing as the medical and other professions do, and whether a sign or professional card reading "BLANK & BLANK, Attorneys, Prosecute & Defend Damage Suits" would be regarded as unethical.

On the first question, the Board answered that the Rules of Professional Conduct do not preclude a member of the bar from specializing in any particular branch of law. On the second, it noted that Rule 45 permits the simple professional card mentioned in Rule 29 to contain only the lawyer's name, profession, address, telephone number, and special branch of the profession practiced. The Board observed that the words "prosecute and defend damage suits" seemed to take the card out of the class of an ordinary simple business card and to savor of solicitation contrary to Rule 29, yet said it was too fine a distinction to separate "personal injury law a specialty" from "prosecute and defend damage suits," concluding that the question involves more a matter of taste than ethics.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1933, 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 flat advertising and solicitation limits the opinion applied were later constrained by constitutional decisions on commercial speech, beginning with Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (1977), and current Oklahoma rules treat lawyer advertising and statements of specialization very differently. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific principle mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Do the rules let a lawyer specialize in one branch of law?

A: Yes. The Board concluded the Rules of Professional Conduct do not preclude a member of the bar from specializing in any particular branch of law.

Q: Could the lawyer state a special branch on his card?

A: Yes. The Board noted Rule 45 allows the simple professional card to state the lawyer's name, profession, address, telephone number, and special branch of practice.

Q: Was "prosecute and defend damage suits" acceptable wording?

A: The Board said that phrasing seemed to savor of solicitation under Rule 29 and to fall outside an ordinary simple business card, but found the line so fine that it treated the question as more a matter of taste than ethics.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied Rules 29 and 45 of the then-current Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct, patterned on the ABA Canons of Professional Ethics. Rule 45 defined what a simple professional card under Rule 29 could contain (including a special branch of practice), while Rule 29 limited advertising and solicitation. The Board treated specialization itself as permissible and focused on whether the particular card wording crossed into solicitation.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• Rule 29 (1929 Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct): limits on advertising and solicitation.
• Rule 45 (1929): the simple professional card may state the lawyer's name, profession, address, telephone number, and special branch of practice.

See also

• Okla. Bar Ethics Op. 50: Lawyer's Business Card in a Telephone Directory and Newspaper
• Okla. Bar Ethics Op. 30: Directory Display Ads and Lay Adjusters in the Industrial Court
• Okla. Bar Ethics Op. 35: Newspaper Card, Fair Treatment Versus Removal Notice

Source

• Landing page: https://www.okbar.org/ethics/ethics-opinion-no-60/

Original opinion text

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

Adopted October 27, 1933

The Board is in receipt of the following inquiry:

"Assuming that an attorney wished to specialize in the law of damages,

(a) Do the rules of conduct preclude an attorney from specializing like the medical and other professions?

(b) Would the following on the door or professional card, be regarded as not ethical:

BLANK & BLANK, Attorneys

Prosecute & Defend Damage Suits."

In response to (a):

The Rules of Professional Conduct do not preclude a member of the bar from specializing in any particular branch of law.

In response to (b):

Rule 45 of the Rules of Professional Conduct provides that "the simple professional card mentioned in Rule 29 may with propriety contain only a statement of his name, profession, address, telephone number and special branch of the profession practiced." The words on the door or card "prosecute and defend damage suits" seems to prevent the proposed sign or card from falling within the classification of an "ordinary simple business card" and seems to savor of the solicitation of business in contravention of Rule 29 of the Rules of Professional Conduct; and yet it seems to be too fine a distinction to draw a line between "personal injury law a specialty" and "prosecute and defend damage suits." The question involves more a matter of taste than ethics.