Can a lawyer accept client referrals from friends and clients and send them a small thank-you gift without it counting as paying for referrals?
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This page answers the general question as of 2021. Ezel answers yours: whether it's allowed on your facts, under the current Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct, with citations.
Plain-English summary
A lawyer is social friends with X, is known to Y as a competent professional, and has a lawyer-client relationship with Z. From time to time X, Y, and Z refer potential clients to the lawyer. The lawyer has thanked them but has not paid them for referrals and has not asked them to make future referrals. The lawyer wants to send each of them a small gift as a token of appreciation. The opinion asks whether the lawyer may accept future referrals and whether the lawyer may send the small gifts.
On the first question, the opinion answers yes. On the facts presented, accepting the referrals does not appear to violate any Oregon Rule, so the lawyer may continue to accept them.
On the second question, the opinion answers yes, qualified. Oregon RPC 7.2(b) bars a lawyer from giving anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer's services, but RPC 7.2(b)(4) expressly permits nominal gifts given as an expression of appreciation that are neither intended nor reasonably expected to be compensation for recommending the lawyer's services. Quoting ABA Model Rule 7.2 comment [4], the opinion explains the gift may be no more than a token item, like one given for holidays or ordinary social hospitality, and is prohibited if offered in consideration of any promise, agreement, or understanding that the gift would be forthcoming or that referrals would be made or encouraged in the future.
The opinion concludes that as long as the intent is not compensation for the referral, the nominal gifts do not violate the rule; the lawyer should be careful not to provide something of value in exchange for referrals.
In practice
The opinion holds that, under Oregon RPC 7.2 as it stood at the time of the opinion, a lawyer may accept informal referrals and may give nominal thank-you gifts under the RPC 7.2(b)(4) exception, with the controlling line being intent: a token of appreciation is permitted, while a gift given in exchange for or in consideration of referrals is prohibited. The opinion notes many other states bar any referral gift no matter how small. Verify the current text of Oregon RPC 7.2 before relying on any specific point.
Common questions
Q: Can I keep taking referrals from friends and former clients?
A: Yes. The opinion concludes that, on these facts, accepting the referrals does not violate any Oregon Rule.
Q: Can I send a small gift to thank someone who referred a client to me?
A: Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes RPC 7.2(b)(4) permits nominal gifts as an expression of appreciation, provided they are not intended or reasonably expected to be compensation for the referral.
Q: When does a thank-you gift cross the line?
A: When it is given in consideration of a promise, agreement, or understanding that the gift would follow or that referrals would be made or encouraged in the future. Per the opinion, a gift made in exchange for referrals violates RPC 7.2(b).
Background and rules framework
The opinion interprets Oregon RPC 7.2 (advertising and the bar on giving value for recommendations), together with RPC 7.1 (no false or misleading communications) and RPC 7.3 (solicitation), corresponding to Model Rules 7.2, 7.1, and 7.3. The analysis turns on the RPC 7.2(b)(4) exception for nominal appreciation gifts and the distinction between a token gift and compensation for referrals.
Citations and references
Rules of Professional Conduct:
- Oregon RPC 7.2(b)(4) / Model Rule 7.2 (giving value for recommendations; nominal-gift exception)
- Oregon RPC 7.1 / Model Rule 7.1 (communications concerning a lawyer's services)
- Oregon RPC 7.3 / Model Rule 7.3 (solicitation of clients)
Other opinions cited:
- OSB Formal Ethics Op. No. 2005-35 (information about legal services)
- ABA Model Rule 7.2, comment [4] (nominal gifts of appreciation)
See also
- OSB Ethics Op. 2005-35: Greeting Cards and Open Houses
- OSB Ethics Op. 2005-65: Listing Nonlawyer Personnel on Letterhead
Source
- Landing page: https://www.osbar.org/ethics/toc.html
- Original PDF: https://www.osbar.org/_docs/ethics/2005-73.pdf
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