My firm's new associate is admitted in another state and will take the Rhode Island bar exam soon. Until he passes, can his business cards, letters on firm stationery, and a hiring announcement omit that he is not yet admitted in Rhode Island?

Plain-English summary

An attorney asked the panel how his firm should identify a new associate on business cards, correspondence, and in newspaper announcements. The associate was a member of the bar of another state and would be taking the Rhode Island bar examination within the next few months.

On the business cards, the panel quoted Rule 7.1, which bars a false or misleading communication about a lawyer or the lawyer's services, including one that omits a fact necessary to make the statement as a whole not materially misleading, and Rule 7.5(a), which bars using a firm name, letterhead, or other professional designation that violates Rule 7.1. The panel took the position that if the new lawyer used business cards that did not indicate he is not a member of the Rhode Island bar, he would violate Rule 7.1(a) and Rule 7.5(a).

On correspondence, the attorney noted that the firm's stationery does not identify lawyers individually. The panel took the position that the new lawyer may not sign correspondence as an attorney without indicating that he is not admitted in Rhode Island, because failing to do so would be a misleading communication within the meaning of Rule 7.1. On the newspaper announcement of the hiring, the panel likewise concluded that publishing the announcement without indicating the newly hired lawyer's jurisdictional limitations would be a misleading communication under Rule 7.1.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in August 1990, after the Rhode Island Supreme Court adopted the Model Rules of Professional Conduct effective November 15, 1988. The Rhode Island Supreme Court later revised the Rules of Professional Conduct in 2007 as part of the nationwide Ethics 2000 process, which amended the advertising and firm-name rules addressed here. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Can an associate awaiting Rhode Island admission use business cards that do not mention he is admitted only in another state?

A: Under this opinion, no. The panel held that omitting his non-admission from the cards would violate Rule 7.1(a) (omitting a fact necessary to avoid being materially misleading) and Rule 7.5(a).

Q: Does it matter that the firm's letterhead does not list lawyers individually?

A: The panel still concluded that the associate may not sign correspondence as an attorney without indicating he is not admitted in Rhode Island, because doing so would be a misleading communication under Rule 7.1.

Q: Must a hiring announcement mention that the new lawyer is not yet admitted in Rhode Island?

A: Per the opinion, yes. The panel held that a newspaper announcement omitting the lawyer's jurisdictional limitations would be a misleading communication within the meaning of Rule 7.1.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applies Rule 7.1 (false or misleading communications, including omissions that are materially misleading) and Rule 7.5 (firm names and letterheads, which under Rule 7.5(a) may not violate Rule 7.1) of the Rhode Island Rules of Professional Conduct, adopted effective November 15, 1988, to how a firm identifies an associate admitted only in another state.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• MR 7.1 (communications concerning a lawyer's services)
• MR 7.5 (firm names and letterheads)
• RI RPC 7.1, 7.1(a), 7.5, 7.5(a), as adopted November 15, 1988

Statutes:

• None cited.

Cases:

• None cited.

Other opinions cited:

• None cited.

See also

• RI EAP Op. 88-03: Letterhead Disclosure of Single-State Bar Membership
• RI EAP Op. 89-11: Jurisdictional Symbols on Multistate Firm Letterhead
• RI EAP Op. 90-25: Advertising and the Rule 7.4 Disclaimer

Source

• Landing page: https://www.courts.ri.gov/attorney-resources/Pages/Ethics-Advisory-Panel-default.aspx
• Original PDF: https://www.courts.ri.gov/Opinions/EAP%2090-35.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.

DIGEST OF ETHICS ADVISORY PANEL
Opinion #90-35, Request #113
Issued August 2, 1990

An attorney seeks Panel advice as to how his firm should identify its new associate on business cards, correspondence and in newspaper announcements.

The attorney advises the Panel that the new associate is a member of the bar of another state and will be taking the Rhode Island bar examination within the next few months. The attorney asks, first, whether the new lawyer may utilize business cards which do not indicate that he is not admitted to the bar in Rhode Island prior to his expected admission to the bar.

Rule 7.1, titled "Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services" provides in pertinent part that

A lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's services. A communication is false or misleading if it:

(a) . . . omits a fact necessary to make the statement considered as a whole not materially misleading .

Rule 7.5, titled "Firm Names and Letterheads" provides, in pertinent part:

(a) A lawyer shall not use a firm name, letterhead or other professional designation that violates Rule 7.1.

The Panel takes the position that if the new lawyer in the inquiring attorney's firm were to utilize business cards not indicating that he is not a member of the Rhode Island bar he would violate Rule 7.1(a) and Rule 7.5(a).

The inquiring attorney next asks whether the new lawyer may sign correspondence on firm stationery without adding an indication that he is not a member of the Rhode Island bar. The inquiring attorney notes that the firm's stationery does not identify lawyers individually. The Panel takes the position that the new lawyer may not sign correspondence as an attorney without indicating that he is not admitted to the Rhode Island bar. Failure to so indicate would constitute a "misleading communication" within the meaning of Rule 7.1.

Finally, the attorney asks whether his firm may publish a newspaper announcement that the new lawyer in question has been hired without indicating that he is not a member of the Rhode Island bar. The Panel takes the position that publishing the newspaper announcement without indicating the newly hired lawyer's jurisdictional limitations would constitute a "misleading communication" within the meaning of Rule 7.1.

Ethics Advisory Panel advice is protective in nature. There is no requirement that an attorney abide by a Panel opinion, but if he or she does, he or she is fully protected from any charge of impropriety.