Ezel / Ethics Opinions / SBAND

Will the committee preapprove an entire law firm website for compliance with advertising rules?

Short answer The committee declined to preapprove the website or verify all its claims, while holding that website advertising is governed by the same rules as other lawyer advertising.
Bar
SBAND
Issued
June 21, 1999
Source
View Original PDF

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1999. Ask about yours and see what the current North Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct say for your facts, with citations.

How much weight this carries: Under North Dakota Rule for Lawyer Discipline 1.2(B), a lawyer who acts in good faith and in reasonable reliance on a written opinion of the association's ethics committee is not subject to sanction for the conduct the opinion addresses. Source.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official ethics opinion. The original opinion (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ethics opinion (PDF)

Plain-English summary

A law firm asked the committee to review its developing website and confirm that every part complied with ethics rules. The site described the firm, its lawyers, and practice areas and linked to other websites.

The committee treated the site as lawyer advertising under Rule 7.1(a). It said the same general advertising rules applied as to traditional formats, but it could not investigate and verify all of the site's statements. It declined advance approval of the full site while leaving open review of a specific question about a specific portion when facts were supplied.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1999, before North Dakota's 2006 revisions to its Rules of Professional Conduct. The later North Dakota Opinion 06-05 states: “On August 1, 2006, material changes to N.D.R. Prof. Conduct 1.10(a) will take effect.” Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement.

Common questions

Q: Did the committee apply a separate rule to websites?

A: No. It said website advertising or solicitation was governed by the same rules generally applicable to traditional lawyer advertising.

Q: Would the committee certify the complete website?

A: No. It declined to preapprove the entire site or verify all statements without a specific question about a specific portion.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applies North Dakota Rule 7.1(a) to website statements and relies on Opinions 97-11 and 98-06 for the committee’s limited advertising-review role.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

  • North Dakota Rule 7.1(a).

Other opinions cited:

  • North Dakota Opinion 97-11, declining advance approval of brochures.
  • North Dakota Opinion 98-06, limited review of a multi-city telephone advertisement.

See also

Source

Original opinion text

Full opinion text unavailable from the official source; see the linked source above for the complete text.

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