Does a very short radio-dashboard or online ad showing only a firm name, the word 'Call,' and a phone number have to include the lawyer's full name and office address?

Plain-English summary

A media company offered a lawyer advertising via the Radio Data System (RDS), the text that appears across a vehicle's dashboard display when the FM radio is on. RDS allows only very limited text, so the lawyer proposed a simple advertisement reading "[Surname] Law Firm. Call 888-[SURNAME]." The lawyer asked several questions about Rule 7.2(d)'s requirement that advertisements include the name and office address of a responsible lawyer: whether a surname alone suffices, whether using the surname in the phone number changes its character, whether the word "Call" triggers the rule, and whether naming a practice area does.

The Committee concluded the proposed RDS format (firm name, "Call," and the firm phone number) complies with Rule 7.2(d) as interpreted by Comment 10. Although 7.2(d) requires the name and office address for every advertisement, Comment 10 limits its application to communications containing "substantive advertising or soliciting statements and inferences beyond a lawyer or law firm's mere name, design logo, and ordinary contact information," in order to provide accountability for the content of lawyer advertising. The proposed text contains no substantive statements, and the firm name and number presumably give correct contact information as required by Rule 7.1, so the surname alone is sufficient.

The Committee found that using the surname for the last seven digits of the phone number does not make the number something other than "ordinary contact information," because the surname is not a slogan, tagline, or logo and does not resemble Comment 10's examples (such as www.sclawyer.com or 1-800-SC-LAWYER). It concluded the word "Call" does not trigger 7.2(d), because it says nothing of substance about the lawyer's practice; drawing on Comment 2, the Committee distinguished non-substantive contact information (name, address, email, website, phone) from substantive items (kinds of services, fees, payment, communication, references).

Finally, the Committee concluded that including a practice area such as "Personal Injury" or "Workers Comp," though short, speaks to the kinds of services the lawyer will undertake and therefore is a substantive advertising statement that would trigger Rule 7.2(d)'s name-and-address requirement.

In practice

Under this opinion, a lawyer may run a minimal radio-dashboard or online ad consisting of the firm name, the word "Call," and a phone number without including a responsible lawyer's full name and office address, because Rule 7.2(d) applies only to ads with substantive advertising content under Comment 10. The opinion holds that using the surname within the phone number remains ordinary contact information, but that adding even a brief practice-area description converts the ad into a substantive communication that triggers the 7.2(d) name-and-address requirement.

Common questions

Q: Does a short firm ad have to include a lawyer's full name and office address?

A: Not always. The opinion concludes Rule 7.2(d) applies only to ads with substantive advertising statements, so an ad with just the firm name, "Call," and a phone number does not trigger the requirement.

Q: Does using the firm's surname as part of the phone number change anything?

A: No. The opinion concludes the surname-based number is still "ordinary contact information" and not a slogan, tagline, or logo under Comment 10.

Q: Does adding the word "Call" trigger the name-and-address rule?

A: No. The opinion concludes "Call" says nothing of substance about the lawyer's practice and does not trigger Rule 7.2(d).

Q: What if the ad names a practice area like "Personal Injury"?

A: Then the rule applies. The opinion concludes a practice-area description speaks to the kinds of services the lawyer offers and is a substantive statement that triggers Rule 7.2(d).

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets Rule 7.2 (advertising), specifically the 7.2(d) requirement of a responsible lawyer's name and office address and Comment 10's limitation of that requirement to substantive advertising, read together with Comment 2's catalog of non-substantive contact information versus substantive practice information, and Rule 7.1 (truthful communications). South Carolina's Rule 7.2 corresponds to ABA Model Rule 7.2.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• MR 7.2 / SC RPC 7.2(d) (advertising; required name and office address; Comments 2 and 10)
• MR 7.1 / SC RPC 7.1 (truthful communications concerning a lawyer's services)

See also

• ABA Formal Op. 10-457: Lawyer Websites
• SC Bar Ethics Op. 20-01: Competitor-Name Keyword Advertising

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scbar.org/for-lawyers/quicklinks/legal-resources/ethics-advisory-opinions/ethics-advisory-opinion-23-03/
• Original PDF: https://www.scbar.org/media/v02fpg5w/eao_23-03_final_adopted_opinion.pdf

Original opinion text

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

ETHICS ADVISORY OPINION

23-03

UPON THE REQUEST OF A MEMBER OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA BAR, THE ETHICS ADVISORY COMMITTEE HAS RENDERED THIS OPINION ON THE ETHICAL PROPRIETY OF THE INQUIRER'S CONTEMPLATED CONDUCT. THIS COMMITTEE HAS NO DISCIPLINARY AUTHORITY. LAWYER DISCIPLINE IS ADMINISTERED SOLELY BY THE SOUTH CAROLINA SUPREME COURT THROUGH ITS COMMISSION ON LAWYER CONDUCT.

SC Rules of Professional Conduct: 7.2

Facts:

Media company owns several radio stations. It has offered a new form of advertising to Lawyer, utilizing the Radio Data System ("RDS") — a/k/a visible text across the dashboard display in vehicles when the FM radio is on. The text displayed via RDS typically includes the station identifier at minimum, and for some stations, the title/artist of the song currently playing.

The media company is offering Lawyer the opportunity to display custom text on the RDS across multiple stations. Given the medium, however, the amount of text that is able to be displayed on RDS-enabled vehicles is very limited. These space limitations apply to Lawyer. Given these space limitations, Lawyer wishes to display a simple text advertisement via RDS and/or online as follows: "[Surname] Law Firm. Call 888- [SURNAME]"

Questions Presented:

• For advertisements of any type when Rule 7.2(d) clearly applies, does the "name" obligation require inclusion of both a first and last name of a responsible lawyer? Would just a surname alone be sufficient for (d) compliance?

• If a surname alone is insufficient, would the combination of a surname plus other contact information be sufficient to adequately identify the lawyer under Rule 7.2(d) for accountability purposes?

• Does use of Lawyer's surname as part of the phone number (rather than exclusively numbers), make that phone number something other than "ordinary contact information" and thus outside of the Comment 10 exception to Rule 7.2(d)?

• Rule 7.2(d) applies to communications that contain "substantive advertising or soliciting statements." Does the inclusion of the invitation to "Call" trigger application of (d)?

• Does even basic mention of the type of law that is generally practiced by Lawyer (ex: "Personal Injury" or "Worker's Comp") trigger application of (d)?

Summary:

The use of RDS advertising with the format proposed including only the firm name, the word "Call" and the firm phone number complies with Rule 7.2(d) as interpreted and applied in Rule 7.2, Comment 10.

Opinion:

• Rule 7.2(d) requires the "name and office address" of a lawyer for every advertisement. Comment 10, however, explains the purpose of that obligation ("to provide accountability for the content of lawyer advertising"). That comment limits application of (d) by applying it only to "communications that contain substantive advertising or soliciting statements and inferences beyond a lawyer or law firm's mere name, design logo, and ordinary contact information." Given the text proposed, the use of Lawyer's surname in the law firm name and for the last seven digits of the telephone number of the firm complies with the rule because there is no substantive advertising or soliciting statements and presumably the firm name and number truthfully gives correct contact information for reaching the firm and the lawyer or lawyers associated with the firm as required by Rule 7.1.

• As set forth in answer to question 1, the use of the surname alone is sufficient due to the absence of substantive advertising or soliciting statements in the proposed text.

• The use of Lawyer's surname for the last seven digits of the law firm's phone number does not make the phone number something other than "ordinary contact information." Lawyer's surname is not a "slogan, tagline, or logo" within the common meaning of those words as used in Comment 10, nor does it resemble the examples of common contact information provided in the comment that are used to illustrate the meaning of those words as used in the comment – "e.g., www.sclawyer.com or 1-800-SC-LAWYER."

• The inclusion of the word "Call" in the proposed text does not trigger the application of Rule 7.2(d). The word "Call" as used in the proposed text is not a "substantive advertising or soliciting statement[ ] [or] inference[ ] beyond a lawyer or law firm's name, design logo, and ordinary contact information" (emphasis added), as set forth in Comment 10 discussing the scope of Rule 7.2(d). Comment 2 to Rule 7.2 best illustrates the distinction between "substantive" advertising or soliciting statements or inferences and those that are not. Comment 2 states:
  This Rule permits the public dissemination of information concerning a lawyer's name or firm name, address, email address, website, and telephone number; the kinds of services the lawyer will undertake; the basis on which the lawyer's fees are determined, including prices for specific services and payment and credit arrangements; a lawyer's foreign language ability; names of references and, with their consent, names of clients regularly represented; and other information that might invite the attention of those seeking legal assistance.

All of the information described in the first grouping before the first semicolon-- i.e., "lawyer's name or firm name, address, email address, website, and telephone number"-- is information that Comment 10 describes as non-substantive and as not generally triggering the obligation of Rule 7.2(d).By contrast, the remaining five sets of items, each separated by a semicolon, describe substantive aspects of a lawyer's practice, i.e., what kinds of work he or she will do, how much they will charge and how they expect to get paid, how they may communicate with a client, or who can share their experience of working with the lawyer.The word "Call" as used in the proposed display says nothing of substance about the lawyer's practice and does not, therefore, trigger the application of Rule 7.2(d).

• Inclusion of information about the types of law Lawyer practices such as "Personal Injury" or "Workers Comp," though very short and limited, speak to the "kind of services the lawyer will undertake" and, therefore, touch upon the "substance" of the lawyer's work and not just how to get in touch with the lawyer. Inclusion of such information in the proposed text of an RDS advertisement would trigger the requirement of Rule 7.2(d) because it would be a substantive advertising or soliciting statement.