Can a lawyer belong to a Chamber of Commerce that lists members by occupation in its membership directory, including an 'Attorneys' section?

Plain-English summary

A Chamber of Commerce solicited memberships from lawyers and business people, and the lawyers joined as a community service, not to solicit business. Its membership directory had an alphabetical section listing all members with occupation, address, and telephone number, and classified sections grouping members by occupation, including a "Business and Professional Services" section subdivided into categories such as Attorneys and Patent Attorneys. Members paid dues; no member paid for the classified listing, and listings were not distinctive within a subsection. The directory also carried paid display advertisements, but no lawyer had used or paid for one. The inquiry asked whether it was unethical for a lawyer to be listed this way.

The Committee began with the general rule that a lawyer may not publish any advertisement under Canon 24, and that even information that would appear on a calling card or telephone listing would be unprofessional if published by the lawyer, and that indirect solicitation and advertising are forbidden. It observed, however, that here the lawyer did not publish the classified listing; he caused it only in the sense that joining the Chamber of Commerce led to publication in the normal course of the organization's operation. While calling it unfortunate that the organization listed professionals in such a commercial fashion, the Committee said the real question was whether an attorney may join the Chamber of Commerce under these conditions.

Analogizing to Opinion 138 (where a lawyer's purchase of a city directory was not improper though the publisher's method was "not approved"), and noting that churches and civic clubs sometimes list members by occupation, the Committee recognized that a lawyer has a responsibility to participate in civic and community affairs. It concluded that it is not unethical for a lawyer to be a member of a Chamber of Commerce that lists its membership in the manner described, though it would be improper to join any organization for the purpose of such a listing or to advertise or solicit business. It referred to its opinions on listing under "Patent Attorneys." The ruling was 9-0.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1961, under the former Texas Canons of Ethics, which the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct replaced effective January 1, 1990. It also predates Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977), which loosened categorical advertising restrictions, though prohibitions on solicitation were not eliminated. 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 mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Can a lawyer join a Chamber of Commerce that lists members by occupation?

A: Under this opinion, yes. The Committee said it is not unethical for a lawyer to belong to a Chamber of Commerce that lists its members by occupational classification, where the listing is unpaid and the lawyer joined for a civic purpose.

Q: Why was the occupational listing not improper advertising?

A: The Committee said the lawyer did not publish the listing; he caused it only in the sense that joining the organization led to publication in the normal course, and a lawyer has a responsibility to participate in civic affairs.

Q: When would joining such a group be improper?

A: The Committee said it would be improper for a lawyer to join any organization for the purpose of obtaining such a listing or for the purpose of advertising or soliciting business.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets former Texas Canon 24, which prohibited advertising and solicitation, as applied to an unpaid occupational listing of a lawyer in a civic organization's membership directory. The modern analogs are ABA Model Rule 7.1, on communications concerning a lawyer's services, and Model Rule 7.2, on advertising.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• MR 7.1 (communications concerning a lawyer's services), as the modern analog
• MR 7.2 (advertising), as the modern analog
• Texas Canon 24 (former canon)

Other opinions cited:

• Texas Opinions 138 and 175: a lawyer's conduct is not improper though a publisher's method is "not approved"
• Texas Opinions 127, 200, and 214; ABA Opinions 203 and 292: directory listings and indirect advertising

See also

• TX Ethics Op. 236: Professional Card in an Alumni Magazine
• TX Ethics Op. 277: Business-Guide and Directory Listings
• TX Ethics Op. 241: Yellow-Pages Listing in Another Town

Source

• Landing page: https://www.legalethicstexas.com/resources/opinions/opinion-237/
• Original PDF: https://tcle-web.s3.amazonaws.com/public/documents/Opinion_237.pdf

Original opinion text

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

QUESTION PRESENTED

The Chamber of Commerce of a Texas city solicits memberships from lawyers as well as from business men. The lawyers who have joined the organization have done so on the basis that they are doing a community service and not for the purpose of soliciting business. The Chamber of Commerce publishes a directory of its membership, divided into several sections. One section is an "Alphabetical Section," listing all members, with indication of the occupation of each, together with address and telephone number. The other eleven sections are special lists of members divided according to occupations, and these sections as a group are identified as "Classified Sections." For example, one section lists "Contractors," another "Retail Trade," and another "Government Offices." One section is entitled business and Professional Services." It is subdivided into Accountants, Advertising, Artists, Attorneys, Chemists, Collection Agencies, Dentists, Engineers, Photography, Physicians, Patent Attorneys, Veterinarians and other business and professional groups.
Members pay membership dues. All members are listed in some classified section of the directory as well as in the alphabetical section. No member pays anything for the listing in the classified section, and the listing of one member is not distinctive from another in the same subsection. The directory does contain many displaying advertisements (some of which are in the form of business cards), for which charge is made but no lawyer has used or paid for an advertisement. The listing in the classified section of the lawyers results solely from membership in the Chamber of Commerce.

Is it unethical for an attorney to be listed in this manner in the classified section of the directory?

18 Baylor L. Rev. 316 (1966)

SOLICITATION - ADVERTISEMENTS - MEMBERSHIP IN A CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WHICH LISTS ITS MEMBERS IN A MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY ACCORDING TO THE OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE MEMBERS
It is not unethical for a lawyer to belong to a Chamber of Commerce which in its membership directory lists its members according to the occupational classification of the members, in addition to an alphabetical listing is not a paid advertisement and where the lawyer joined the organization for a civic purpose and not for personal advertisement.

Canon 24.

As a general rule a lawyer may not publish any advertisement. See Texas Canon 24. Even though the information contained in the classified section is only that which would normally appear on a professional calling card or in a telephone directory listing, its publication by a lawyer would be unprofessional. See Texas Opinion 214. And, of course, indirect solicitation and indirect advertising is forbidden. See A.B.A. Opinion 292 (October 15, 1957).

However, in the present situation the lawyer did not publish the classified listing. He caused it to be published only in the sense that his joining the Chamber of Commerce caused it to be published in the normal course of the operation of that organization. While it is unfortunate that the civic organization sees fit to list professional people such as physicians, lawyers and dentists in such a commercial fashion, in view of the established practice the real question is whether an attorney may join the Chamber of Commerce under such conditions.

A similar problem confronted this committee in regard to the purchase by a lawyer of a city directory, and in Opinion 138 it was stated that the publisher's method of conducting business "is not approved" but the conduct of the lawyer under the circumstances was not improper. Also see Opinion 175.

Other organizations, including some churches and some well-known civic clubs, from time to time list members according to occupation. While it may be improper for a lawyer to join any organization for the purpose of such a listing or for the purpose of advertising or of soliciting business, at the same time it must be recognized that, broadly speaking, a lawyer has a responsibility to participate in civic and community affairs. Accordingly, it is not unethical for a lawyer to be a member of a Chamber of Commerce which lists its membership in the manner described.

In regard to the listing of attorneys under the heading of "Patent Attorneys," attention is called to Texas Opinions 127 and 200, and A.B.A. Opinion 203. (9-0.)

Tex. Comm. On Professional Ethics, Op. 237 (1961)