Can a county bar association have its members mail State Bar educational pamphlets to their own clients in unmarked envelopes?

Plain-English summary

The inquiry asked whether a county bar association could engage in institutional advertising by having its members distribute to their clients educational pamphlets prepared by the State Bar of Texas, mailed in unmarked envelopes.

The Committee said a county bar association may ethically carry out such distribution, and may handle the mechanical distribution in any feasible manner that does not solicit business for, or advertise on behalf of, an individual lawyer. On the proposal that each lawyer send pamphlets to his own clients (so the county would be well covered), with the envelopes and pamphlets in no way indicating the sending lawyer's identity, the Committee said this could not constitute solicitation for, or advertisement on behalf of, any individual lawyer and so would not be unethical.

The Committee added that there would be less chance of an appearance of solicitation or advertisement for an individual lawyer if the envelopes were marked as coming from the county bar association itself, rather than appearing to be distributed anonymously. 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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 county bar association distribute educational pamphlets to the public?

A: Under this opinion, yes. The Committee said a county bar association may ethically distribute educational pamphlets prepared by the State Bar of Texas and may handle the distribution in any feasible manner that does not advertise or solicit for an individual lawyer.

Q: Can individual lawyers mail those pamphlets to their own clients?

A: Yes, provided the envelopes and pamphlets do not identify the lawyer. The Committee said that anonymous distribution could not constitute solicitation or advertisement for any individual lawyer.

Q: Is anonymous mailing or bar-association marking preferred?

A: The Committee said there would be less chance of an appearance of solicitation or advertisement for an individual lawyer if the envelopes were marked as coming from the county bar association rather than appearing anonymous.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets former Texas Canon 24, which prohibited advertising and solicitation, as applied to bar-sponsored public-education materials distributed through individual lawyers. 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)

See also

• TX Ethics Op. 247: Law Letterhead for Civic Group Mail
• TX Ethics Op. 246: Lawyer on a Church Wills Committee
• TX Ethics Op. 277: Business-Guide and Directory Listings

Source

• Landing page: https://www.legalethicstexas.com/resources/opinions/opinion-239/
• Original PDF: https://tcle-web.s3.amazonaws.com/public/documents/Opinion_239.pdf

Original opinion text

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

QUESTION PRESENTED

Is it permissible for a county bar association to engage in institutional advertising through the distribution by its members to their clients of pamphlets of an educational nature which have been prepared by the State Bar of Texas, said pamphlets to be mailed in unmarked envelopes?

18 Baylor L. Rev. 318 (1966)

SOLICITATION OF BUSINESS - DISTRIBUTION BY A COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION OF PAMPHLETS PREPARED BY THE STATE BAR OF TEXAS
A county bar association may properly distribute pamphlets of an educational nature prepared by the State Bar of Texas, and attorneys acting under the direction of such associations may properly mail such pamphlets to their clients, provided the pamphlets are mailed in unmarked envelopes or in envelopes marked as coming from the county bar association.

Canon 24.

A county bar association may ethically engage in such distribution. Further, a county bar association may handle the mechanical distribution of pamphlets in any feasible manner which will not solicit business for an individual lawyer or constitute an advertisement on behalf of an individual lawyer.

In this instance, the county bar association has suggested that each lawyer send pamphlets to his own clientsΧapparently thinking that, in this manner, adequate coverage of the county will be obtainedΧwith the proviso that the envelopes and pamphlets in no way indicate the identity of the lawyer sending out the mail.

This could not constitute a solicitation forΧor advertisement in behalf ofΧany individual lawyer and, therefore, such action would not be unethical.

The committee is of the opinion that there would be less chance of an appearance of solicitation or advertisement for an individual lawyer if the envelopes were marked as coming from the county bar association itself rather than appearing to be distributed anonymously. (9-0.)

Tex. Comm. On Professional Ethics, Op. 239 (1961)