Can a lawyer let a business client identify him as the company's attorney in the company's newspaper advertisement?

Plain-English summary

A savings and loan association ran a newspaper advertisement that listed its directors and gave each director's occupation, identifying one as an attorney, and that separately listed its "attorneys" under that heading. The question was whether a lawyer could properly let himself be advertised this way, and whether other businesses such as automobile dealers and small loan companies could likewise name their attorneys in commercial ads.

The Committee distinguished its earlier Opinion No. 188 (Oct. 1958), which allowed banks and savings institutions to list their directors and identify them by profession; it described that opinion as marking the outside limits of permissiveness. Drawing on A.B.A. Opinion No. 265 (Sept. 1951), the Committee said the line falls between an advertisement of a client that is obviously and primarily in the client's interest, with only incidental advertising value to the lawyer, and one that gives the impression that an object was to serve the lawyer's interest. It concluded that a lawyer should not permit a savings institution, an automobile dealer, or a small loan company to identify him as its attorney in a newspaper advertisement. The Committee ruled 9-0.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1964, 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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 business name its lawyer in a commercial newspaper ad?

A: Under this opinion, a lawyer should not permit a savings institution, an automobile dealer, or a small loan company to identify him as its attorney in a newspaper advertisement.

Q: Wasn't listing directors by profession already allowed?

A: The Committee had allowed banks and savings institutions to list their directors and identify them by profession in Opinion No. 188 (Oct. 1958), but it described that opinion as marking the outside limits of permissiveness and declined to extend it to commercial advertisements naming the lawyer as the company's attorney.

Q: What test did the Committee use to draw the line?

A: Following A.B.A. Opinion No. 265, the Committee distinguished an ad that is obviously and primarily in the client's interest, with only incidental advertising value to the lawyer, from one that gives the impression that an object was to serve the lawyer's interest.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets former Texas Canon 24, which restricted advertising by lawyers, as applied to a client's commercial newspaper advertisement that names the lawyer. The modern analog is ABA Model Rule 7.1, which governs communications concerning a lawyer's services.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

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

Other opinions cited:

• Texas Opinion No. 188 (Oct. 1958): banks and savings institutions may list directors by profession; the outside limit of permissiveness
• A.B.A. Opinion No. 265 (Sept. 1951): line between an ad primarily in the client's interest and one serving the lawyer's interest

See also

• TX Ethics Op. 285: "General Practice" on a Lawyer's Office Door Sign
• TX Ethics Op. 282: Off-Site Sign Directing the Public to a Lawyer's Office
• TX Ethics Op. 286: Advertising "European Claims" in the Texas Bar Journal

Source

• Landing page: https://www.legalethicstexas.com/resources/opinions/opinion-283/
• Original PDF: https://tcle-web.s3.amazonaws.com/public/documents/Opinion_283.pdf

Original opinion text

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

QUESTION PRESENTED

A savings & loan association published an advertisement in a local newspaper; among other things, the advertisement listed its directors and identified them by occupation. One was shown to be an attorney. The advertisement also listed its "attorneys" under that separate heading. Is it proper for an attorney to permit himself to be advertised in this manner? If so, is it proper for others, such as automobile dealers, small loan companies, etc., to name their attorneys in commercial advertisements?

18 Baylor L. Rev. 353 (1966)

ADVERTISING - CLIENT'S NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENT
A lawyer should not permit a client to identify him in a newspaper advertisement as the client's attorney.

Canon 24.

This committee has held that banks and savings institutions in advertisements may list their directors and identify them by their professions and that an attorney who permits himself to be so shown is not acting improperly. See Opinion No. 188 (Oct., 1958), which marks the outside limits of permissiveness. A.B.A. Opinion No. 265 (Sept., 1951) suggests the line be drawn between that advertisement of a client which is obviously and primarily in the interest of the client even though of some incidental advertising value to the lawyer, and the advertisement which gives the impression that one object was to serve the interests of the lawyer. A lawyer should not permit a savings institution, an automobile dealer or a small loan company to identify him as its attorney in a newspaper advertisement. (9- 0.)

Tex. Comm. On Professional Ethics, Op. 283 (1964)