Can a Texas lawyer post signs or placards in the office or waiting room listing the types of cases the lawyer handles?

Plain-English summary

The inquiry asked whether a lawyer could place small signs or placards in his office or waiting room telling the reader the various types of cases and matters he handles, for example criminal cases, divorces, child custody, personal injury, and wills. The lawyer's stated purpose was to inform "his present clients." The Committee concluded that the practice constitutes unethical solicitation.

The Committee reasoned that a sign in an office or waiting room cannot exercise the discretion needed to reach only present clients, so it assumed the signs would be seen by anyone present, client or not. It read DR 2-102(A) to bar an office sign that states the nature of the practice except as DR 2-105 permits for authorized specialties, and read DR 2-103(A) and DR 2-104(A) on recommending employment and accepting employment from unsolicited advice. While EC 2-1 and EC 2-2 recognize the public's need to identify legal problems and select counsel, the Committee treated those Ethical Considerations as guidelines for following the Disciplinary Rules rather than exceptions to them, meant to serve the public rather than to obtain publicity or employment for particular lawyers.

The Committee concluded that the proposed placards did not appear helpful in meeting the public need recognized by EC 2-1 and EC 2-2, and seemed more likely calculated to obtain publicity or employment for the lawyers involved. It held that using small signs or placards, in the office or elsewhere, to advise the public of the nature of a practice is unethical solicitation.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1975, under the former Texas Code of Professional Responsibility, 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 held that lawyer advertising is commercial speech protected by the First Amendment; the broad ban on stating the nature of a practice no longer reflects the law. Lawyer advertising and solicitation in Texas are now governed by the Rule 7 series (Rules 7.01 through 7.06, as revised in 2021), with ABA analogs Model Rules 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3. 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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: Could a lawyer post waiting-room placards listing the case types handled?

A: No. The Committee held that using small signs or placards in the office or elsewhere to advise the public of the nature of a practice is unethical solicitation.

Q: Did it matter that the lawyer wanted to inform only present clients?

A: The Committee said a sign in an office or waiting room cannot control who sees it, so it assumed the signs would reach anyone present, whether a present client or not.

Q: Didn't the Code encourage helping the public find legal help?

A: The Committee acknowledged EC 2-1 and EC 2-2 recognize that need, but treated them as guidelines for following the Disciplinary Rules, not exceptions, and found the placards more likely aimed at publicity than at meeting the public need.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets DR 2-102(A), DR 2-103(A), and DR 2-104(A) of the former Texas Code of Professional Responsibility, governing office signs, recommending employment, and accepting employment from unsolicited advice, read alongside EC 2-1 and EC 2-2 on the public's need for legal services. The Committee balanced that public need against the protection against unethical solicitation and resolved it under the Disciplinary Rules. Because the opinion predates Bates v. State Bar of Arizona and the modern advertising rules, the closest current provisions are the Texas Rule 7 series and ABA Model Rules 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• MR 7.1 (communications about a lawyer's services); MR 7.2 (advertising); MR 7.3 (solicitation), as the modern analogs
• DR 2-102(A), DR 2-103(A), DR 2-104(A), EC 2-1, EC 2-2 (former Texas Code of Professional Responsibility)

See also

• TX Ethics Op. 385: Office and Building Signs
• TX Ethics Op. 386: Telephone Directory Listings
• TX Ethics Op. 418: Advertising Degrees, Non-Legal Certifications, and Case Types

Source

• Landing page: https://www.legalethicstexas.com/resources/opinions/opinion-383/
• Original PDF: https://tcle-web.s3.amazonaws.com/public/documents/Opinion_383.pdf

Original opinion text

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

QUESTION PRESENTED

Is it unethical for an attorney to place small signs or placards in his office or waiting room advising the reader of various types of cases and matters which he handles?

STATEMENT OF FACTS

ATTORNEY'S USE OF OFFICE SIGNS OR PLACARDS STATING NATURE OF HIS PRACTICE

An attorney's use of small signs or placards in his office or waiting room informing the reader of the types of cases he handles constitutes unethical solicitation.

Code Of Professional Responsibility: DR 2-102 (A); DR 2-103 (A); AND DR 2-104 (A).

The particular inquiry made of this Committee states that by the use of the small signs or placards in the attorney's office he would be informing "his present clients" that he handles various types of cases and legal matters. However, the Committee sees no way for a sign in a lawyer's office or waiting room to exercise the discretion necessary in determining whether the information reaches only "his present clients." For purposes of this opinion, therefore, it is assumed that such signs would be available to anyone who might be found in a lawyer's office or waiting room, whether they are his present clients or not.

Specific examples of the kind of information sought to convey by such small signs or placards is that the lawyer in question handles criminal cases, divorces, child custody cases, personal injury cases, draws wills, etc.

DR 2-102 (A) states as follows:
"A lawyer shall not use . . . office signs . . . except that the following may be used if they are in dignified form: . . . (3) A sign on or near the door of the office and in the building directory identifying the law office. The sign shall not state the nature of the practice, except as permitted under DR 2-105." (Emphasis ours)

The exception provided by DR 2-105 deals with certain authorized specialties and is not material here.

DR 2-103 (A) provides as follows:
"A lawyer shall not recommend employment, as a private practitioner, of himself, his partner, or associate to a non-lawyer who has not sought his advice regarding employment of a lawyer."
DR 2-104 (A) provides as follows:
"A lawyer who has given unsolicited advice to a layman that he should obtain counsel or take legal action shall not accept employment resulting from that advice, except that:
(1) A lawyer may accept employment by a close friend, relative, former client (if the advice is germane to the former employment), or one whom the lawyer reasonably believes to be a client." (Emphasis ours)
It is true, as pointed out in the letter brief furnished this Committee, that Ethical Consideration 2-1 points out the need of members of the public to recognize their legal problems, appreciate the importance of seeking assistance and to be able to obtain the services of acceptable legal counsel. Lawyers are charged with the responsibility of helping to educate laymen to recognize their problems, to facilitate the process of intelligent selection of lawyers, and to assist in making legal services fully available. However, this ethical consideration is not in derogation of the disciplinary rules but is intended as an ethical guideline in following those rules. These rules have been promulgated in an attempt to reach a balance between the needs of the public referred to by Ethical Consideration 2-1 and the equally important but sometimes conflicting need for the public to be protected against unethical solicitation practices. There is no doubt that the winds of change spawned by our modern, complex society have effected and will continue to effect changes in the disciplinary rules in this area of the Code. Such relatively new institutions as Legal Aid Services, Lawyer Referral Services, Group Prepaid Legal Services, and Legal Specialization have and will require adjustments in the traditional concepts guiding the conduct of lawyers through this ethical thicket. However, these changes have been and are being made to meet the public=s need, and not to obtain publicity or employment for particular lawyers. See E.C. 2-2.

As pointed out previously, DR 2-104 (A) provides that a lawyer who has given unsolicited advice should not accept employment resulting from that advice except under certain circumstances there stated, one of which is when the lawyer reasonably believes the person to whom such unsolicited advice has been given is a client of his. Clearly a lawyer should not hesitate to give advice to a regular client, even though unsolicited, if he honestly and reasonably believes the client has need for such advice. Further it will be noted that the Code does not prohibit the giving of unsolicited advice even to those who are not clients, close friends or relatives. It just prohibits the lawyer from accepting employment resulting from that advice.

No matter how important the function of the legal profession to help educate laymen in recognition of their problems and in the process of intelligent selection of lawyers may be, that function can and must be undertaken within the guidelines of the disciplinary rules of the Code. Further, the procedure proposed by the inquiry before this Committee does not seem particularly helpful in meeting the public need recognized by E.C. 2-1, E.C. 2-2 and others. It seems more likely calculated to obtain publicity or employment for the particular lawyers involved rather than to benefit the public.

In conclusion, we hold it to be unethical solicitation for an attorney by the use of small signs or placards, in his office or elsewhere, to advise the public of the nature of his practice.

Tex. Comm. On Professional Ethics, Op. 383 (1975)