Can a lawyer place a professional listing as a newspaper ad in a general section, next to commercial ads, rather than in a legal directory column?

Plain-English summary

The inquiry presented several newspaper ads listing lawyers' names, addresses, and practice areas (for example, "Divorce, Family Matters" and "Real Estate Matters"). None appeared in a section or column set aside for lawyers as a legal directory or legal guide; instead they ran next to a patent-medicine ad and a watchmaker-and-jeweler ad.

The committee held that each of the ads violated Canons 24 (solicitation) and 39 (professional card). The vote was 7-0.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1947, under the former Texas Canons of Ethics, which the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct replaced effective January 1, 1990. Lawyer advertising restrictions were also reshaped by later constitutional decisions beginning with Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (1977). Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis; advertising is now addressed by ABA Model Rules 7.1 and 7.2. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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: Why were these listings improper when a legal-directory listing can be allowed?

A: The committee's concern was placement. These ran as ordinary newspaper ads outside any section set aside for lawyers as a legal directory or guide, mixed in with commercial advertising, and so violated Canons 24 and 39.

Q: Did the content of the listings matter or just their placement?

A: The opinion focused on placement, holding that listings published as newspaper ads outside a legal directory or legal guide column were improper.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets former Texas Canons 24 (solicitation) and 39 (professional card), applied to lawyer listings run as general newspaper advertisements. It draws the line at whether the listing appears in a section set aside for lawyers as a legal directory or guide. The modern analogs are ABA Model Rule 7.1 (communications about a lawyer's services) and Model Rule 7.2 (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 Canons 24 and 39

See also

• TX Ethics Op. 7: A Newspaper "Legal Directory" Listing
• TX Ethics Op. 25: Newspaper Professional Listings
• TX Ethics Op. 6: Telephone Directory Listings

Source

• Landing page: https://www.legalethicstexas.com/resources/opinions/opinion-4/
• Original PDF: https://tcle-web.s3.amazonaws.com/public/documents/Opinion_4.pdf

Original opinion text

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

QUESTION PRESENTED

Whether the following newspaper ads fall within the inhibition of one or more of the Texas Canons of Ethics, to-wit:
"Divorce, Family Matters.
1101 Main St. C-7035
(NAME OF LAWYER)
Real Estate Matters.
Security Title Co."

"Name Of Lawyer
Attorney At Law
R-6-51711 Construction Bldg."

"Name Of Lawyer
Attorney At Law
710 Texas Bank Building C-3336"
None of the foregoing ads appeared in a section or column set aside for lawyers, and listed as a legal directory or legal guide, but were next to a patent medicine ad and an ad of a watchmaker and jeweler.

April 1947
18 Baylor L. Rev. 196 (1966)

SOLICITATION - PROFESSIONAL LISTINGS - NEWSPAPER ADS
It is improper to publish professional listings as newspaper ads in a section or column not set aside for lawyers and listed as legal directory or legal guide.

Canons 24, 39.

Each of such ads violates Canons 24 and 39. (7-0)

Tex. Comm. On Professional Ethics, Op. 4 (1947)