Can a lawyer run a newspaper card with his name, address, phone, and a note that he has practiced in the area for 25 years?

Plain-English summary

The inquiry asked whether it violated the Canons for an attorney to publish a card in a local newspaper giving his name, address, and telephone number and reciting that he had been in that locality for 25 years.

The Committee was of the opinion that such a card violates Canon 24, which prohibits solicitation, direct or indirect, and Canon 39, which limits the publishing of such cards to reputable law lists and law directories and restricts the contents of the card to the name, profession, address, telephone number, and special branches of the profession practiced. The vote was 9-0.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1953, under the former Texas Canons of Ethics, which the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct replaced effective January 1, 1990. The advertising restriction the opinion applies predates Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977), which held that categorical bans on lawyer advertising violate the First Amendment, so the Canon framework used here has since been substantially narrowed; lawyer advertising is now addressed by ABA Model Rule 7.2 and the bar on misleading communications by Model Rule 7.1. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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 run a name-and-address card in a newspaper?

A: No. The Committee found a newspaper card violated Canon 24 and Canon 39, which confined cards to reputable law lists and directories (9-0).

Q: Did adding "25 years in this locality" matter?

A: The card's recital of 25 years in the locality went beyond the contents Canon 39 allowed (name, profession, address, telephone number, and special branches), and the newspaper publication itself was treated as solicitation under Canon 24.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets former Texas Canons 24 (solicitation) and 39 (professional cards), applied to a newspaper card stating the lawyer's long tenure in the area. The modern analogs are ABA Model Rule 7.2 (advertising) and Model Rule 7.1 (communications concerning a lawyer's services).

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• MR 7.2 (advertising), as the modern analog
• MR 7.1 (communications concerning a lawyer's services), as the modern analog
• Texas Canons 24 (solicitation), 39 (professional cards)

See also

• TX Ethics Op. 68: 'Tax Service' Card in a Legal Directory
• TX Ethics Op. 62: Lawyer's Yellow-Pages 'Title Service' Ad
• TX Ethics Op. 73: Reply Card Soliciting Insurer Work

Source

• Landing page: https://www.legalethicstexas.com/resources/opinions/opinion-60/
• Original PDF: https://tcle-web.s3.amazonaws.com/public/documents/Opinion_60.pdf

Original opinion text

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

QUESTION PRESENTED

Is it a violation of the Canons of Ethics for an attorney to publish a card in a local newspaper giving his name, address, and telephone number, and reciting that he has been in that locality for 25 years?

18 Baylor L. Rev. 222 (1966)

SOLICITATION - PROFESSIONAL CARDS
An attorney may not publish a card in a local newspaper, giving his name, address, and telephone number, and reciting that he has been in that locality for 25 years.

Canons 24, 39.

It is the opinion of the committee that such a card is a violation of Canon 24, which prohibits solicitation, direct or indirect, and Canon 39, which limits the publishing of such cards to reputable law lists and law directors, and which restricts the contents of the card to the name, profession, address, telephone number and special branches of the profession practiced. (9-0)

Tex. Comm. On Professional Ethics, Op. 60 (1953)