Can a Texas lawyer sign letterhead demand letters for a credit-repair company's customers the lawyer has never represented or even spoken with?

Plain-English summary

The opinion considers a lawyer who represents a credit repair agency. The agency wants the lawyer to furnish letters, signed by the lawyer on the lawyer's letterhead and addressed to the three main credit bureaus, each asking the bureau to remove negative credit history or provide verification for a particular customer of the agency. The lawyer has no contact with those customers and does not represent them, and would be paid by the agency on a per-letter basis.

The Committee concludes the arrangement is impermissible. Because the lawyer does not represent the agency's customers, stating or implying in the letters that the lawyer represents them is barred by Rules 4.01, 7.02, and 8.04. Rule 4.01 bars a lawyer from knowingly making a false statement of material fact to a third person; Rule 7.02(a)(1) bars false or misleading communications about a lawyer's services, including those containing a material misrepresentation of fact; and Rule 8.04(a)(3) bars conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation. Furnishing signed letters that falsely state or imply representation of each customer would make false and misleading statements to the recipients and so violate all three rules.

In practice

Under this opinion, and under the Texas rules as they stood at the time, a lawyer may not provide a client signed letterhead letters that make demands purportedly on behalf of the client's customers whom the lawyer does not represent. The opinion holds that stating or implying representation the lawyer does not have makes false and misleading statements to the recipients, violating Rule 4.01 (truthfulness to third persons), Rule 7.02(a)(1) (false or misleading communications about the lawyer's services), and Rule 8.04(a)(3) (dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation).

Common questions

Q: A company wants to pay me per letter to sign demand letters for its customers. Can I?

A: Per Opinion 630, not if the letters state or imply you represent customers you do not in fact represent. The Committee concludes that doing so makes false and misleading statements to the recipients and violates Rules 4.01, 7.02(a)(1), and 8.04(a)(3).

Q: Does it matter that I never spoke with the company's customers?

A: Yes. The opinion's facts turn on the lawyer having no contact with the customers and not representing them, so a letter implying the lawyer acts on their behalf is a misrepresentation to the recipient credit bureaus.

Q: Which rules does this implicate?

A: The Committee applies Rule 4.01 (no false statement of material fact to a third person), Rule 7.02(a)(1) (no false or misleading communication about a lawyer's services), and Rule 8.04(a)(3) (no dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation).

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets Texas Disciplinary Rule 4.01 (truthfulness in statements to others; ABA Model Rule 4.1), Rule 7.02(a)(1) (false or misleading communications concerning a lawyer's services; ABA Model Rule 7.1), and Rule 8.04(a)(3) (dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation; ABA Model Rule 8.4(c)).

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• MR 4.1 (truthfulness in statements to others); MR 7.1 (communications about a lawyer's services); MR 8.4(c) (dishonesty)
• Texas Disciplinary Rules 4.01, 7.02(a)(1), 8.04(a)(3)

See also

• TX Ethics Op. 652: Collection Agency for Fees and Credit-Bureau Reporting
• TX Ethics Op. 671: Anonymously Contacting an Anonymous Online Defamer
• ABA Formal Op. 06-439: Truthfulness in Negotiation and Mediation

Source

• Landing page: https://www.legalethicstexas.com/resources/opinions/opinion-630/
• Original PDF: https://tcle-web.s3.amazonaws.com/public/documents/Opinion_630.pdf

Original opinion text

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

QUESTION PRESENTED

Under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, may a lawyer provide to a client signed letters on the lawyer's letterhead making demands to third parties purportedly on behalf of persons who are customers of the client when the lawyer does not represent such persons?

STATEMENT OF FACTS

A lawyer represents a credit repair agency. The client credit repair agency requests the lawyer to furnish to the client letters signed by the lawyer on the lawyer's letterhead addressed to the three main credit bureaus. Each such letter asks the recipient credit bureau to remove negative credit history or furnish verification pertaining to a particular customer of the credit repair agency. The lawyer does not have any contact with the credit repair agency's customers on whose behalf the letters would be claimed to be written. The lawyer would be paid by the client credit repair agency on a per-letter basis to sign and provide the letters.

DISCUSSION

The lawyer in this fact situation would be furnishing a form letter on his letterhead making a demand on behalf of persons who are not clients of the lawyer. Since the lawyer does not represent the credit repair agency's customers, to state or imply in the lawyer's letters that the lawyer represents the customers is impermissible under Rules 4.01, 7.02, and 8.04 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.

Rule 4.01 entitled "Truthfulness in Statements to Others," provides in full:

"In the course of representing a client a lawyer shall not knowingly:
(a) make a false statement of material fact or law to a third person; or
(b) fail to disclose a material fact to a third person when disclosure is necessary to avoid making the lawyer a party to a criminal act or knowingly assisting a fraudulent act perpetrated by a client."

Rule 7.02, entitled "Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services," provides in pertinent part as follows:

"(a) A lawyer shall not make or sponsor a false or misleading communication about the qualifications or the services of any lawyer or firm. A communication is false or misleading if it:
(1) contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law, or omits a fact necessary to make the statement considered as a whole not materially misleading;
. . . ."

Finally, Rule 8.04(a)(3) provides that a lawyer shall not "engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation[.]"

In the circumstances presented, the lawyer's provision of signed letters falsely stating or implying that the lawyer represents in each case a customer of the credit repair agency would involve making false and misleading statements to the recipients of the letters and thus would violate Rules 4.01, 7.02(a)(1), and 8.04(a)(3) of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.

CONCLUSION

Under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, it is not permissible for a lawyer to provide to a client signed letters on the lawyer's letterhead making demands to third parties purportedly on behalf of persons who are customers of the client when the lawyer does not represent such persons.

Tex. Comm. On Professional Ethics, Op. 630 (2013)