Can a Texas lawyer advertise free warrant checks and free bail bond information to draw potential clients into the office, or does giving away that information count as paying something of value to solicit clients?
Texas Ethics Opinion 654: Offering Free Warrant Checks and Bail Bond Information to Attract Clients
Short answer: Per the Committee, a lawyer may offer and give free bail bond and warrant-check information to encourage the public to visit the office; doing so is not giving "anything of value" to solicit employment under Rule 7.03(c), provided the lawyer honors the free offer and supervises any non-lawyer assistant under Rule 5.03.
Disclaimer: This is an advisory ethics opinion. Advisory opinions are not binding; they interpret the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct and are persuasive authority. This summary is for research purposes only and is not legal advice. Verify current rules before acting on any specific guidance.
About this page: The plain-English summary and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official opinion. The opinion text is reproduced at the bottom; the official source (linked) controls.
Plain-English summary
The opinion considers a lawyer whose office sits across from the county jail. The lawyer wants to post signs offering "Free bail bond information" and "Free warrant check," have a legal assistant run warrant checks and give bail bond information to visitors, and have the assistant tell visitors the lawyer practices criminal law and is accepting clients. The question is whether giving away this information runs afoul of Rule 7.03(c), which bars a lawyer, in order to solicit professional employment, from paying, giving, or offering to give anything of value to a prospective client.
The Committee concludes the plan does not violate Rule 7.03(c). Visitors are prospective clients, and the signs offer information at no cost, but providing such information is not "giving something of value in order to solicit professional employment" within the meaning of the rule. The opinion observes that attorneys often give information to prospective clients in connection with soliciting employment, and Rule 7.03(c) does not prohibit doing so.
The opinion attaches two conditions drawn from other rules. Because the lawyer offers the information for free, she must honor that offer; she cannot require payment or make the information contingent on hiring her, or she would violate Rule 8.04(a)(3) (dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation). And under Rule 5.03, the lawyer must make reasonable efforts to ensure that the non-lawyer assistant who provides the information acts consistently with the lawyer's professional obligations.
In practice
Under this opinion, and under the Texas rules as they stood at the time of the opinion, a lawyer does not violate the disciplinary rules by offering and giving free bail bond and warrant information to members of the public who visit in response to the offer. The opinion holds that the lawyer must honor the free offer (not condition the information on being hired) to stay within Rule 8.04(a)(3), and must take reasonable steps under Rule 5.03 to ensure that any non-lawyer assistant who provides the information complies with the lawyer's professional obligations.
Common questions
Q: Does giving away free warrant checks count as paying a prospective client to solicit them?
A: No. Per Opinion 654, providing free bail bond and warrant information is not giving "anything of value" to solicit employment within the meaning of Rule 7.03(c); the Committee notes lawyers often give information to prospective clients when soliciting employment.
Q: Can I require the visitor to hire me to get the warrant check?
A: No. The opinion states that because the lawyer offered the information for free, she must honor that offer and cannot require payment or condition it on hiring her, or she would violate Rule 8.04(a)(3).
Q: Can my legal assistant run the warrant checks and tell visitors I take criminal cases?
A: Yes, but the opinion holds the lawyer must make reasonable efforts under Rule 5.03 to ensure the non-lawyer assistant's conduct complies with the lawyer's professional obligations.
Background and rules framework
The opinion interprets Texas Disciplinary Rule 7.03(c) (prohibited solicitation; paying or giving anything of value to solicit employment), which corresponds to the solicitation principles of ABA Model Rule 7.3, together with Rule 8.04(a)(3) (dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation; ABA Model Rule 8.4(c)) and Rule 5.03 (responsibilities regarding nonlawyer assistants; ABA Model Rule 5.3).
Citations and references
Rules of Professional Conduct:
- MR 7.3 (solicitation of clients)
- MR 8.4(c) (conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation)
- MR 5.3 (responsibilities regarding nonlawyer assistants)
- Texas Disciplinary Rules 7.03(c), 8.04(a)(3), 5.03
See also
- ABA Formal Op. 501: Solicitation Under Model Rule 7.3
- TX Ethics Op. 641: Client Referrals From a Financial-Planning Company
Source
- Landing page: https://www.legalethicstexas.com/resources/opinions/opinion-654/
- Original PDF: https://tcle-web.s3.amazonaws.com/public/documents/Opinion_654.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 encourage members of the public to visit her law office by offering to provide free information such as warrant checks and bail bond information that may be of interest to the public?
STATEMENT OF FACTS
A Texas lawyer's office is located across the street from the county jail and the sign outside the office identifies it as a law office. The lawyer plans to place another sign outside her office stating: "Free bail bond information" and "Free warrant check." The lawyer plans to have her legal assistant provide free information to office visitors about bail bonds and about warrants, including determining whether a warrant exists, the nature of the warrant, and the amount of outstanding fines associated with the warrant. The lawyer will also instruct her legal assistant to inform visitors that the lawyer practices criminal law and is accepting new clients.
DISCUSSION
Subject to exceptions not relevant to the facts considered in this opinion, Rule 7.03(c) of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct provides in relevant part:
"A lawyer, in order to solicit professional employment, shall not pay, give, advance, or offer to pay, give, or advance anything of value . . . to a prospective client or any other person[.]"
The lawyer's plans do not violate Rule 7.03(c). Visitors to the lawyer's office are prospective clients. The proposed additional sign makes an offer to provide certain information, namely, bail bond information and a warrant check, at no cost to a prospective client. The Committee concludes that providing such information is not giving something of value in order to solicit professional employment within the meaning of Rule 7.03(c). Attorneys often give information to prospective clients in connection with soliciting professional employment. Doing so is not prohibited under Rule 7.03(c).
Because the lawyer plans to offer free information, the lawyer must, of course, honor that offer. She cannot require payment for the information nor make providing the information contingent upon hiring the lawyer. Otherwise, the lawyer would violate Rule 8.04(a)(3), which prohibits conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation. In addition, the lawyer must make reasonable efforts to ensure that her non-lawyer assistant's conduct complies with the lawyer's professional obligations in order to meet the requirements of Rule 5.03 (Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistants).
CONCLUSION
A lawyer does not violate the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct by offering and giving free information about bail bonds and warrants to the public who visit the lawyer's office in response to the lawyer's offer to provide such free information. Under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, in doing so, the lawyer must honor such offers and take reasonable steps to ensure that any non-lawyer assistant who also offers and provides such information complies with the lawyer's professional obligations.
Tex. Comm. On Professional Ethics, Op. 654 (2016)