After speaking at a seminar, can a lawyer send a follow-up letter to attendees who asked the sponsor for more information?
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This page answers the general question as of 1982. Ezel answers yours: whether it's allowed on your facts, under the current rules of professional conduct in your state, with citations.
Plain-English summary
Opinion E-82-8 addressed a lawyer who spoke at an estate-planning seminar sponsored by an insurance company. Afterward the company gave the lawyer a list of attendees, some of whom had written that they wanted further information or were interested in estate planning. None were the lawyer's clients. The lawyer asked whether it would be proper to send those people a letter saying he was glad they attended and inviting them to contact him for more information.
The committee concluded the letter would constitute improper solicitation. It acknowledged that the rules encourage lawyers to take part in public legal-education programs (SCR 20.06), but said such participation must be motivated by a desire to benefit the public rather than to obtain employment, and that a lawyer who advises that someone should seek a lawyer generally should not then accept the resulting employment (SCR 20.06(2)(d)). The committee held the proposed letter would violate SCR 20.09(1), which bars a lawyer from recommending the lawyer's own employment to a nonlawyer who has not sought the lawyer's advice, because the attendees had directed their requests to the insurance company, not the lawyer. The committee added that the proposed contact would be a form of direct solicitation prohibited under Wis. Stat. sec. 757.295 (1979-80).
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1982, before Wisconsin's July 1, 2007 adoption of the revised Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys (the state's Ethics 2000 update), and it applies the former Code provisions cited in the opinion. Direct solicitation of prospective clients is now governed by SCR 20:7.3 / Model Rule 7.3, with advertising under SCR 20:7.2 / Model Rule 7.2. Constitutional limits on solicitation rules have developed substantially since 1982. 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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 the lawyer write to the attendees who asked for more information?
A: No. The committee concluded that sending the letter would be improper solicitation, because the requests were directed to the insurance company and the attendees had not sought the lawyer's advice.
Q: Did speaking at the seminar itself create a problem?
A: No. The committee noted the rules encourage lawyers to participate in public legal-education programs, but said that participation should be motivated by benefiting the public, not by obtaining employment.
Q: What rules did the committee rely on?
A: It relied on the solicitation rule (SCR 20.09(1)) and on the state statute prohibiting direct solicitation, Wis. Stat. sec. 757.295.
Background and rules framework
The opinion interpreted the former Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules encouraging legal-education activity (SCR 20.06) and prohibiting self-recommendation to nonlawyers who have not sought the lawyer's advice (SCR 20.09(1), 20.10(4)), together with the state direct-solicitation statute (Wis. Stat. sec. 757.295). The current counterparts are the solicitation and advertising rules, SCR 20:7.3 and 20:7.2 / Model Rules 7.3 and 7.2.
Citations and references
Rules of Professional Conduct:
- Wis. SCR 20.06 (participation in public legal education) (former Code)
- Wis. SCR 20.09(1), 20.10(4) (solicitation; speaking publicly) (former Code)
- Model Rules 7.2, 7.3 (advertising; solicitation)
Statutes:
- Wis. Stat. sec. 757.295 (1979-80) (direct solicitation)
Other opinions cited:
- State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Opinion E-82-1: public education and resulting employment
See also
- WI Ethics Op. E-82-11: Dual Business Practice (Lawyer-Owned Collection Agency)
- WI Ethics Op. E-84-13: Direct Mail Advertising
- WI Ethics Op. E-89-1: Public Education Activities and Resulting Clients
Source
- Landing page: https://www.wisbar.org/formembers/ethics/pages/formal-opinions.aspx
- Original PDF: https://www.wisbar.org/formembers/ethics/Ethics%20Opinions/E-82-8.pdf
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