Ezel / Ethics Opinions / WISBAR
WISBAR 1994

Can a lawyer represent someone who decides to hire the lawyer after attending the lawyer's seminar presentation?

Short answer: The opinion concluded that yes, a lawyer may accept as a client a person who chooses to consult the lawyer as a result of attending the lawyer's presentation at a seminar or other educational or client-development program, because the person's decision to attend is the event that initiates the contact, so any resulting contact is at the prospective client's election rather than the lawyer's improper solicitation under then-SCR 20:7.3(c).

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This page answers the general question as of 1994. Ezel answers yours: whether it's allowed on your facts, under the current rules of professional conduct in your state, with citations.

Currency note: this opinion is from 1994
Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later opinions or rule amendments may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Disclaimer: Advisory only. Not binding precedent.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official ethics opinion. The original opinion (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
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Plain-English summary

Opinion E-94-4 (1994) asked whether a lawyer may represent a person who decides to retain the lawyer as a result of attending the lawyer's presentation at a seminar or other educational or client-development program. The committee first withdrew the portion of its earlier Formal Opinion E-89-1 that had answered no, because that earlier answer rested on then-SCR 20:7.3(e), a rule the Wisconsin Supreme Court had since repealed.

Turning to the current rule, the committee assumed that a lawyer's participation in a seminar offered to nonclients is motivated at least in part by a desire to obtain professional employment from those attending. It framed the question as whether that participation amounts to initiating personal contact with a prospective client for the purpose of obtaining employment, which then-SCR 20:7.3(c) could prohibit in some circumstances, subject to constitutional limits on regulating commercial speech. The committee reasoned that the person's own decision to attend the seminar is the triggering event for the contact, so any contact that follows is at the prospective client's initiation and election rather than the lawyer's.

The committee therefore concluded that the answer is yes: lawyers may accept as clients persons who consult them after attending a seminar or client-development program, whether the program is sponsored by a law firm or by others. It added that this conclusion does not lessen the lawyer's responsibility under then-SCR 20:7.1 to make only accurate and non-misleading statements about the lawyer's services.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1994, before Wisconsin's July 1, 2007 adoption of the revised Rules of Professional Conduct (the state's Ethics 2000 update). The opinion interprets the lawyer-advertising and solicitation rules (then-SCR 20:7.3 and 20:7.1), an area that has been substantially revised since, and it expressly turns on a version of SCR 20:7.3 that has since changed. 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 a lawyer represent someone who decided to hire the lawyer after one of the lawyer's seminars?

A: Yes. The committee concluded that the person's decision to attend the seminar is what initiates the contact, so any resulting representation arises at the prospective client's election rather than from improper solicitation.

Q: Did it matter that the lawyer hoped to attract clients by presenting?

A: No. The committee assumed seminar participation is motivated in part by client development, but concluded the attendee's voluntary decision to attend still controlled, so the contact was not lawyer-initiated solicitation under then-SCR 20:7.3(c).

Q: Did this opinion change an earlier Wisconsin opinion?

A: Yes. The committee withdrew the part of Formal Opinion E-89-1 that had reached the opposite result, because that result rested on then-SCR 20:7.3(e), which the Wisconsin Supreme Court had repealed.

Background and rules framework

At the time of the opinion, then-SCR 20:7.3 / Model Rule 7.3 governed direct solicitation of prospective clients, and then-SCR 20:7.1 / Model Rule 7.1 required communications about a lawyer's services to be truthful and not misleading. The committee read these rules in light of constitutional protections for commercial speech, concluding that contact a prospective client chooses to initiate by attending a seminar falls outside the solicitation prohibition.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

  • Wis. SCR 20:7.3(c) / Model Rule 7.3 (solicitation of clients) (as in effect in 1994)
  • Wis. SCR 20:7.1 / Model Rule 7.1 (communications concerning a lawyer's services)

Other opinions cited:

  • Wis. Formal Op. E-89-1 (portion withdrawn by this opinion)
  • Wis. Formal Op. E-94-3 (companion opinion on law-office open houses)

See also

Source

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