Can a West Virginia lawyer accept credit cards in payment for legal services, and may the lawyer display a credit-card emblem in the office?

Plain-English summary

The inquiry asked whether the Committee on Legal Ethics had changed its position on a lawyer concurrently engaging in the practice of law and conducting a real estate business. The Committee responded that it had not, in any way, modified its position as set forth in the Summer 1976 opinion to which the inquirer referred. The opinion does not restate that position; it only confirms that it was unchanged.

The opinion then addressed the use of credit cards in payment for private legal services, reporting the Committee's opinion published in The West Virginia State Bar Journal, Volume 2, Number 4, Winter 1976. That opinion held that there shall be no display of an emblem or window decal in the lawyer's office relating to the credit card, because such display is undignified and a form of improper solicitation.

The Committee added that a lawyer may advise clients on an individual basis, as the need arises, of his acceptance of credit cards in payment for legal services, and that in doing so scrupulous care should be taken to avoid solicitation or the appearance of solicitation.

Currency note

The West Virginia State Bar's scanned copy of this opinion is marked "Rescinded." It was issued in 1978, before West Virginia replaced its Code of Professional Responsibility with the Rules of Professional Conduct, effective January 1, 1989, and before later rule revisions, including the comprehensive 2015 amendments. Its treatment of a credit-card emblem as "improper solicitation" reflects pre-modern advertising and solicitation restrictions that postdate Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (1977) and have since been substantially revised. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Do not rely on any rule, prohibition, or characterization mentioned here without verifying current rules.

Common questions

Q: Could a lawyer accept credit cards for legal fees under this opinion?

A: Yes. The opinion stated that a lawyer may advise clients on an individual basis, as the need arises, of his acceptance of credit cards in payment for legal services.

Q: Could the lawyer post a credit-card emblem or decal in the office?

A: No. The opinion reported that there shall be no display of an emblem or window decal relating to the credit card, treating such display as undignified and a form of improper solicitation.

Q: Did the opinion change the rule on practicing law while running a real estate business?

A: No. The Committee said it had not modified its position as set forth in the Summer 1976 opinion; this opinion did not restate the substance of that position.

Q: Is LEI 78-16 still in effect?

A: No. The official scanned copy is marked "Rescinded," and it is indexed here only as historical research.

Background and rules framework

The opinion does not cite a specific disciplinary rule. It reports prior Committee positions: a Summer 1976 opinion on a lawyer concurrently practicing law and conducting a real estate business, and a Winter 1976 opinion (published in The West Virginia State Bar Journal) on credit cards in payment for legal services. The credit-card holding rests on the then-prevailing view that displaying a credit-card emblem in a law office was a form of improper solicitation.

See also

• WVSB Ethics Op. 76-4: Credit cards for legal fees (the underlying Winter 1976 opinion)
• WVSB Ethics Op. 96-01: "No Recovery-No Fee" advertising disclosure
• WVSB Ethics Op. 98-03: Attorney advertising on the internet
• WVSB Ethics Op. 90-03: Lawyer referral and advertising programs

Source

• Landing page: https://wvodc.org/Legal-Ethics-Opinion
• Original PDF: https://storage.googleapis.com/msgsndr/Rgd68xOkcVdteTsBkf6O/media/66a7ea7e997e725312bf5fcc.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.

THE WEST VIRGINIA STATE BAR
COMMITTEE ON LEGAL ETHICS

UNPUBLISHED LEGAL ETHICS INQUIRY 78-16

September 26, 1978

Rescinded

Reference is made to your letter of September 16, 1978, in which you inquire as to whether the Committee on Legal Ethics has changed its position concerning a lawyer concurrently engaging in the practice of law and conducting a real estate business. Please be advised that the Committee has not, in any way, modified its position as set forth in the Summer 1976 Opinion to which you refer.

Additionally, concerning the use of credit cards in payment for private legal services, this Committee's opinion was reported in The West Virginia State Bar Journal, Volume 2, Number 4, Winter 1976. In that opinion the Committee held that:

There shall be no display of an emblem or window decal in the lawyer's office relating to the credit card. Such display is undignified and is a form of improper solicitation.

However, a lawyer may advise clients on an individual basis, as the need arises, of his acceptance of credit cards in payment for legal services. In so doing, scrupulous care should be taken to avoid solicitation or the appearance of such.