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2008 Edition: Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct Download Rules as a PDF | Return to Rules home page |
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Rule 7.2
ADVERTISING AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS NOT DIRECTED TO SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFIED RECIPIENTS (a) Subject to the requirements of paragraphs (b) through (e) below and Rules 7.1, 7.4, and 7.5, a lawyer may advertise professional services or seek referrals through public media, such as a telephone directory, legal directory, newspaper or other periodical, outdoor advertising, radio or television, world wide web site, or other forms of communication not directed to specifically identified recipients. (b) Within three days after the publication, distribution, or dispatch of an advertisement or a communication not directed to a specifically identified recipient, the lawyer shall file a copy of the advertisement or communication with the Board of Professional Responsibility, provided, however, that such filing is not required for any communication that only includes the name, address, and profession of the lawyer or that has been exempted from the filing requirement by the Board of Professional Responsibility. (1) If communications that are similar in all material respects are published or displayed more than once or distributed to more than one person, the lawyer may comply with this requirement by filing a single copy of the communication. (2) If a communication that has previously been filed with the Board is changed in any material respect, notice of the changes shall be filed with the Board within three days after its publication, distribution, or dispatch. (c) A lawyer shall not give anything of value to a person for recommending or publicizing the lawyer’s services except that a lawyer may pay for the following: (1) the reasonable costs of advertisements or other communications permitted by this Rule, Rule 7.3, or Rule 7.5; (2) the usual charges of a registered intermediary organization as permitted by Rule 7.6; (3) a sponsorship fee or a contribution to a charitable or other non-profit organization in return for which the lawyer will be given publicity as a lawyer; (4) a law practice in accordance with Rule 1.17. (d) Except for communications by registered intermediary organizations, any communication subject to this Rule or Rule 7.3(b) shall include the name and office address of at least one lawyer or law firm assuming responsibility for the communication. COMMENTS [1] This Rule governs general advertising through public media and other communications that are not directed to specifically identified individuals. The Rule encompasses all possible media through which such communications may be directed, including print, broadcasting, and computer-driven technology. Communications that are directed to specifically identified recipients are governed by Rule 7.3. [2] To assist the public in obtaining legal services, lawyers should be allowed to make known their services not only through reputation, but also through organized information campaigns in the form of advertising. Advertising involves an active quest for clients, contrary to the tradition that a lawyer should not seek clientele. However, the public’s need to know about legal services can be fulfilled in part through advertising. This need is particularly acute in the case of persons of moderate means who have not made extensive use of legal services. The interest in expanding public information about legal services ought to prevail over considerations of tradition. Nevertheless, advertising by lawyers entails the risk of practices that are misleading or overreaching. [3] This Rule permits public dissemination of information concerning a lawyer’s name or firm name, address, and telephone number; the kinds of services the lawyer will undertake; the basis on which the lawyer’s fees are determined, including prices for specific services and payment and credit arrangements; a lawyer’s foreign language ability; names of references and, with their consent, names of clients regularly represented; and other information that might invite the attention of those seeking legal assistance. [4] Questions of effectiveness and taste in advertising are matters of speculation and subjective judgment. Some jurisdictions have had extensive prohibitions against television advertising, against advertising going beyond specified facts about a lawyer, or against "undignified" advertising. Television is now one of the most powerful media for providing the public with information, and prohibiting television advertising, therefore, would impede the flow of information about legal services to many sectors of the public. Limiting the information that may be advertised has a similar effect and assumes that the bar can accurately forecast the kind of information that the public would regard as relevant. [5] Neither this Rule nor Rule 7.3 prohibits communications authorized by law, such as notice to members of a class in class action litigation. Record of Advertising [6] Paragraph (b) requires that a lawyer file a copy of any advertisement or other communication governed by this Rule with the Board of Professional Responsibility within three days after publication, distribution, or dispatch. A lawyer may comply with the filing requirement of paragraph (b) by complying with guidelines that may be adopted by the Board of Professional Responsibility concerning appropriate methods by which a lawyer may provide the Board with notice of communications made by way of web sites, e-mail, or other electronic forms of communication or of changes to such communications. This Rule does not require that communications be subject to review prior to dissemination, although a lawyer is free to request such a review from the Board. This Rule provides the Board an opportunity to monitor lawyer communications to the public while not placing any sort of prior restraint on publication. Paying Others to Recommend a Lawyer [7] A lawyer is allowed to pay for advertising permitted by this Rule and for the purchase of a law practice in accordance with the provisions of Rule 1.17, but otherwise is not permitted to pay another person for channeling professional work to the lawyer. This restriction does not prevent an organization or person other than the lawyer from advertising or recommending the lawyer’s services. Thus, a legal aid agency or prepaid legal services plan may pay to advertise legal services provided under its auspices. Likewise, a lawyer may participate in not-for-profit lawyer referral programs and pay the usual fees charged by such programs. Paragraph (c) does not prohibit paying regular compensation to an assistant, such as a secretary, to prepare communications permitted by this Rule. DEFINITIONAL CROSS-REFERENCES "Law Firm" See RPC 1.0(e) |
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