Ethics Opinions
Iowa Supreme Court Board of Professional Ethics and Conduct
Date of Opinion:
12/05/2000
Opinion Number:
00-06
Title:
NEWSPAPER COLUMN -- THE LEGAL EDGE
Opinion:
The letter soliciting your participation in this advertising program states among other things as follows:
“The Legal Edge is your opportunity to reach 179,000 adults in _____ County and surrounding areas within a questions and answer format in _____. ‘The Legal Edge’ is a forum for you to educate readers on legal-related issues they may have questions about. ‘The Legal Edge’ will run weekly in _____ on an alternating week schedule.
You can participate in this program by submitting your most commonly asked questions to be run in ‘The Legal Edge’ every other week for 104 weeks in _____. Category exclusivity will be granted to each advertiser. Therefore, ad reservations will be placed on a first come first served basis.”
The Board does not approve or disapprove copy. It is the responsibility of counsel to make certain that copy complies with the Code. However, as a matter of courtesy some obvious potential violations are pointed out hereinafter.
The submitted examples of copy are general essays, as required by the Code, but not answers to specific legal questions. It is a general statement of law concerning such things as personal injury, workers’ compensation, etc. The lawyer or law firm pays advertising rates for each publication and signs up for a year’s period.
Disclosures required by the Code must be in 9-point type or larger. (See DR 2-101(K). The copy submitted does not indicate this to be true.
Inasmuch as each column is devoted to an area of practice it is required by the Iowa Code of Professional Responsibility for Lawyers that only a lawyer be the signatory and that the name be led or followed by the words “practicing primarily in” or “practice limited to”. In this connection a firm cannot advertise areas of practice, only a lawyer can. See DR 2-105(A). Note here that pursuant to DR 2-105(A)(2) only designated areas are permitted to be advertised.
It is the opinion of the Board that the lawyer must be responsible for the content of the column appearing over his or her name and any editorial changes must be consented to by him or her in writing.
It is the opinion of the Board that subject to the foregoing and general compliance with the Code in all other respects it would not be improper for an Iowa lawyer to participate in the proposed program.