UPON THE REQUEST OF A MEMBER OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA BAR, THE ETHICS ADVISORY COMMITTEE HAS RENDERED THIS OPINION ON THE ETHICAL PROPRIETY OF THE INQUIRER’S CONTEMPLATED CONDUCT. THIS COMMITTEE HAS NO DISCIPLINARY AUTHORITY. LAWYER DISCIPLINE IS ADMINISTERED SOLELY BY THE SOUTH CAROLINA SUPREME COURT THROUGH ITS COMMISSION ON LAWYER CONDUCT.
Ethics Advisory Opinion 04-06
Facts
A number of Internet Websites involving legal services or solicitations have URLs (addresses) other than the name of a law firm or attorney. For example, www.personalinjurylawyer.com or www.bankruptcylawyer.com. (See also Exhibit A.) Some Internet Websites may provide permissible advertising services to law firms; some Internet Websites may be operating as impermissible attorney referral services under the control of businesses not engaged in the practice of law; and some Websites operate under the control and supervision of an attorney and exist for the purpose of advertising and promoting the services of a particular law firm.
Question
Is it ethical for an attorney to create a Website using a URL (address) which indicates the firm’s field of practice?
Summary
Unless the URL is false or misleading, it is permissible for a law firm to use a descriptive Web address.
Opinion
In Opinions 00-10 and 01-03, this Committee discussed participation of attorneys in dot.com companies and the question of Internet referrals generally. The question presented concerns neither the operation of Websites with descriptive name URLs by private companies that charge for the service and intend to refer cases to the paying attorney, nor Internet referrals. Those issues the Committee believes are addressed in Opinions 86-13B, 88-20, 00-10 and 01-03. Therefore, the Committee’s present opinion is limited to the use of descriptive names in an Internet Website URL controlled by lawyers licensed in the State of South Carolina.
The use of trade names in advertising was recently discussed by the Committee in Opinion 03-10. Although under the question presented herein a Website URL would not necessarily contain the name “MidlandsBankruptcyLawyers.com,” the issue presented here is a situation analogous to that discussed in Opinion 03-10. The use of a descriptive name in a Website URL, if a trade name, must comply with Rule 7.5 and may not “imply a connection with a governmental agency or a legal services organization.” Second, the name may not violate Rule 7.1, which prohibits false, misleading, deceptive, or unfair communications. See Opinion 88-25. (In order to list a particular field of law in an advertisement, the lawyer must have experience in that field. Listing a field of law where the lawyer does not have experience could be misleading and deceptive.)
The name used in a Website URL must not create the reasonable inference that the firm’s lawyers are certified specialists, unless the lawyers could otherwise hold themselves out, under Rule 7.4, as certified specialists in the field of practice claimed. However, the Committee does not believe that the inclusion of a practice area in a firm’s Website URL is alone sufficient to create a misleading suggestion that the lawyers in the firm are certified specialists in a particular practice area. The content of a URL is but one factor to consider in making a determination whether the content of the Website taken in its totality is within the proper bounds of lawyer advertising.
As acknowledged by the Committee in Opinion 88-05, the United States Supreme Court in the case of In re R.M.J., 455 U.S. 191, 102 S.Ct. 929, 71 L.Ed.2d 64 (1982), permitted designation of specific areas of practice in telephone directory advertising and other advertising unless false or misleading. See also Opinion 88-05. Logically, there would be no reason to distinguish between the content of advertising published in printed form to that published electronically. As noted in Opinion 90-31:
The United States Supreme Court held in Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S 350 (1977), that lawyer advertising which is not false or misleading is commercial speech entitled to protection under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. In accord with Bates, South Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1 and 7.2 allow attorneys to "advertise through public media, such as a telephone directory, legal directory, newspaper or other periodical, outdoor advertising, radio or television, or through written or recorded communication" so long as the communication is not false or misleading.
Rule 7.1 defines false or misleading communication, and reference should be made to that Rule when evaluating the propriety of Website content. The text of any law firm Website should identify a lawyer within the firm who is responsible for operation and content of the site. Rule 7.2 requires the name of at least one lawyer responsible for the content be listed, and this provision applies without regard to whether a trade name or descriptive name is used in a Website URL.
Exhibit A
While the Committee expresses no opinion of the propriety of any of the following Websites, examples of Website content with descriptive URLs might include the following:
www.accidentlawyersoffice.com
www.airlaw.com
www.appeallawyer.com
www.asbestosinjury.com
www.asbestoslawyer.com
www.attorney-criminal-dui.com
www.attorneynow.com
www.auto-accident-lawyer-texas.com
www.baycol-side-effects.com
www.bicycleaccidentlawyers.com
www.bigrigattorneys.com
www.boatlaw.com
www.caraccidentattorneyatlaw.com
www.car-accidents.com
www.carinjury.com www.carwreckteam.com
www.carlawyers.com
www.collectionlawyer.com
www.construction-injuries.com
www.consumerlawpage.com
www.courtroomlaw.com
www.crashworthy.com
www.crimestopshere.net
www.criminallaw.com
www.cycle-law.com
www.dogbitelaw.com
www.dreamlegalteam.com
www.drunkdrivingdefense.com
www.duiattorneys.com
www.employerlaw.com
www.employmentlaw.com
www.employmentlawfirms.com
www.familylaw.com
www.findgreatlawyers.com
www.immigrationlaw.com
www.injurylaw.com
www.injurylawattys.com
www.injurylawyer.com
www.injurylawyer.org
www.injurylawyer.us
www.lemonlaw.com
www.majoraccidentlawyer.com
www.majoraccidentlawyers.com
www.malpracticelaw.com
www.massaccidentlaw.com
www.mesothelioma.com
www.mesotheliomalawyerdirectory.com
www.motorcycle-accidents-lawyers-attorneys.com
www.new-york-construction- accidents.com
www.newyork-injurylawyers.com
www.nocuffs.com
www.ohioaviationlawyer.com
www.patentlawyer.com
www.patentpending.com
www.personalinjurycal.com
www.personal-injury-com
www.personalinjuryhotline.com
www.plaintiffslaw.com
www.productlawyer.com
www.rolloverlawyer.com
www.sandiegocriminaldefense.com
www.serious-injury-attys.com
www.taxcounsel.com
www.texastriallawyer.com
www.thelawexperts.com
www.themotorcyclelawyers.com
www.thepersonalinjurylawyers.com
www.tmlawoffices.com
www.trial-attorneys-usa.com
www.triallaw.com
www.truck-accident-group.com
www.truckaccidentlawyer.com
www.trucking-accident-lawyers.com
www.truckinjuries.com
www.truck-wreck-lawyers.com
www.utah-injury-attorney.com
www.waterlaw.com
www.workercomplawyer.com
www.worksite-injury.com
www.wrongful-death.com
www.wrongful-termination-lawyer.com
www.yourinjurylawyers.com