20791880
Description
Flashcards by JD Advising, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by JD Advising
about 4 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| What information may be communicated about a lawyer’s services? | A lawyer may communicate the following information: a) information concerning a lawyer's name or firm name, address, email address, website, and telephone number; b) the kinds of services the lawyer will undertake; c) the basis on which the lawyer's fees are determined, including prices for specific services and payment and credit arrangements; d) a lawyer's foreign language ability; e) 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. |
| When may a lawyer give something of value in exchange for recommending the lawyer’s services? | Generally, referral fees are not permitted under the MRPC. However, the following actions are permitted: a) A lawyer may pay the reasonable costs of advertisements or communications permitted by this Rule. b) A lawyer may pay the usual charges of a legal service plan or a not-for-profit or qualified lawyer referral service. c) Pay for a law practice in accordance with Rule 1.17 (sale of a law practice). d) Refer clients to another lawyer or a nonlawyer professional pursuant to an agreement not otherwise prohibited under these Rules that provides for the other person to refer clients or customers to the lawyer (a reciprocal referral agreement); e) Give nominal gifts as an expression of appreciation that are neither intended nor reasonably expected to be a form of compensation for recommending a lawyer’s services. |
| What is a reciprocal referral agreement and what are the requirements? | A reciprocal referral agreement exists where two professionals agree to send each other clients (i.e., “I’ll send clients to you if you send clients to me.”). No money is exchanged. The following requirements must be met: a) the reciprocal referral agreement is not exclusive, b) the client is informed of the existence and nature of the agreement, c) the reciprocal arrangement must not interfere with the lawyer’s professional judgment as to making referrals or providing legal services, d) reciprocal referral agreements should not be of indefinite duration and should be reviewed periodically to determine whether they comply with these Rules. Professionals: The ABA does not consider people like restaurant owners to be “professionals” under this Rule and an attorney would be subject to discipline if the arrangement offered something of value to a restaurant owner in exchange for recommending that attorney’s services to his customers. However, “professionals” would include accountants, real estate agents, doctors, etc. |
| What is solicitation? | “Solicitation” denotes a communication initiated by or on behalf of a lawyer or law firm that is directed to a specific person the lawyer knows or reasonably should know needs legal services in a particular matter and that offers to provide, or reasonably can be understood as offering to provide, legal services for that matter. |
| When is solicitation permitted? | The general rule is that a lawyer shall not solicit professional employment by live person-to-person contact when a significant motive for the lawyer’s doing so is the lawyer’s or law firm’s pecuniary gain (i.e., to make money) unless the person contacted: a) is a lawyer, or b) has a family or close personal relationship or prior business/professional relationship, or c) is a person who routinely uses for business purposes the type of legal services offered by the lawyer. Furthermore, a lawyer shall not solicit professional employment even when not otherwise prohibited above, if: a) the target of the solicitation has made known to the lawyer a desire not to be solicited by the lawyer; or b) the solicitation involves coercion, duress, or harassment. |
| What requirements must be met in order for a lawyer to participate in a quick advice program? When is there a conflict of interest? | A lawyer-client relationship exists between the lawyer and the person who obtains the advice, but neither expects the relationship to continue past the interaction. The client must consent to a limited legal services and a consultation. The conflicts of interest rules are relaxed and a lawyer must only refuse to represent the client if he knows of a conflict of interest. Likewise, any conflict will not be imputed to others in the lawyer’s firm. However, conflicts rules apply if the client hires the lawyer. |
| What makes a communication about a lawyer’s services false or misleading? | A lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's services. A communication is false or misleading if it contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law or omits a fact necessary to make the statement considered as a whole not materially misleading. |
| What are the rules that apply to communications about law firm names? | 1) A lawyer shall not use a firm name, letterhead, or other professional designation that is false or misleading. 2) A lawyer in private practice may use a trade name if it does not imply a connection with a government agency or with a public or charitable legal services organization and is not false or misleading. 3) A law firm with offices in more than one jurisdiction may use the same name or other professional designation in each jurisdiction, but identification of the lawyers in an office of the firm shall indicate the jurisdictional limitations on those not licensed to practice in the jurisdiction where the office is located. 4) The name of a lawyer holding a public office shall not be used in the name of a law firm or in communications on its behalf during any substantial period in which the lawyer is not actively and regularly practicing with the firm. 5) Lawyers may state or imply that they practice in a partnership or other organization only when that is the fact. |
| When and how may a lawyer communicate regarding fields of practice and specialization? | A lawyer may communicate the fact that the lawyer does or does not practice in particular fields of law. A lawyer shall not state or imply that a lawyer is certified as a specialist in a particular field of law unless: a) the lawyer has been certified as a specialist by an organization that has been approved by an appropriate state authority or that has been accredited by the American Bar Association, and b) the name of the certifying organization clearly is identified in the communication. |
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