Ethics Opinion 10: Withdrawn (Business Card Published in General Newspaper, 06/26/59)

Syllabus

A lawyer may not publish a professional card in a newspaper of general circulation.

Facts

A member of the Colorado Bar Association inquires whether it is a violation of the Canons of Professional Ethics as adopted by the Colorado Supreme Court to publish a standing professional card in a local newspaper. It is proposed that such professional cards, containing no bold-face type, would be published in alphabetical order on an annual basis.

Opinion

Notwithstanding the fact that such publications have, in the past, been permitted in the smaller towns in Colorado and had attained the status of a local custom, the practice has generally been discontinued.

Following the amendment of Canon 27 in 1937, the Committee on Ethics of the American Bar Association promulgated Opinion 182, which held that the amendment to the Canon prohibits the insertion of a professional card in any publication other than an approved law list or legal directory.

In view of the general attitudes of bar associations toward the question of advertising, the policy of the American Bar Association and the modern facilities for communication among members of the public, there is no sufficient justification for the publication of such cards, and the Committee, therefore, is of the opinion that the publication of such professional cards in a newspaper of general circulation in a community is unethical and violates the Professional Canons.