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Statement of Guidelines on Use of Announcement Cards
A subsection of Section DR 2-102 of the Code of Professional Responsibility reads in part as follows:
(A) A lawyer or law firm shall not use professional cards, professional announcement cards, office signs, letter heads, telephone directory listings, law lists, legal directory listings, or similar professional notices or devices, except that the following may be used if they are in dignified form. . . .
(2) A brief professional announcement card stating new or changed associations or addresses, change of firm name, or similar matters pertaining to the professional office of a lawyer or law firm, which may be mailed to lawyers, clients, former clients, personal friends and relatives. It shall not state biographical data except to the extent reasonably necessary to identify the lawyer or to explain the change in his association, but it may state the immediate past position of the lawyer. . . .
Canon 27 of the Code of Professional Ethics stated in part that:
It is unprofessional to solicit professional employment by circulars, advertisements, through touters, or by personal communications or interviews not warranted by personal relations. . . .
It has come to the attention of the Ethics Committee that several problems have arisen with the use of announcement cards when a law firm dissolves or when a lawyer withdraws from a law firm and the parties wish to announce such facts. Several different factual situations are likely to occur and the following guidelines are recommended.
Situation I
Facts: Lawyer C, a partner in the law firm of A, B and C, withdraws from the firm. A and B continue the practice of law in a partnership known as A and B.
Guideline: Either A and B, as a partnership, or C, or both A and B and C, may send an announcement stating only that C has withdrawn from the firm. This announcement may be sent to all the clients of the formerly existing law firm of A, B and C; to local lawyers; to out-of-town lawyers with whom the former partnership has had prior professional relationship; and to other persons with whom the personal relationships of the lawyers are such as to make it clear that such persons would be interested in knowing of the withdrawal.
Situation II
Facts: Same facts as in Situation I above except either A and B, or C, or both A and B and C, wish also to announce, in addition to the withdrawal of C, their new associations, partnerships and locations of their respective law offices.
Guideline: It is recommended that one announcement be prepared jointly by A and B, as one party, and by C, as the other party, disclosing the fact that the law firm of A, B and C has been dissolved, that A and B have formed a new partnership, that C has remained in the practice of law, either alone or with others, and stating the addresses and the phone numbers of their respective law offices.
The law firm of A and B may send this joint announcement to all its clients, regardless of whether lawyer C had any contact with such clients; to local lawyers; to out-of-town lawyers with whom the law firm had established prior professional relationships; and to other persons with whom the personal relationships of A and B are such as to make it clear that such other parties would be interested in knowing the matters covered by the announcement.
Lawyer C may send this joint announcement only to those clients of the formerly existing law firm of A, B and C with whom he had personally dealt or referred to the firm; to local lawyers; to out-of-town lawyers with whom he had established prior professional relationship; and to other persons with whom the personal relationships of lawyer C are such as to make it clear that such other persons would be interested in knowing of the matters covered by the announcement.
If such joint announcement is prepared by all parties involved, it is strongly recommended that the announcement be jointly mailed by all parties to all former clients of the law firm of A, B and C; to local lawyers, to out-of-town lawyers with whom the partnership of A, B and C had prior professional relationships; and to other persons with whom the personal relationships of the members of the former law firm are such as to make it clear that such other persons would be interested in knowing of the matters covered by the announcement.
If either of the parties declines to join with the other in preparing such a joint announcement, the other party may prepare an announcement of his own stating that the law firm of A, B and C has been dissolved and stating his new association, address and phone number. However, this announcement should be mailed only to those clients of the former law firm with whom the announcing party has personally dealt or referred to the former law firm; to local lawyers; to out-of-town lawyers with whom the announcing party had prior professional relationships; and to such other persons with whom said party's personal relationships are such as to make it clear that such other persons would be interested in knowing of the matters covered by the announcement.
Situation III
Facts: Lawyer D, an associate or employee of the law firm of A, B and C, leaves the employment of the law firm of A, B and C.
Guideline: The same guidelines apply to lawyer D in this situation as apply to lawyer C in Situation I above and the same guidelines for A, B and C apply in this situation as apply to A and B in Situation I above.
Situation IV
Facts: Same facts as in Situation III except that lawyer D also wishes to announce a new association or partnership and the location of his law offices.
Guideline: The same guidelines apply to lawyer D in this factual situation as apply to lawyer C in factual Situation II above and the same guidelines apply to A, B and C in this factual situation as apply to A and B in Situation II above.
Situation V
Facts: The law firm of A, B, C, D and E is being dissolved. Lawyers A, B and C are forming one law firm and lawyers D and E are forming another law firm.
Guideline: It is preferable, but not mandatory, that an announcement be prepared and mailed jointly by A, B and C and by D and E stating the facts that the partnership of A, B, C, D and E has been dissolved, that A, B and C and that D and E have formed new partnerships and stating the addresses and phone numbers of the respective new partnerships. The same guidelines for mailing would apply as set forth in Situation II above.
Conclusion
In no case should any lawyer, except by the joint mailing of a joint announcement, send announcement cards to those clients of a formerly existing law firm unless the lawyer had personal dealings with said clients or personally referred them to the former law firm.
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