Direct Mail Marketing & Legal Ethics

Attorney Direct Marketing is an innovative and progressive form of client acquisition. It is not passive, but directly targets those individuals who can benefit from using your legal services.

Contrary to popular belief, attorneys are generally allowed to solicit individuals known to need legal services through direct mail advertising. While the details of these solicitations are prescribed on a state-by-state basis, the fundamental driving principle behind advertising legal services can be summarized in the following comment from the model rules of professional conduct:

"To assist the public in obtaining legal services, lawyers should be allowed to make known their services not only through reputation but also through organized information campaigns in the form of advertising. Advertising involves an active quest for clients, contrary to the tradition that a lawyer should not seek clientele. However, the public's need to know about legal services can be fulfilled in part through advertising. This need is particularly acute in the case of persons of moderate means who have not made extensive use of legal services. The interest in expanding public information about legal service ought to prevail over considerations of tradition."

Each state is different with regards to their specific ethics compliance requirements. Be sure to review your specific state to find more detailed information.

Pay attention to any reporting and record-keeping requirements. Wisconsin, for example, has adopted the Model Rules, including Rules 7.1 - 7.3. However, the state added a provision that "a copy of [the advertising material] shall be filed with the office of lawyer regulation within five days of its dissemination." Missouri requires that the copies of written solicitations be kept for two years, but allows attorneys to keep a single copy of a form letter together with a list of the names and addresses of persons to whom the written solicitation was sent.