Can a lawyer use a Welcome Wagon service or targeted mailings to solicit newcomers, newlyweds, and new parents?

Plain-English summary

An attorney wished to disseminate information about himself (name, address, phone, specialties, office hours, and an invitation to call) to newcomers, recently married couples, and families with new babies, by three means: personal visits by the attorney or a Welcome Wagon service distributing his card; direct mail by the attorney or the Welcome Wagon service; and advertisements in a local newspaper of general distribution or a publication directed only to those categories of people.

The committee concluded that delivering the congratulatory message and information, in person or by mail and whether by the attorney or through the Welcome Wagon, would violate former Rule 2-103(a)'s bar on private communications that solicit a lawyer's employment. In-person contact for solicitation is a private communication prohibited by the rule, and having a Welcome Wagon representative deliver the message did not change that, because the rule reaches conduct "by someone on his behalf" and because the message itself contained a solicitation and carried a tacit recommendation by the Welcome Wagon. The committee compared Opinion 700, where contacting coaches to promote a "sports law" practice was improper. It found the direct-mail proposal likewise prohibited, distinguishing the permissible general "postal patron" branch-opening notice in Opinion 702 because this communication was directed to a specific targeted group and contained a direct solicitation, more like the targeted circular barred in Opinion 749.

The committee held that the advertisements in publications of general or limited distribution would not violate the Code. Newspaper advertising is proper under Rule 2-101, and a lawyer may advertise in publications directed to specialized audiences (Opinion 623). The committee noted that a targeted or highly personalized message could render an otherwise public communication private and impermissible, but found this message sufficiently generalized to be permitted in the specified publications.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1984, under the former Illinois Code of Professional Responsibility and before Illinois adopted the 1990 (and later 2010) Rules of Professional Conduct. It was supplemented in part by Opinion 84-4 after the Illinois Supreme Court's 1984 amendment of Rule 2-103, which allowed certain labeled general advertising mailings the lawyer sends himself. The ISBA Board of Governors affirmed Opinion 832 in July 2010 as generally consistent with the 2010 Rules (Rules 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3), while cautioning that the specific standards referenced may differ from the 2010 Rules. Lawyer-advertising law has continued to develop since 1984. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule or requirement mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Can a lawyer have a Welcome Wagon service hand out his cards to new residents?

A: The opinion concluded no; in-person delivery of a solicitation is a private communication barred by former Rule 2-103(a), and using a Welcome Wagon representative rather than the lawyer did not cure it.

Q: Could the lawyer instead mail the materials to those targeted groups?

A: No. Per the opinion, a mailing directed to a specific targeted group and containing a direct solicitation was prohibited, whether sent by the lawyer or the Welcome Wagon, unlike a general notice to all postal patrons.

Q: What advertising was permitted?

A: The committee allowed generalized informational advertisements in a newspaper of general circulation or a limited-distribution publication, so long as the message stayed general rather than personalized.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interpreted former Illinois Code Rule 2-103(a) and (e) (private communications soliciting employment, and the definition of private communication) and Rule 2-101 (publicity and advertising). The Board's 2010 affirmation maps the analysis to current Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1 (communications about a lawyer's services), 7.2 (advertising), and 7.3 (solicitation of clients), corresponding to ABA Model Rules 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• Illinois Code Rule 2-103(a), (e), Rule 2-101 (applied in the opinion)
• Illinois RPC 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 (2010 equivalents per the Board's affirmation)
• MR 7.1 (communications about services); MR 7.2 (advertising); MR 7.3 (solicitation)

Other opinions cited:

• ISBA Opinions 700 and 749: targeted in-person or written solicitation of a select group is a prohibited private communication
• ISBA Opinions 623 and 702: permissible specialized-audience and general "postal patron" advertising
• ISBA Opinion 84-4: the later supplemental opinion after the 1984 rule amendment

See also

• ISBA Ethics Op. 84-04: Direct Mail and Welcome Wagon Solicitation
• ISBA Ethics Op. 84-12: Soliciting Existing Clients
• ISBA Ethics Op. 85-01: Sponsoring a Sports Team

Source

• Landing page: https://www.isba.org/ethics/opinions/832