Can a North Carolina law firm advertise 'put our 30 years of experience to work for you' when that figure is the lawyers' combined experience and no single lawyer has practiced that long?

Plain-English summary

A firm advertises, "Put our 30 years of experience to work for you." The firm employs several lawyers whose combined experience is 30 years, but no single lawyer has practiced for more than ten years. The question is whether the statement is permissible.

The opinion concludes no. Rule 7.1 prohibits false and misleading communications about a lawyer or a lawyer's services, including a communication that omits a fact necessary to make the statement, considered as a whole, not materially misleading (Rule 7.1(a)). To comply, the advertisement must state that the "combined legal experience" of the firm's lawyers is 30 years, so a reader does not understand the figure as the tenure of any single lawyer.

In practice

Under the North Carolina rules as they stood at the time of the opinion, the analysis turns on the omission that makes an otherwise true number misleading. The opinion holds that an unqualified "30 years of experience" claim is misleading when no single lawyer has that much experience, and that the cure is to label it the lawyers' combined experience.

Common questions

Q: Can a firm advertise its lawyers' combined years of experience as a single number?

A: Yes, if it is labeled. The opinion concludes the ad must state that the figure is the lawyers' "combined legal experience"; presenting it without that qualification is misleading under Rule 7.1.

Q: Why is "30 years of experience" misleading here?

A: The opinion reasons it omits a fact (that no single lawyer has 30 years' experience) needed to keep the statement from being materially misleading under Rule 7.1(a).

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets Rule 7.1 and Rule 7.1(a) (false or misleading communications and material omissions, corresponding to Model Rule 7.1).

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• MR 7.1 / NC Rule 7.1, 7.1(a) (false or misleading communications; material omissions)

See also

• NC State Bar 2003 FEO 3: Advertising Membership in an Advocates Forum
• NC State Bar 2004 FEO 8: Advertising Contingent Fees
• ABA Formal Op. 94-388: Relationships Among Law Firms

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ncbar.gov/for-lawyers/ethics-and-governing-rules/ethics-opinions/opinions/2004-formal-ethics-opinion-7/

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

Inquiry:

An advertisement for Jones, Smith & Johnson, PA, contains the statement, "Put our 30 years of experience to work for you." The law firm employs a number of lawyers.

Although the combined legal experience of these lawyers is 30 years, no single lawyer with the firm has practiced law for more than ten years. Is this statement in an advertisement allowed under the Rules of Professional Conduct?

Opinion:

No. Rule 7.1 prohibits false and misleading communications about a lawyer or a lawyer's services. A communication is false or misleading if omits a fact necessary to make the statement considered as a whole not materially misleading. Rule 7.1(a). To comply with the rule, the Jones, Smith & Johnson advertisement must state that the "combined legal experience" of the lawyers with the firm is 30 years.