May a lawyer who belongs to a lawyer-pilots association display the association's decal on the door of his airplane?

Plain-English summary

The inquiry was whether a member of the Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association, a nonprofit New Jersey corporation, could display a decal with the association's name and logo on an airplane door. The inquiry did not say whether the attorney-pilot's name would also appear on the display.

The Committee drew on the treatises of Wise and Drinker, which reported that a lawyer may not place any designation on his automobile indicating directly or indirectly that he is a lawyer, may not wear jewelry bearing his state bar seal, and may not have "attorney at law" printed on his license tags or savings passbook. Treating the lawyer-pilots association as a bar association engaged in the usual activities of encouraging sociability among members and improving the profession, the Committee concluded that even without the lawyer's name, identifying his plane with his profession constituted indirect advertising of his profession and was not permitted under the Disciplinary Rules.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1973, before New Jersey's adoption of the 2004 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct, and predates the 1984 replacement of the Disciplinary Rules by the RPCs. It applied the pre-Bates ban on indirect advertising; the constitutional landscape changed fundamentally with Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (1977), which held truthful lawyer advertising protected speech, so the result here would not stand under current law. Lawyer communications are now governed by RPC 7.1 and RPC 7.2. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Could a lawyer put a professional association's decal on his airplane?

A: Under this opinion, no; the Committee found it indirect advertising of his profession, barred by the Disciplinary Rules as they stood in 1973.

Q: Did it matter that the decal omitted the lawyer's name?

A: No. The Committee held that even without his name, identifying the plane with his profession was impermissible indirect advertising.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied the Code of Professional Responsibility's then-prohibition on indirect advertising, as illustrated by the treatise authorities it cited. This was a pre-Bates restriction; lawyer advertising is now governed by RPC 7.1 and RPC 7.2.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• The Disciplinary Rules' prohibition on indirect advertising, as in effect 1973; lawyer communications now MR 7.1 / NJ RPC 7.1 and MR 7.2 / NJ RPC 7.2

See also

• NJ ACPE Op. 283: A Lawyer's Announcement of Consulting Availability to Other Lawyers
• NJ ACPE Op. 305: A Foreign Attorney's Legal Title on a Bank's Letterhead
• NJ ACPE Op. 321: Use of "J.D." and "Doctor" in an Academic Position

Source

• Full text (Justia mirror): https://law.justia.com/cases/new-jersey/advisory-committee-on-professional-ethics/2004/acp271-1.html
• Issuing authority: New Jersey Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, via the NJ Courts Supreme Court Committees page

Original opinion text

Reproduced from a full-text mirror of the official opinion for research purposes. The linked official source controls.

96 N.J.L.J. 1332, November 15, 1973

OPINION 271

Advertising Bar Membership Displayed on Airplane Door

Inquiry is made whether or not a member of the Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association, a nonprofit New Jersey corporation, may display a decal with name and logo of the association on an airplane door.

The inquiry is briefly stated and omits reference as to whether or not the attorney pilot's name is also included in the display. Reference to Wise, Legal Ethics (1970) 142-3 and 19, (1966), discloses that it has been held that a lawyer may not have any designation on his automobile indicating directly or indirectly that he is a lawyer; and that he may not wear jewelry bearing the seal of his state bar association. And in Drinker, Legal Ethics 248 (1961), it is reported that an attorney may not have "attorney at law" printed on his license tags or on his savings passbook.

Presumably a Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association engages in activities similar to any bar association in respect to encouraging the sociability of its members and endeavors to improve the profession to the common benefit of the public and its members. Even though a lawyer pilot's name is not included on his plane door, we decide that identifying his plane with his profession constitutes indirect advertising of his profession, and is not permitted under the Disciplinary Rules.