What may a lawyer say in an announcement sent to other lawyers offering his availability as a consultant in a specialized field, and may he list an earned degree?

Plain-English summary

A lawyer admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1973, who had been a member of the New York Bar since 1955 and had earned a Ph.D. on a zoning topic, held a New Jersey professional planners license, and belonged to several planning and traffic organizations, asked what he could say in an announcement of his availability as a specialized consultant, to be sent to lawyers only.

The Committee began from the premise that soliciting an opportunity to serve other lawyers in a branch of the law is proper where the jurisdiction has adopted amended ABA Canon 46 or DR 2-105(A)(3). It concluded that planning and zoning are particular branches of the law within DR 2-105(A)(3), but that terms like "environmental, housing, land use control and renewal," while descriptive of planning and zoning problems, are not themselves branches of law and should not appear in a letter to lawyers.

On the earned degree, the Committee noted that when the New Jersey Supreme Court adopted the ABA Code of Professional Responsibility it did not adopt DR 2-102(F), which would have permitted use of an earned legal degree. The Committee read that omission as a deliberate policy decision against the use of degrees, so DR 2-102(F) and the contrary suggestion in Opinion 183 should no longer be followed; no notation of degree should appear on the lawyer's stationery or announcement.

The Committee concluded that the announcement to lawyers should be limited to availability to act as a consultant or associate for planning and zoning matters, with no mention of memberships or licensing except his bar memberships (New Jersey, New York, and Kentucky), if that was deemed essential to the announcement.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1974, 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 DR 2-105(A)(3) and DR 2-102, against a pre-Bates advertising regime; the law on communicating fields of practice and on lawyer advertising changed substantially after Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (1977) and is now governed by RPC 7.1 and RPC 7.4. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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 announce a specialty to other lawyers?

A: Under this opinion, yes, for a recognized branch of law. The Committee found planning and zoning to be branches of law that could be named in an announcement to lawyers.

Q: Could the announcement describe the work as environmental, housing, or renewal practice?

A: No. The Committee held those terms were not themselves branches of law and should not be used in the letter to lawyers.

Q: Could the lawyer list his Ph.D. or planning credentials?

A: No. Because New Jersey did not adopt DR 2-102(F), the Committee found a policy against using earned degrees; the announcement could mention only bar memberships, not degrees, licenses, or organizational memberships.

Background and rules framework

The opinion construed DR 2-105(A)(3) (notice to lawyers of availability in a branch of law) and DR 2-102 (letterheads and degrees), noting New Jersey's deliberate non-adoption of DR 2-102(F). In current New Jersey terms, lawyer communications and fields-of-practice statements are governed by RPC 7.1 and RPC 7.4.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• DR 2-105(A)(3) (availability to other lawyers in a branch of law) and amended ABA Canon 46, as in effect 1974; now MR 7.4 / NJ RPC 7.4
• DR 2-102(F) (use of earned degree), which New Jersey did not adopt; advertising communications now under MR 7.1 / NJ RPC 7.1

Other opinions cited:

• NJ ACPE Opinion 183, 93 N.J.L.J. 492 (1970)
• NJ ACPE Opinion 257, 96 N.J.L.J. 751 (1973)

See also

• NJ ACPE Op. 306: Publishing the Commencement of an Out-of-State Practice
• NJ ACPE Op. 321: Use of "J.D." and "Doctor" in an Academic Position
• NJ ACPE Op. 305: A Foreign Attorney's Legal Title on a Bank's Letterhead

Source

• Full text (Justia mirror): https://law.justia.com/cases/new-jersey/advisory-committee-on-professional-ethics/2004/acp283-1.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.

97 N.J.L.J. 362, May 16, 1974

OPINION 283

Announcement to Other Lawyers Availability as Specialized Consultant

An attorney has made an inquiry concerning the content of an announcement to be sent to lawyers only. The attorney states:

1. On December 20, 1973 he was sworn in as a member of the New Jersey Bar.

2. After becoming a member of the New York Bar in 1955 he undertook the following:

a) special study in the land use control field earning a Ph.D. degree of doctoral dissertation dealing with zoning

b) completion of other related specialized study

c) writing and lecturing on legal facets of environmental, housing, land use planning and control renewal, and zoning assignments

d) acquisition of a New Jersey professional planners license, full membership in the American Institute of Planners

e) election as affiliate member of the Institute of Traffic Engineers.

He would like to send out the following specialized announcement to other lawyers:

Notice of availability to serve other lawyers should be used with careful observance of the manner and form prescribed by the language of the applicable canon, and soliciting an opportunity to serve other local lawyers in any branch of the law or in any legal service is proper in any state which has adopted the amended A.B.A. Canon 46, as amended in 1956, or DR 2-105(A)(3).

There is no question concerning the fact that planning and zoning are particular branches of the law within the meaning of DR 2-105(A)(3), but, as used in the lawyer's description of availability, "environmental, housing, land use control and renewal," while descriptive of some of the planning and zoning problems, are not in themselves branches of the law, and therefore, should not be used in any letter to lawyers. See Wise, Legal Ethics 177 (2d ed. 1970).

With respect to the use of earned degrees, it should be pointed out that the Supreme Court of New Jersey, in adopting the A.B.A. Code of Professional Responsibility, made certain changes. It did not adopt DR 2-102(F) which provided as follows:

Nothing contained herein shall prohibit a lawyer from using or permitting the use, in connection with his name, of an earned degree or title derived therefrom indicating his training in the law.

As was mentioned in N.J. Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, Opinion 183, 93 N.J.L.J. 492 (1970), the Supreme Court of New Jersey had not, up to that date, adopted the A.B.A. Code of Professional Responsibility, and the comment in that opinion to the effect that "this committee views the A.B.A. Code as persuasive authority" must be accepted as a true statement as of that time. However, when the Supreme Court of New Jersey, at a later date, did not adopt DR 2-102(F), it is obvious that a policy decision, against the use of degrees, was made by the Court, and said provision of the A.B.A. Code would have no bearing, nor constitute persuasive authority in New Jersey. DR 2-102(F) of the A.B.A. Code, and the ruling of that opinion as to the use of degrees, should no longer be followed.

The conclusion is that no notation of degree should appear on his stationery or announcement. See Opinion 257, 96 N.J.L.J. 751 (1973).

Any announcement to lawyers only should be limited to an announcement of availability to act as a consultant or as an associate for planning and zoning matters, with no mention of memberships or licensing except as to memberships in New Jersey, New York and Kentucky bars, if that is deemed essential to an announcement to the New Jersey Bar members.