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Ezel / Ethics Opinions / OSB
OSB June 2014

Can a lawyer appear in advertising for an outside business, like a bank board the lawyer sits on?

Short answer: Yes. The opinion concludes a lawyer who sits on a bank's board may let the bank use the lawyer's photograph in its advertisements, absent some reason to believe the photos would be used in a false or misleading way.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 2014. Ezel answers yours: whether it's allowed on your facts, under the current Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct, with citations.

Currency note: this opinion is from 2014
Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later opinions or rule amendments may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Disclaimer: Advisory only. Not binding precedent.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official ethics opinion. The original opinion (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ethics opinion (PDF)

Plain-English summary

A lawyer sits on the board of directors of a bank. The bank's public relations firm wants to publicize the bank by including photographs of board members, including the lawyer, in the bank's newspaper advertisements. The opinion asks whether the lawyer may permit this use of the lawyer's photograph.

The opinion concludes yes. Absent some reason to believe the photographs would be used in a misleading or improper manner, there is no reason the lawyer cannot permit the photograph to be used in the bank's advertisements. The relevant limit is Oregon RPC 7.1(a), which bars a lawyer from making a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's services, meaning a communication containing a material misrepresentation or omitting a fact needed to keep it from being materially misleading.

In practice

The opinion holds that, under Oregon RPC 7.1(a) as it stood at the time of the opinion, a lawyer's appearance in an unrelated business's advertising is permissible so long as the lawyer has no reason to believe the photograph would be presented in a false or misleading way. Verify the current text of the Oregon advertising rules before relying on any specific point.

Common questions

Q: Can I let a business I'm involved with use my photo in its ads?

A: Yes. The opinion concludes a lawyer may permit such use, absent reason to believe the photographs would be used in a misleading or improper manner under Oregon RPC 7.1(a).

Q: What would make this improper?

A: The opinion ties the limit to Oregon RPC 7.1(a): if the use would be a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's services, it would not be permitted.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets Oregon RPC 7.1(a) (false or misleading communications about the lawyer or the lawyer's services), corresponding to Model Rule 7.1. The analysis turns on whether the advertising use of the lawyer's photograph would be misleading, not on the mere fact of appearing in a non-law business's advertising.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

  • Oregon RPC 7.1(a) / Model Rule 7.1 (false or misleading communications)

Other opinions cited:

  • OSB Formal Ethics Op. No. 2005-3: information about legal services

See also

Source

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