I represent a nonprofit association and have done work for some of its members. May I send each member a letter offering my estate-planning services, or must that letter comply with the solicitation rules under Rule 7.3?

Plain-English summary

The inquiring attorney represented an incorporated nonprofit association and had provided legal services for some, but not all, of the association's members. The attorney wished to send a letter to each individual member offering estate-planning services and asked whether the proposed solicitation had to be labeled "advertisement" under Rule 7.3.

The Panel set out Rule 7.3(a), which prohibits soliciting professional employment for pecuniary gain from a prospective client with whom the lawyer has no family or prior professional relationship. The Rule defines "solicit" to include any written communication directed to a specific recipient that does not meet the requirements of paragraph (b). The Panel explained that Rule 7.3(a) exempts from the ban solicitations directed at family members and at those with whom the lawyer has had a prior professional relationship.

Applying the Rule, the Panel found that the attorney had a professional relationship with the association itself but not with all of its individual members. Because the proposed letters would go to members with whom the attorney had no prior professional relationship, the Panel concluded that the solicitation had to comply with the provisions of Rule 7.3(b)(1).

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1994 (Opinion 94-8, issued February 23, 1994), after the Rhode Island Supreme Court adopted the Model Rules of Professional Conduct effective November 15, 1988, and it applies Rule 7.3 as it stood at the time. The Rhode Island Supreme Court later revised the Rules of Professional Conduct in 2007 as part of the nationwide Ethics 2000 process, and the lawyer-advertising and solicitation rules have been amended repeatedly since this opinion issued. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Does representing an association mean I have a prior professional relationship with each member?

A: The Panel said no. It distinguished the attorney's professional relationship with the association itself from a relationship with the individual members, and found no prior professional relationship with all of them.

Q: Are letters to the members solicitations under Rule 7.3?

A: Yes, on these facts. Because the letters were written communications offering services for pecuniary gain to members with whom the attorney had no prior professional relationship, the Panel treated them as solicitations subject to Rule 7.3(b)(1).

Q: What did the Panel say the attorney had to do?

A: The Panel concluded the proposed solicitation had to comply with the provisions of Rule 7.3(b)(1).

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets Rhode Island Rule of Professional Conduct 7.3 (direct contact with prospective clients), the analog of Model Rule 7.3. The analysis turned on the "prior professional relationship" exception in Rule 7.3(a): a relationship with an organization does not automatically extend to its individual members, so targeted written offers to those members are governed by the solicitation requirements of Rule 7.3(b)(1).

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• MR 7.3 / RI RPC 7.3(a) (direct contact with prospective clients; solicitation for pecuniary gain)
• RI RPC 7.3(b)(1) (requirements for written solicitations to prospective clients)

See also

• RI EAP Opinion 2019-01: a lawyer may solicit local business owners in person under the Rule 7.3 exception
• RI EAP Opinion 90-10: a real estate attorney's advertisement requires a specialization disclaimer

Source

• Landing page: https://www.courts.ri.gov/attorney-resources/Pages/Ethics-Advisory-Panel-default.aspx
• Original PDF: https://www.courts.ri.gov/Opinions/EAP%2094-08.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.

ETHICS ADVISORY PANEL
OPINION #94-8 REQUEST #460
Issued February 23, 1994

The inquiring attorney represents an incorporated non-profit association ("the association") and has provided legal services for some, but not all, of the association's members. The inquiring attorney seeks to send a letter to each of the individual members of the association offering his/her legal services for estate planning. The inquiring attorney asks whether the proposed solicitation must be labeled "advertisement" pursuant to Rule 7.3 of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

Rule 7.3(a) provides as follows:

Rule 7.3. Direct Contact with Prospective Clients.

(a) A lawyer may not solicit professional employment from a prospective client with whom the lawyer has no family or prior professional relationship, in person or otherwise, when a significant motive for the lawyer's doing so is the lawyer's pecuniary gain. The term "solicit" includes contact in person, by telephone or telegraph, or by other communication directed to a specific recipient and includes any written form of communication directed to a specific recipient and not meeting the requirements of paragraph (b) of this rule.

Rule 7.3(a) embodies the general prohibition against the solicitation of clients for pecuniary gain. The Rule exempts from the ban solicitations directed at family members and those individuals with whom the lawyer has had a prior professional relationship.

In this case, the inquiring attorney has a professional relationship with the association itself; however, he/she does not have a prior professional relationship with all of the individual members of the association. The inquiring attorney's proposed solicitation must therefore comply with the provisions of Rule 7.3(b)(1).