When a lawyer leaving public office puts out a newspaper notice that he won't seek re-election, can it praise his legal skills or hint at taking new clients?

Plain-English summary

The inquiry asked whether a lawyer who had held public office, in a newspaper announcement that he would not be a candidate for re-election and that also factually reported his services as a public officer, should include any language that extolled his professional attainments or ability, emphasized his special familiarity with a phase of the practice of law, or could be understood as a solicitation of business.

The committee answered that Canons 24 and 39 prohibit any such laudation and solicitation. A factual report of the lawyer's public service was the limit; the announcement could not cross into praising his legal skills or soliciting clients. The vote was 7-0.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1948, under the former Texas Canons of Ethics, which the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct replaced effective January 1, 1990. Lawyer advertising and solicitation restrictions were also reshaped by later constitutional decisions beginning with Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (1977). Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis; communications about a lawyer's services are now addressed by ABA Model Rule 7.1. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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 the announcement describe the lawyer's record in office?

A: Yes, as a factual report. The committee allowed a factual account of the lawyer's public service; the problem was language going beyond that.

Q: What could the announcement not say?

A: It could not extol the lawyer's professional attainments or ability, emphasize his special familiarity with any phase of the law, or include language that could be understood as soliciting business.

Q: Which Canons applied?

A: Texas Canons 24 (solicitation) and 39 (professional card). The committee held both prohibited the laudation and solicitation at issue, by a 7-0 vote.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets former Texas Canon 24 (solicitation, direct or indirect) and Canon 39 (professional card), applied to a public-officeholder lawyer's newspaper announcement that he would not seek re-election. The modern analog is ABA Model Rule 7.1 (communications concerning a lawyer's services), which forbids false or misleading communications.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• MR 7.1 (communications concerning a lawyer's services), as the modern analog
• Texas Canons 24 and 39

See also

• TX Ethics Op. 15: A Specialty-Restricted Partnership Announcement
• TX Ethics Op. 31: Deceased Relatives on Letterhead as Self-Laudation
• TX Ethics Op. 25: Newspaper Professional Listings

Source

• Landing page: https://www.legalethicstexas.com/resources/opinions/opinion-14/
• Original PDF: https://tcle-web.s3.amazonaws.com/public/documents/Opinion_14.pdf

Original opinion text

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

QUESTION PRESENTED

Whether a lawyer who has been holding public office, in a newspaper announcement that he will not be a candidate for re-election, and which is also a factual report of his services as such public officer, should include therein any language which amounts to extolling his professional attainments or ability, or emphasizes his special familiarity with any phase of the practice of law, or is susceptible of being understood as a solicitation of business.

18 Baylor L. Rev. 200 (1966)

SOLICITATION - PROFESSIONAL LISTINGS - NEWSPAPER ANNOUNCEMENTS
A newspaper announcement that an attorney who has been holding public office will not be a candidate for re-election, and which factually reports his services as a public officer, may not extol his professional attainments or ability, or emphasize his special familiarity with a phase of the Law, or include language susceptible of being understood as solicitation.

Canons 24, 39.

Canons 24 and 39 prohibit any such laudation and solicitation. (7-0)

Tex. Comm. On Professional Ethics, Op. 14 (1948)