Can a company run a newspaper ad featuring one of its directors who is a practicing lawyer, naming his law firm and his role on the board?

Plain-English summary

The inquiry asked whether a savings and loan association violates the Canons by running a newspaper advertisement featuring a photograph of one of its directors, who is a practicing attorney, with copy under "Meet Our Directors" describing him as a practicing attorney and partner in a named law firm with extensive investment interests, and as one of nine prominent local business and professional men who direct the association. The Committee concluded the advertisement is not a violation (8-0).

The Committee was unanimous that such an advertisement is not a violation of Canon 24 or any other Canon.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1958, under the former Texas Canons of Ethics, which the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct replaced effective January 1, 1990. It also predates Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977), which loosened categorical advertising restrictions, though prohibitions on solicitation were not eliminated. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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: Can a company's ad identify a director as a practicing lawyer?

A: The Committee concluded it may. A savings and loan association's newspaper ad may feature a director who is a practicing attorney and mention his lawyer status, investment interests, and board position without violating Canon 24.

Q: Was the result unanimous?

A: Yes. The Committee was unanimous (8-0) that the advertisement violates no Canon.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets former Texas Canon 24 (advertising and self-laudation), as applied to a third party's advertisement that incidentally identifies one of its directors as a lawyer. The modern analog is ABA Model Rule 7.1 (communications concerning a lawyer's services).

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• MR 7.1 (communications concerning a lawyer's services), as the modern analog
• Texas Canon 24 (former canon on advertising and self-laudation)

See also

• TX Ethics Op. 194: Advertising a Non-Law Business
• TX Ethics Op. 210: Judges' Newspaper Christmas Greetings
• TX Ethics Op. 196: Lawyer-Owned Abstract Company and Advertising

Source

• Landing page: https://www.legalethicstexas.com/resources/opinions/opinion-188/
• Original PDF: https://tcle-web.s3.amazonaws.com/public/documents/Opinion_188.pdf

Original opinion text

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

QUESTION PRESENTED

Where a practicing attorney is a member of the board of directors of a savings and loan association, is it a violation of the Canons of Ethics for such association to include in its advertisement in the newspaper a photograph of such attorney with the following copy adjacent to the photograph in the advertisement:

"Meet Our Directors"
"A practicing attorney and partner in the law firm of [ ] has extensive investment interests. He
is one of nine prominent local business and professional men who direct the affairs of this
Association"?

18 Baylor L. Rev. 283 (1966)

ADVERTISING - NEWSPAPERS - SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATION
A savings and loan association may properly include in a newspaper advertisement a photograph of a practicing attorney who is a member of the board of directors, and may mention the attorney's status as a lawyer, his investment interests, and his position on the board of directors.

Canon 24.

The committee is of the unanimous opinion that such advertisement is not a violation of Canon 24 or any other canon. (8-0.)

Tex. Comm. On Professional Ethics, Op. 188 (1958)