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Opinion 489

Question Presented

May a law firm develop, sponsor and conduct a seminar for the benefit of a specific segment of the lay public?

A law firm wishes to sponsor and conduct a seminar regarding recent developments under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act and its application to realtors. The seminar will be targeted specifically at realtors doing business primarily in one city. The law firm intends to send fliers detailing the time, place, cost and subject of the seminar to individual realtors and agencies operating in that city. The fliers will display the name of the law firm, its address and telephone number, and a brief factual description of the qualifications of the two attorneys who will conduct the seminar. The flier will not contain any language which suggests, expresses, or implies that the recipients contact the law firm for any purpose other than for seminar enrollment.

The charge for the seminar will be in an amount to cover the expense of providing a lunch, refreshments, rental of the facility and printing posts for seminar handouts. The seminar will run for approximately four hours.

Handouts distributed at the seminar will contain no language, express or implied, which suggests that the participants should seek the counsel of the law firm. The materials will contain a cover page and an introductory section consisting of the information displayed in the original flier and an outline highlighting the main points raised in the presentation.

Questions will be taken, but only those of general nature will be answered. No individually specific questions will be addressed. At no time will it be suggested, expressed or implied that individuals attending the seminar should consult the law firm if they have any individually specific questions.

The law firm will not in any way, express or implied, solicit business from seminar participants.

QUESTIONS

  1. Does a law firm's sponsorship of such a seminar violate any Disciplinary Rule if the law firm and lawyers conducting the seminar comply with the requirements of DR 7.01, DR 7.02, DR 7.03 and DR 7.04?
  2. In sponsoring such a seminar, must a law firm and the lawyers conducting the seminar comply with all of the guidelines set out in Opinion 394 (April, 1979)?

Bluebook Citation

Tex. Comm. On Professional Ethics, Op. 489 (1992)