1. Ethics in Legal Advertising
•Governed by the South Carolina Rules of Professional
Conduct (The Rules)
•Monitored by Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC), an office
within the Supreme Court of South Carolina, and by all of our
competitor lawyers who would love to report our violations
to ODC.
•If you ever have a question, consult The Rules, the
comments to the Rules, and the Ethics Advisory Opinions
issued by the South Carolina Bar – and bring the issue to the
attention of George or Patrick.

2. Rule 7.1: Communications Concerning
A Lawyer's Services
• A lawyer shall not make false, misleading, or
deceptive communications about the lawyer
or the lawyer's services. A communication
violates this rule if it:

3. • (a) contains a material misrepresentation of
fact or law, or omits a fact necessary to make
the statement considered as a whole not
materially misleading;

4. • (b) is likely to create an unjustified expectation
about results the lawyer can achieve, or states
or implies that the lawyer can achieve results
by means that violate the Rules of Professional
Conduct or other law;

5. • (c) compares the lawyer’s services with other
lawyers’ services, unless the comparison can
be factually substantiated;

6. • (d) contains a testimonial about, or endorsement
of, the lawyer
– (1) without identifying the fact that it is a testimonial
or endorsement;
– (2) for which payment has been made, without
disclosing that fact;
– (3) which is not made by an actual client, without
identifying that fact; and
– (4) which does not clearly and conspicuously state
that any result the endorsed lawyer or law firm may
achieve on behalf of one client in one matter does not
necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for
other clients.

7. • (e) contains a nickname, moniker, or trade
name that implies an ability to obtain results
in a matter.

8. Rule 7.2: Advertising
• (a) All advertisements shall be predominately
informational such that, in both quantity and
quality, the communication of factual information
rationally related to the need for and selection of
a lawyer predominates and the communication
includes only a minimal amount of content
designed to attract attention to and create
interest in the communication.

9. • (b) A lawyer is responsible for the content of any
advertisement or solicitation placed or disseminated by
the lawyer and has a duty to review the advertisement
or solicitation prior to its dissemination to reasonably
ensure its compliance with the Rules of Professional
Conduct. The lawyer shall keep a copy or recording of
every advertisement or communication for two (2)
years after its last dissemination along with a record of
when and where it was disseminated.

10. • (d) Any communication made pursuant to this
Rule shall include the name and office
address of at least one lawyer responsible for
its content.

11. • (f) Every advertisement that contains
information about the lawyer's fee shall
disclose whether the client will be liable for
any expenses in addition to the fee and, if the
fee will be a percentage of the recovery,
whether the percentage will be computed
before deducting the expenses.

12. • (h) All advertisements shall disclose the
geographic location, by city or town, of the
office in which the lawyer or lawyers who will
actually perform the services advertised
principally practice law. If the office location is
outside a city or town, the county in which the
office is located must be disclosed. A lawyer
referral service shall disclose the geographic area
in which the lawyer practices when a referral is
made.

13. Rule 7.4: Communication Of
Fields Of Practice And Specialization
• (b) A lawyer who is not certified as a specialist but
who concentrates in, limits his or her practice to, or
wishes to announce a willingness to accept cases in a
particular field may so advertise or publicly state in any
manner otherwise permitted by these rules. To avoid
confusing or misleading the public and to protect the
objectives of the South Carolina certified specialization
program, any such advertisement or statements shall
be strictly factual and shall not contain any form of the
words “certified,” “specialist,” “expert,” or “authority”
except as permitted by Rule 7.4(d).

14. • When listing our office locations or
announcing how many offices we have, we
must disclose whether they are staffed or
unstaffed. (Otherwise, just saying “we have 8
offices” is misleading.)

15. • Always take the most conservative approach
to what may be “misleading” or may “create
unjustified expectations”. Wherever the line is
between what is allowable under the rules
and what is not, we want to stay FAR within
that line.

16. Ethics Quiz

17. Question 1
• Can we create series of advertisements that
shows George “Carolina Kamikaze” Sink’s
battle against the insurance companies? Why
or why not?

18. Answer
• Rule 7.1(e) contains a nickname, moniker, or
trade name that implies an ability to obtain
results in a matter.
• Rule 7.2(a) All advertisements shall be
predominately informational … and the
communication includes only a minimal amount
of content designed to attract attention to and
create interest in the communication.

19. Question 2: Part 1
• Can we say in our phone book advertisements
“No fee charged unless you recover”?

20. Question 2: Part 2
• If we say “No fee charged unless you recover?”,
what else must we say?

21. Answer
• Attorney fees will be deducted from the total
amount of settlement or award. Client agrees
to pay all costs and expenses advanced by
Attorneys in connection with Client’s case, and
such expenses will be subtracted from the
total award, after attorney's fees are
deducted. Each client's case is different and
Attorney makes no guarantee of recovery.

22. Question 3
• When we list our practice areas (i.e. auto
accident, personal injury, workers
compensation), what is a permissible way to tell
clients that these are the types of cases that we
handle? What would be impermissible?

23. Answer
• Permissible: “covering a broad range of cases
including”; “accepting cases in the areas of”;
“Our practice areas:”
• Impermissible: “We specialize in”; “With
expertise in”
• Rule 7.4(b) shall not contain any form of the
words “certified,” “specialist,” “expert,” or
“authority”

24. Question 4
• Name two things that must be included in
every advertisement.

25. Answer
1. The name and office address of at least one
lawyer responsible for its content.
2. The geographic location, by city or town, of
the office in which the lawyer or lawyers
who will actually perform the services.

26. For More Information
• http://www.sccourts.org/courtReg/index.cfm
• http://www.scbar.org/MemberResources/Ethi
csAdvisoryOpinions.aspx