Beware of Fact-Specific E-Mail Discussion, Says ABA Ethics Opinion re Law Firm Websites
Guidance for lawyers advertising on the Internet is offered by a new ethics opinion announced by the American Bar Association in a press release today.
The ethics opinion (PDF), which was issued by the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, points to a number of potential website pitfalls.
Among them are a need to obtain informed consent from clients before identifying them online; a need to update website information to ensure that it is current; and a need for lawyers to beware of conducting fact-specific discussions over the Internet that might create confusion about whether the other party is a client.
A disclaimer, generally speaking, is needed to help make clear that no attorney-client relationship is created by website-related e-mail communications, and a lawyer should be careful to limit the scope of electronic discussions with nonclients, according to the opinion.
“But a limitation, condition, waiver or disclaimer may be undercut if the lawyer acts or communicates contrary to its warning,” it concludes. To be effective, a disclaimer must also be “reasonably understandable, properly placed and not misleading” to a reasonable person.
