American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility
Topic: Lawyers’ Use of Deal-of-the-Day Marketing Programs
The Committee analyzed two types of programs: coupon and prepaid. In a coupon program, the purchaser buys a voucher entitling the purchaser to a discount on legal fees. In the prepaid plan, the purchaser pays a lump sum for a described legal service or specified number of hours. The Committee concluded that coupon plans could probably be structured to comply with the Rules of Professional Conduct. While not per se unethical, prepaid plans posed problems with regard to handling and refund of legal fees.
Rules: 1.1, 1.15(c), 1.18, 5.4, 7.1, 7.2(b)(1)
Referenced Ethics Opinions
- Maryland Ethics Opinion 2012-07
- North Carolina State Bar 2011 Formal Ethics Opinion 10
- South Carolina Ethics Advisory Opinion 11-05
- Alabama State Bar Opinion 2012-01
- Indiana State Bar Association Op. 1, 2012
- Pennsylvania Bar Ass’n, Advisory Op. 2011-27
- State Bar of Arizona, Formal Op.13-01
The full text is available at http://www.americanbar…