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Code of Professional Conduct
CHAPTER XIV
ADVERTISING, SOLICITATION AND MAKING LEGAL SERVICES AVAILABLE
RULE
Lawyers should make legal services available to the public in an efficient and convenient manner that will command
respect and confidence, and by means that are compatible with the integrity, independence and effectiveness of
the profession.1
Commentary
Guiding Principles
1. It is essential that a person requiring legal services be able to find a qualified lawyer with a minimum of
difficulty or delay. In a relatively small community where lawyers are well known, the person will usually be able
to make an informed choice and select a qualified lawyer in whom to have confidence. However, in larger centres
these conditions will often not obtain. As the practice of law becomes increasingly complex and many individual
lawyers restrict their activities to particular fields of law, the reputations of lawyers and their competence
or qualification in particular fields may not be sufficiently well known to enable a person to make an informed
choice. Thus one who has had little or no contact with lawyers or who is a stranger in the community may have difficulty
finding a lawyer with the special skill required for a particular task. Telephone directories, legal directories
and referral services may help find a lawyer, but not necessarily the right one for the work involved.2 Advertising of legal services by the lawyer may assist members of the
public and thereby result in increased access to the legal system. Where local rules permit, the lawyer may, therefore,
advertise legal ser-vices to the general public.
2. When considering whether advertising in a particular area meets the public need, consideration must be given
to the clientele to be served. For example, in a small community with a stable population a person requiring a
lawyer for particular purpose will not have the same difficulty in selecting one as someone in a newly-established
community or a large city. Thus the governing body must have freedom of action in determining the nature and content
of adver-tising that will best meet the community need.3
3. Despite the lawyer's economic interest in earning a living, advertising, direct solicitation or any other means
by which the lawyer seeks to make legal services more readily available to the public must comply with any rules
prescribed by the governing body, must be consistent with the public interest and must not detract from the integrity,
independence or effectiveness of the legal profession. They must not mislead the uninformed or arouse unattainable
hopes and expectations, because this could result in distrust of legal institutions and lawyers. They must not
adversely affect the quality of legal services, nor must they be so undignified, in bad taste or otherwise offensive
as to be prejudicial to the interests of the public or the legal profession.
Finding a Lawyer
4. The lawyer who is consulted by a prospective client should be ready to assist in finding the right lawyer to
deal with the problem. If unable to act, for example because of lack of qualification in the particular field,
the lawyer should assist in finding a practitioner who is qualified and able to act. Such assistance should be
given willingly and, except in very special circumstances, without charge.4
5. The lawyer may also assist in making legal services available by participating in legal aid plans and referral
services, by engaging in programs of public information, education or advice concerning legal matters, and by being
considerate of those who seek advice but are inexperienced in legal matters or cannot readily explain their problems.
6. The lawyer has a general right to decline particular employment (except when assigned as counsel by a court)
but it is a right the lawyer should be slow to exercise if the probable result would be to make it very difficult
for a person to obtain legal advice or representation. Generally speaking, the lawyer should not exercise the right
merely because the person seeking legal services or that person's cause is unpopular or notorious, or because powerful
interests or allegations of misconduct or malfeasance are involved, or because of the lawyer's private opinion
about the guilt of the accused. As stated in commentary 4, the lawyer who declines employment should assist the
person to obtain the services of another lawyer competent in the particular field and able to act.5
Enforcement of Restrictive Rules
7. The lawyer should adhere to rules made by the governing body with respect to making legal services available
and respecting advertising, but rigid adherence to restrictive rules should be enforced with discretion where the
lawyer who may have infringed such rules acted in good faith in trying to make legal services available more efficiently,
economically and conveniently than they would otherwise have been.
NOTES
1. Cf. CBA-COD 13; ABA-MR 7; ABA Canon 2, EC 2-1; IBA at p. 30.
2. Cf. ABA ECs 2-6, 2-7.
3. At present the governing bodies and professional conduct committees, through rulings, by-laws, rules and opinions,
regulate the details of permissible and impermissible advertising within their jurisdictions. Such matters as signs,
name-plates, professional cards, announcements, letterheads, listings, firm names and "specialist" representations
are dealt with. The regulations vary considerably from place to place and change from time to time. No attempt
is here made to collect or epitomize them. For summaries of rulings and of illustrative decisions in these areas
see Orkin at pp. 177-88, Cordery on Solicitors (6th ed.) at pp. 486-87.
4. Cf. ABA EC 2-8.
5. Cf. N.B. C-4; ABA ECs 2-26 to 2-29; Orkin at pp. 87-88.
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