Link to original WordPerfect Document
1 N.J.L. 18
January 27, 1992
130 N.J.L.J. 219
January 20, 1992
COMMITTEE ON ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Appointed by the New Jersey Supreme Court
OPINION 12
Targeted Direct-Mail Solicitation
Letters: Specific Events
This matter originated as a grievance filed by the Committee
against an attorney who sent targeted, direct-mail solicitation
letters to commercial property owners in a certain county. The
letters were not sent in response to a change in the tax ratio or
a reassessment of property values in any given municipality.
Rather, they were prompted by the current economic recession during
which the county has "suffered one of the largest declines in
property values in the country."
The grievance alleged that the solicitation letters, in which
the attorney offered to represent the property owners in tax
appeals, failed to comply with RPC 7.3(b)(4). Specifically, the
grievance alleged that the letters failed to prominently display
the word "ADVERTISEMENT" in capital letters at the top of the first
page of text and did not contain paragraphs concerning the
importance of decisions regarding the choice of counsel and the
reporting of inaccurate or misleading statements to the Committee
on Attorney Advertising at the bottom of the last page of text.
Upon completing its initial review, the Committee determined
that the solicitation did, in fact, violate RPC 7.3(b)(4). In lieu
of formal action, a letter was sent to Respondent requesting that
he discontinue the use of these letters and agree to include the
language required by the rule in all such future letters. Although
this matter was ultimately disposed of informally, the Committee
determined that the issues warranted a formal advisory opinion.
RPC 7.3 provides
(b) A lawyer shall not contact, or send written
communication to, a prospective client for the purpose of
obtaining professional employment if:
...
...
...
(4) the communication involves direct contact with
a prospective client concerning a specific event when
such contact has pecuniary gain as a significant motive
except that a lawyer may send a letter by mail to a
prospective client in such circumstances provided that
the letter:
(i) bears the word "ADVERTISEMENT" prominently
displayed in capital letters at the top of the first page
of text; and
(ii) contains the following notice at the bottom of
the last page of text: "Before making your choice of
attorney, you should give this matter careful thought.
The selection of an attorney is an important decision.";
and
(iii) contains an additional notice at the bottom of
the last page of text that the recipient may, if the
letter is inaccurate or misleading, report same to the
Committee on Attorney Advertising, Hughes Justice
Complex, CN 037, Trenton, New Jersey 08625. (emphasis
supplied).
An economic recession and a resulting decline in property
values is a reflection of the overall condition of the economy and
cannot be attributed to an individual catalytic event.
Nevertheless, in the setting of attorney advertising, an event may
be broadly construed to include situations, conditions or
occurrences which now, or in the future will, give rise to a cause
of action. Consequently, in situations such as this, where a cause
of action may be attributable to a condition that has evolved
gradually over a period of time, an attorney's solicitation letter
must comply with the requirements of RPC 7.3(b)(4).
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