Lawyers and Advertising
February 16, 2011 | Jon P. EricksonAll Minnesota lawyers are required to conduct their professional activities consistent with the MN Rules of Professional Conduct. These are often referred to as the “Canon’ of Ethics.”
These rules/canons cover a wide range of activities including advertising, and direct communication to the public about legal services. The rules on advertising and direct communication can be found in Rules 7.1–7.5 of the MN Rules of Professional Conduct. Rule 7.3 sets out the restrictions on how a lawyer or law firm may have direct contact with a potential new client to solicit a case or legal representation. Some lawyers send out letters and brochures to injured people whose name they get from a public list. This written communication must identify itself as “advertising material.”
A lawyer can contact a potential new client directly if that lawyer has a “family, close personal or professional relationship” with that person. Lawyers at BGS tell staff, family, neighbors and friends because of our personal and professional relationships with them, to let us know if they or someone they know has been in an accident and injured in some way.
If they know someone injured, we then would ask our staff, family or friend to contact the injured person to get permission for one of our personal injury lawyers to contact the injured party directly. We want the injured party to know what their legal rights might be according to their situation.
We encourage any of you who are reading this to contact one of our personal injury lawyers should you know someone who has been injured in some type of accident, and may need legal advice. Our goal is to make sure injured people get legal representation when they need it.