1-6
7-12
13-18
19-24
25-30
31-36
37-42
43-48
49-54
55-60
61-66
67-72
73-78
79-84
85-90
91-96
97-102
103-108
109-114
115-120
121-126
127-132
133-138
139
1-6
7-12
13-18
19-24
25-30
31-36
37-42
43-48
49-54
55-60
61-66
67-72
73-78
79-84
85-90
91-96
97-102
103-108
109-114
115-120
121-126
127-132
133-138
139
this Rule.
See Rule 1.0(d)
“Material”See Rule 1.0(g)
“Reasonable”See Rule 1.0(i)
PROPOSED RULE 7.3
SOLICITATION AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTED TO
SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFIED RECIPIENTS
professional employment by in-person, live telephone, or real-time electronic contact from a
prospective client who has not initiated the contact with the lawyer and with whom the lawyer has no
family or prior professional relationship.
electronic contact, or by a writing, recording, telegram, facsimile, computer transmission or other
mode of communication directed to a specifically identified recipient who has not initiated the
contact with the lawyer if:
lawyer;
influence, intimidation, or fraud; or
communication concerns an action for personal injury, worker's compensation or
wrongful death or otherwise relates to an accident or disaster involving the person to
whom the communication is addressed or a member of that person's family, unless the
accident or disaster occurred more than 30 days prior to the mailing or transmission of
the communication or the lawyer has a family or prior professional relationship with the
person solicited.
or dispatch a communication soliciting professional employment from a specifically identified
recipient who has not initiated a contact with the lawyer and with whom the lawyer has no family or
prior professional relationship unless the communication complies with the following requirements:
shall include the words "THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT" as follows:
transmission, the required wording shall appear in conspicuous print size on the
outside envelope, if any, and at the beginning and end of the written material. If the
written communication is a self-mailing brochure or pamphlet, the required wording
shall appear on the address panel of the brochure or pamphlet.
the communication for at least five seconds at the beginning and five seconds at the
end of the communication and the required wording of the audio portion of the
video communication shall be presented as required in subsection (c) below.
beginning and end of the communication in a tone, volume, clarity and speed of
elsewhere in the communication.
rules has been approved by the Tennessee Supreme Court or its Board of Professional
Responsibility.
the contract shall be marked "SAMPLE" and the words "DO NOT SIGN" shall appear on
the client signature line.
formal legal documents.
and not by registered, certified, or other forms of restricted delivery, express delivery or
courier.
matter shall comply with the following additional requirements:
prompting the communication;
outside of the envelope (or self-mailing brochure) in which the communication is
delivered; and
OR RETAINED A LAWYER IN THIS MATTER, PLEASE DISREGARD THIS MESSAGE.”
a specific recipient shall be filed with the Board of Professional Responsibility within three
days after the dispatch of the communication. At the same time, the lawyer dispatching the
communication shall also file the name of the person contacted and the person’s address,
telephone, or telecommunication address to which the communication was sent. If
communications identical in content are sent to two or more persons, the lawyer may
comply with this requirement by filing a single copy of the communication together with a
list of the names and addresses of the persons to whom the communication was sent. If the
lawyer periodically sends the identical communication to additional persons, lists of the
additional names and addresses shall be filed with the Board of Professional Responsibility
no less frequently than monthly.
or an announcement of an association or affiliation with another lawyer which complies with the
requirements of Rule 7.5, a lawyer who sends newsletters, brochures and other similar
communications to persons who have not requested the communication or with whom the lawyer
has no family or prior professional relationship shall comply with the requirements of paragraph (c)
above.
[1]There is a potential for abuse inherent in direct in-person or live telephone contact by a
lawyer with a prospective client known to need legal services. These forms of contact between a
lawyer and a specifically targeted recipient subject the layperson to the private importuning of the
trained advocate in a direct interpersonal encounter. The prospective client, who may already feel
overwhelmed by the circumstances giving rise to the need for legal services, may find it difficult
fully to evaluate all available alternatives with reasoned judgment and appropriate self-interest in the
face of the lawyer's presence and insistence upon being retained immediately. The situation is
fraught with the possibility of undue influence, intimidation, and overreaching.
[2] This potential for abuse inherent in direct in-person, live telephone, or real-time
electronic solicitation of prospective clients justifies its prohibition, particularly since lawyer
advertising and written and recorded communication permitted under this Rule offer alternative
means of conveying necessary information to those who may be in need of legal services. Written
and recorded communications which may be mailed or electronically transmitted make it possible
for a prospective client to be informed about the need for legal services, and about the qualifications
of available lawyers and law firms, without subjecting the prospective client to direct in-person live
telephone, or real-time electronic persuasion that may overwhelm the client's judgment.
[3] The use of written and recorded communications to transmit information from lawyer to
a specifically identified recipient, rather than direct in-person or live telephone contact, will help to
assure that the information flows cleanly as well as freely. The contents of communications
permitted under this Rule are permanently recorded and filed with the Board of Professional
Responsibility. The contents of direct in-person or live telephone conversations between a lawyer
to a prospective client can be disputed and are not subject to third-party scrutiny. Consequently,
they are much more likely to approach (and occasionally cross) the dividing line between accurate
representations and those that are false and misleading.
[4] There is far less likelihood that a lawyer would engage in abusive practices against an
individual with whom the lawyer has a prior personal or professional relationship or where the
lawyer is motivated by considerations other than the lawyer's pecuniary gain. Consequently, the
prohibitions in Rule 7.3(a) and (b)(3) are not applicable in those situations.
[5] But even permitted forms of solicitation can be abused. Thus, any solicitation which
contains information which is false or misleading within the meaning of Rule 7.1, which involves
coercion, duress or harassment within the meaning of Rule 7.3(b)(2), which involves contact with a
prospective client who has made known to the lawyer a desire not to be solicited by the lawyer
within the meaning of Rule 7.3(b)(2), or which occurs within 30 days after an accident of disaster
involving the individual of a member of the individual’s family, is prohibited. Moreover, if after
sending a letter or other communication to a client as permitted by Rule 7.2 the lawyer receives no
response, any further effort to communicate with the prospective client may violate the provisions of
Rule 7.3(b)(1). Communications directed to specifically identified recipients must be identified as
advertisements, may need to be marked with other disclaimers, and cannot be formatted or delivered
in such a manner as to mislead the recipient about the nature of the communication.
[6] This Rule is not intended to prohibit a lawyer from contacting representatives of
organizations or groups that may be interested in establishing a group or prepaid legal plan for their
members, insureds, beneficiaries or other third parties if the lawyer’s purpose is to inform such
entities of the lawyer’s willingness to cooperate with the plan in compliance with Rule 7.6. This
form of communication is not directed to a prospective client. Rather, it is usually addressed to an
individual acting in a fiduciary capacity seeking a supplier of legal services for others who may, if
the lawyer undertakes in communicating with such representatives and the type of information
transmitted to the individual are functionally similar to and serve the same purpose as advertising
permitted under Rule 7.2.
[7] The requirements in Rule 7.3(c) that certain communications be marked as
advertisements and contain other disclaimers do not apply to communications sent in response to
requests of potential clients or their spokespersons or sponsors. General announcements by
lawyers, including changes in personnel or office location, do not constitute communications
soliciting professional employment from a client known to be in need of legal services within the
meaning of this Rule.
[8] Rule 7.3 is not intended to apply to communications such as general interest newsletters
or announcements of association or affiliation that comply with Rule 7.5. Other types of
newsletters, brochures and similar communications sent to specifically identified recipients must
comply with Rule 7.3.
See Rule 1.0(e)
“Known”See Rule 1.0(f)
“Material”See Rule 1.0(g)
PROPOSED RULE 7.4
COMMUNICATION OF FIELDS OF PRACTICE
particular fields of law.
a specialist, specializes or is certified or recognized as a specialist in a particular field of law.
Trademark Office may use the designation "Patent Attorney" or a substantially similar
designation.
Supreme Court or its Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization may
state that the lawyer “is certified as a specialist in [field of law] by the Tennessee Supreme
Court.”A lawyer so certified may also state that the lawyer is certified as a specialist in that
field of law by an organization recognized or accredited by the Tennessee Supreme Court or
its Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization as complying with its
requirements, provided the statement is made in the following format:“[Lawyer] is
certified as a specialist in [field of law] by [organization].”
[1] This Rule permits a lawyer to indicate areas of practice in communications about the
lawyer's services. If a lawyer practices only in certain fields, or will not accept matters in a specified
field or fields, the lawyer is permitted to so indicate.
[2]However, a lawyer may not communicate that the lawyer is a “specialist,” practices a
“speciality,” “specializes in” a particular field, or that the lawyer has been recognized or certified
as a specialist in a particular field of law, except as provided by this Rule. Recognition of
specialization in patent matters is a matter of long-established policy of the Patent and Trademark
Office, as reflected in paragraph (c).
[3]Paragraph (d) permits a lawyer to communicate that he or she is a specialist or has been
certified or recognized as a specialist only when the lawyer has been so certified or recognized by
the Supreme Court or its Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization. The
certification procedures are designed to require that the lawyer demonstrate higher degree of
specialized ability and experience than is suggested by general licensure to practice law.
See Rule 1.0(l)