Claris Law Legal Blogging Community

Name:

E-mail:

Phone Number:

Zip Code:

Your Question:

Editor: Ben W. Glass
Profession: Attorney at Law

Category: Ethics and Regulation

The District of Columbia Bar has issued an ethics opinion which not only recognizes the value of publishing verdict and settlement information on a lawyer's website, but encourages the practice. The actual opinion answers the question whether a defense attorney may prohibit the plaintiff's lawyer from disclosing publicly available information about the case. The D.C. Bar says that "A settlement agreement may not compel counsel to keep confidential and not further disclose in promotional materials or on law firm websites public information about the case, such as the name of the opponent, the allegations set forth in the complaint on file, or the fact that the case has settled. Such conditions have the purpose and effect of preventing counsel from informing potential clients of their experience and expertise, thereby making it difficult for future clients to identify well-qualified counsel and employ them to bring similar cases."

Here's a portion of the opinion:

There was a time, of course, before the advent of websites and marketing departments and lawyer advertising, when public disclosures of relevant expertise were frowned upon, if not outright prohibited. Those days are gone. 13 But even then, if asked, a lawyer was able to disclose public information about cases that he had handled if a potential client inquired as to his experience. If the conditions proposed by the defendant could be part of a settlement agreement, why could the defendant not propose that the lawyer never speak of the case again unless compelled to do so by formal process? This would bring about a situation where a lawyer could not reveal to a potential client public record information that would demonstrate his experience and ability. The only restrictions on lawyer advertising in the District of Columbia are that all claims must be truthful and subject to substantiation. D.C. Rule 7.1. 14 The implication of this liberal rule permitting advertising is that the consumers of legal services - like the consumers of other products and services - benefit from the dissemination of accurate information in choosing legal representation. Given that policy, we believe confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements that prohibit a lawyer from disclosing such public information as the name of the defendant, the public allegations, and the fact of settlement would violate D.C. Rule 5.6(b). Such provisions restrict a lawyer's right to practice by interfering with his ability to inform future potential clients of his relevant experience and expertise.

Comment from Virginia personal injury attorney Ben Glass: This is so refreshing. While many states seek to restrict the publication of verdicts and settlement on web sites because (they reason) the public may somehow be misled, this opinion explains that in order to find the best lawyer, the public should be able to find your verdicts and settlements on websites.