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Editor: Ben W. Glass
Profession: Attorney at Law

Category: Ethics and Regulation

After yesterday's post about the D.C. Bar's refreshing opinion encouraging the publication of verdicts and settlements on lawyer websites I was hunting around to see what other states allow. I found the North Carolina Bar's absurd position that you can only publish verdicts and settlement if you publish all of your results.

If you have been practicing for any length of time this becomes a virtual impossibility. Thus, in North Carolina, the MORE experienced you are the LESS likely it is that you can provide the valuable and sensible service of providing information to prospective consumers about your experience.

Here's commentary on the North Carolina Rule:

The State Bar has stated that lawyers may include verdict records on their website--at least theoretically. 2000 FEO 1. Generally, statements about the lawyer's record in obtaining favorable verdicts have been prohibited in other forms of advertising because such statements tend to create unjustified expectations in violation of Rule 7.1. Nonetheless, the State Bar acknowledges that it is possible to provide enough context in a website to avoid being misleading. This context would have to include information about the lawyer's unfavorable verdicts and settlements, success in collecting favorable verdicts, whether the cases were contested, and whether the opposing party was represented, among other items.