Opinion 1940

Concerning the ethical development of a Web site, the inquiring lawyer asks several questions. Is it ethical for a Web site to link to other Web sites for the providing of more detailed educational information? Is it ethical for a Web site to link to other web sites for providing of information that although not necessarily purely educational to a particular area of practice, would potentially be useful to the reader? Is it ethical to provide a disclaimer? Is it ethical to have one or more Web search engine links to embedded words or purchase the use of words in a search engine that are not exactly contained in the site?

The committee opined that it is ethical for your Web site to link to other Web sites for providing educational information only or other information related to an area of law as long as you also have the disclaimer discussed in your letter and have complied with RPC 7.1 and 7.2. In accordance with the requirements of RPC 7.2(b), you should keep copies of all advertisements for at least two years following the last date the advertisement is used; you should maintain a list of all linked Web sites and the dates the links appeared; and some commentators have suggested that you maintain copies of hypertext markup language of the Web site to establish META tag honesty, where possible, a list of "hits" to the site to establish the level of dissemination of the information, and a backup of or archive copies of every material change to the site.

Advisory Opinions are provided for the education of the Bar and reflect the opinion of the Committee on Professional Ethics (CPE) or its predecessors. Advisory Opinions are provided pursuant to the authorization granted by the Board of Governors, but are not individually approved by the Board and do not reflect the official position of the Bar association. Laws other than the Washington State Rules of Professional Conduct may apply to the inquiry. The Committee's answer does not include or opine about any other applicable law other than the meaning of the Rules of Professional Conduct.