Opinion 1958

The inquiring lawyer asked the committee whether it is permissible to allow a pre-paid legal plan with which the firm’s attorney’s are contracted to provide services to (1) provide a link from the legal plan’s Web site to the attorney’s Web site and (2) include "editorials" or "success stories" of the firm’s attorney’s work with the plan’s members.

The opinion of the committee regarding the first question of allowing a link from the Web site of the prepaid legal plan to your firm’s Web site, in general, is that there is no restriction under the RPCs. Regarding the second question of printing of "editorials" or "success stories" about your firm and/or individual lawyers of your firm, the committee is of the opinion that such information may be acceptable so long as it complies with RPC 7.1 and RPC 7.2 and contains an appropriate disclaimer that reasonably allows the reader to understand that past performance does not guarantee future performance. As to use of testimonials, please see Published Informal Opinion 97-1.

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.