Opinion 1225

The Committee was of the opinion that a lawyer may solicit professional employment from a prospective client with whom the lawyer has no family or prior professional relationship by mail and that it is permissible to use a commercially available mass mailing list for this purpose. The Committee was further of the opinion that it is permissible to include within another company's mass mailer a description of legal services available from the law firm, a short statement regarding the state of the law as a public service and the fees so charged for services performed by the law firm, provided that nothing in other materials indicates that the other company is recommending the services of the lawyer or law firm. The Committee specifically renders no opinion regarding the content of any such mailing, other than to note that any solicitation could not be false, misleading or deceptive.

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.