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THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT WWl€R ADVERnSlNG
&&Firnu brochures typically are not requid to be submitted to
the State Bar because of how they are ussally dissen~inated. 'IjpicaUy,
they are sent to clients, people who have requested information, or
tl~ey are gouug to otlw lawym. Evel~ though a broclmre aiay be
exempt, a lawyer is still prolubited from including false, misleading or
deceptive statenlents in the material.
If a brochure is illded to sonleone that has a specific legal problem,
then the brochure and any cover letter attached to il are required
to be formally submitted to the Advertising Review Department.
Similarly, if a brochure is disseminated at a public place, such as a
couvt house, tluen it must also be sub~uitted to the Advertisi~~g Review
Deparknent.
CONSEQUENCES FOR NON-COhlPLIANCB
Violation of tlue lawyer Advertising Rules is a
violation of the Disciplina~y Rules. See Chapters I! and E
The Advertising Review Coni~nittee may fo~~vard my
11o11-comp1ying attorney to an appropriate Grievance Con~rniltee
Non-Gler fee of $200 for la\vyers that do not appropriately
file their ads.
WHERE CAN I TURN TO FOR GUIDANCE ON UNDERS'1'MDlNG
THESE RUL!jS?
Interpretive Cou~~~~ents define the Comniittee's inte~yretatioes
in order to clarify specific aspects of the 1111es
Cd or write the r\live-tising Review Departrent Staff, P.O. Bos
12487 Austin TX 78711 or 800-566-4616
\Vrifien request of nn opinion from Advertishg Review
Can~nuittee
Televisioa Advertising - Helplid hints
If possible, submit the script to the Advertising Re\icwDeprtment
for pre-approval before tlue video is produced. The script will be
reviewd and the attomcy will be sent correspo~~dence indicating
whether it has been approved or not. This do\vs the attorney to m-
ily make changes to the script ifnecessa~y.
Pre-approval of tlue Script is not required. If a lawyer produces the
video and subwits it to us upon first dissemniuation, that is acceptable.
IIo~vever, there may be potential problems if the video is produced
and then submitted to the i\dvertising Review Depastment. If there are
problenis with the script, the attorney will have to go re-edit the conlmercial,
u~luch is usuaUy an added production cost. 1n some
instances, attorneys have not been able to use their conmerciak
because they could not be re-edited for various reasons.
Actors may not portray layers
Actors niay portray clients, as long as the appropriate
"D~amatization" statenlent is clearly displayed 011 tlue screen wl~ere
the actass are appeariag. See 111terpretive Conln~ent Nun~bcr nvo.
Make sure that appmpuiate disclaimets are co~ispicuous and on
tlue screen long enongl~ to be read. For example, the "Not certi-
fied ...." disclainer IIIIISI be clearly displayed on the screen. I'lacing
the text in a black box may make it easier to read. Gcneially, the disclimer
must be 011 the screen for at least five seconds. If there is
other written text on the screen at the salne tulle, !hen it nmst be displayed
for n~ore than five seconds.
INTBRNET WEBSITE ADVERTISEMENlS
Notes: See Interpretive Co~nnlent 17 for more inforn~ation
~\ttomey nmst submit pru~tout of hon~epage (first screen) of website
to Advertising Review Department u~lless othe~nise noted in
Interpretive Con~nuent 17. Altl~ough the attonley \rill only submit the
first screen of the website, the other pages may not violate the provisions
of the h\\~er Adwtising Rules in any capacity
Principal office disclosure nmst be on homepsge.
If areas of law referenced on homepage, then attornqs nlust indicate
if they are "Not Cerlified by Texas Board of Legal Specialiation"
on tlue l~omepage. If areas of law are not referemd on Iuotnepage, but
are referenced on other pages, then tlue "Not Certified ...." disclaimer
is requked on tlme pages.
FREQUENnY ASKED QUESTIONS FROM SSA'TE BAR OF TBXAS
ADVERTISING REVIEW DEPARTMENT
For more idorn~ation, contact: The Ad\'cdising Review Committee
C/O State Bar of Texas
PO. Box 12487
Austin, IX 78711-2487
Telephone: 1-800-566-4616
Fax: 512-463-1475
Attention: Ray Ca~tu
Web Site: 11ttp://\\?wtesesbar.~0n1/at~info/adrev/q11est.l1t1i1
(Unless otl~ellrise noted, the ten11 "ad" or "advertise~nent" dso
refers to written solicitations. The term hRC denotes the Advertising
Review Comniitfce.)
1. Wl~ere a n I find tlie new rules for lawyer advertising
a ~ the ~ application d form to submit materials to the State
Bar?
The "nen*' Iauyr Ad\wtising Rules went into effect in July
of 1995 and can be found in Part W of tl~e Texas Discipliiia~y
Rules of Professional Conduct. You nlay request a packet of
inforniation containing these 1111es, nu application fon~i, and
other infor~native materials from the Advertising Review
Department at 1-800-566-4616.
2. Horn do I submit advertisenlei~ts to the State Bar?
AII advevtising lawyer must sub~uut a copy of his or her ad, a
conlpleted application form, and a $50 filing fee to the
Advertising Review Departnle~t of the State Bar. If the ad ill
question is a television or mdio spot, a productio~~ script nmst
be subniitted along nith a tape of the conin~ercial. (The production
script may be submitted without the tape if the lawyer is
requesting pre-approval prior to actual production of the conmercial.)
If the ad is a solicitation leftel; a copy of the envelope
must be included with the letter For print advertisements, a
copy of the ad itself nus st be submitted. For Websites, a printout
of the homepage (see interprelive con~n~ent 17) and a statement
22 VOICE FOR THE DEFENSE W.TCDLA.COM NOVEMBER 2001