Advertising & Technology

In order to build and maintain a sustainable law practice, most lawyers will need to advertise and create a public presence in the market. In order to do so, lawyers need to consider their advertising strategies in conjunction with their ethical obligations.

This module will unpack a number of new and innovative marketing strategies, such as the use of podcasts and vodcasts, lead generation and other connective services, geo-targeting and geo-fencing, and referral marketing, and discuss the important ethical considerations when using these tools. This module will also discuss Client Relationship Management Software, which is seen by many lawyers to be an essential component to their marketing strategy. You will learn what CRM software is and how it can be used to improve the success of your practice.

In the module, you will:

• Learn some of the tools available to lawyers to market their services, and the ethics rules that govern a lawyer's use of these tools.
• Apply those ethics rules to several different scenarios.
• Reflect on your advertising initiatives and the ethical considerations involved.

RESOURCES:
Survey/Articles

• ABA Professionalism & Ethics in Lawyer Advertising (July 20, 2020)
• Making the Most of Online Client Reviews (Illinois Bar Journal, Feb. 2017)
• Marketing your practice: The ins and outs of legal client relationship management tools (Nicole Black, ABA Journal, Feb. 25, 2020)
• The Impact of Lead Generation (Conrad Saam, ABA Law Practice Magazine, March 1, 2021)
• The Power of Place: Geolocation Tracking and Privacy (Paige M. Boshell, ABA Business Law Section, Business Law Today, March 25, 2019)

ISBA Advisory Opinions - available at https://www.isba.org/ethics/. ISBA Advisory Opinions on Professional Conduct do not have the weight of law and do not constitute legal advice. 

• Reciprocal Referral agreements (ISBA Op. 10-02, Oct. 2009)
• Lawyer’s participation in networking group with nonlawyer professionals (ISBA Op. 12-03, Jan. 2012)

ABA Formal Opinions -These opinions are based on the ABA Model Rules. The laws, court rules, regulations, rules of professional conduct, and opinions promulgated in individual jurisdictions are controlling. See ABA Jurisdictional Rules Comparison Charts (comparing each jurisdiction's rules with the ABA Model Rules).

• Ethical obligations regarding content and features of lawyer websites (ABA Op. 10-457, Aug. 5, 2010)
• Ethical considerations for responding to online criticism (ABA Op. 496, Jan. 13, 2021)

Disciplinary Cases - ARDC Website, Case Research

• In re Peshek, M.R. 23794, 2009PR00089 (Ill.S.Ct. May 18, 2010) (assistant public defender suspended for 60 days for blogging about her clients’ cases, on a website which was open to the public).
• In re Tsamis, 2013PR00095 (ARDC H.Bd. Jan. 15, 2014) (public reprimand for lawyer who disclosed confidential information beyond that necessary to defend herself on Avvo in response to a client’s negative reviews of the lawyer).

Informational Websites & Blogs

• Attorney at Work blog
• Chicago Bar Association (CBA) Law Practice Management and Technology (CBA members)
• Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) Practice HQ (ISBA members)
• American Bar Association (ABA) Legal Technology Resource Center (LTRC) (ABA members)

Credits:
Content Contributor: Benjamin L. Boroughf, Senior Counsel, Appellate Division, ARDC
Video Presenters: Caren E.I. Naidoff, Attorney, Shire Law Group and Alan R. Press, Attorney and CPA, Shire Law Group

Important MCLE Notice: This Program was originally released as a PMBR (2022-2023) module. If you have previously viewed this Program as a PMBR (2022-2023) module and received a Certificate of Completion, you may only claim MCLE credit once for this Program within a 12-month period. The ARDC reports individual attorney attendance to the MCLE Board by the 5th of the month subsequent to the date of completion of the MCLE program (for example, September events will be reported by October 5).