Texas Rules for Advertising & Solicitation 3

(o) A lawyer may not advertise in the public media as part of an advertising cooperative or venture of two or more lawyers not in the same firm unless each such advertisement: (1) states that the advertisement is paid for by the cooperating lawyers; (2) names each of the cooperating lawyers; (3) sets forth conspicuously the special competency requirements required by Rule 7.04(b) of lawyers who advertise in the public media; (4) does not state or imply that the lawyers participating in the advertising cooperative or venture possess professional superiority, are able to perform services in a superior manner, or possess special competence in any area of law advertised, except that the advertisement may contain the information permitted by Rule 7.04(b)(2); and (5) does not otherwise violate the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. 25 (p) Each lawyer who advertises in the public media as part of an advertising cooperative or venture shall be individually responsible for: (1) ensuring that each advertisement does not violate this Rule; and (2) complying with the filing requirements of Rule 7.07. 26 Rule 7.05 Prohibited Written Solicitations (a) A lawyer shall not send or deliver, or knowingly permit or cause another person to send or deliver on the lawyer's behalf, a written communication to a prospective client for the purpose of obtaining professional employment if: (1) the communication involves coercion, duress, fraud, overreaching, intimidation, undue influence, or harassment; 27 Rule 7.05 Prohibited Written Solicitations (2) the communication contains information prohibited by Rule 7.02 or fails to satisfy each of the requirements of Rule 7.04(a) through (c), and (h) through (o) that would be applicable to the communication if it were an advertisement in the public media; or (3) the communication contains a false, fraudulent, misleading, deceptive, or unfair statement or claim. 28 Rule 7.05 Prohibited Written Solicitations (b) Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this Rule, a written solicitation communication to prospective clients for the purpose of obtaining professional employment: (1) shall conform to the provisions of Rule 7.04(a) through (c); (2) shall be plainly marked "ADVERTISEMENT" on the first page of the written communication, and the face of the envelope also shall be plainly marked "ADVERTISEMENT," however, if the written communication is in the form of a self-mailing brochure or pamphlet, the word "ADVERTISEMENT" shall be: (i) in a color that contrasts sharply with the background color; and (ii) in a size of at least 3/8 vertically or three times the vertical height of the letters used in the body of such communication, whichever is larger. 29 Rule 7.05 Prohibited Written Solicitations ((3) shall not be made to resemble legal pleadings or other legal documents; (4) shall not contain a statement or implication that the written communication has received any kind of authorization or approval from the State Bar of Texas or from the Law Advertisement and Solicitation Review Committee; (5) shall not be sent in a manner, such as by registered mail, that requires personal delivery to a particular individual; (6) shall not reveal on the envelope used for the communication, or on the outside of a self-mailing brochure or pamphlet, the nature of the legal problem of the prospective client or nonclient; and 30 Rule 7.05 Prohibited Written Solicitations 7) shall disclose how the lawyer obtained the information prompting such written communication to solicit professional employment if such contact was prompted by a specific occurrence involving the recipient of the communication or a family member of such person(s). (c) All written communications to a prospective client for the purpose of obtaining professional employment must be reviewed and either signed by or approved in writing by the lawyer or a lawyer in the firm. 31 (d) A copy of each written solicitation communication, the relevant approval thereof, and a record of the date of each such communication; the name and address to which each such communication was sent; and the means by which each such communication was sent shall be kept by the lawyer or firm for four years after its dissemination. 32 Rule 7.05 Prohibited Written Solicitations (e) The provisions of paragraph (b) of this Rule do not apply to a written solicitation communication: (1) directed to a family member or a person with whom the lawyer had or has an attorney-client relationship; (2) that is not motivated by or concerned with a particular past occurrence or event or a particular series of past occurrences or events, and also is not motivated by or concerned with the prospective client's specific existing legal problem of which the lawyer is aware; (3) if the lawyer's use of the communication to secure professional employment was not significantly motivated by a desire for, or by the possibility of obtaining, pecuniary gain; or (4) that is requested by the prospective client. 33 Rule 7.06 Prohibited Employment A lawyer shall not accept or continue employment when the lawyer knows or reasonably should know that the person who seeks the lawyer's services does so as a result of conduct prohibited by these rules. 34 Rule 7.07 Filing Requirements For Public Advertisements And Written Solicitations (a) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this Rule, a lawyer shall file with the Lawyer Advertisement and Solicitation Review Committee of the State Bar of Texas, either before or concurrently with the mailing or sending of a written solicitation communication: (1) a copy of the written solicitation communication being sent or to be sent to one or more prospective clients for the purpose of obtaining professional employment, together with a representative sample of the envelopes in which the communications are enclosed; and (2) a check or money order payable to the State Bar of Texas for the fee set by the Board of Directors. Such fee shall be for the sole purpose of defraying the expense of enforcing the rules related to such solicitations. 35 (b) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this Rule, a lawyer shall file with the Lawyer Advertisement and Solicitation Review Committee of the State Bar of Texas, either before or concurrently with the first dissemination of an advertisement in the public media, a copy of that advertisement. The filing shall include: (1) a copy of the advertisement in the form in which it appears or is or will be disseminated, such as a videotape, an audiotape, a print copy, or a photograph of outdoor advertising; 36