Internet Marketing and the State Bar Are You In Violation?

With all the emphasis now on Internet marketing opportunities for attorneys- it is important to keep in mind the State Bar rules and Advertising Review Board and what will and won’t get you in trouble. Here is an overview: are you in violation?
Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 7.07 Lists the type of exemptions the Bar allows without submission for approval.

Exemptions include:

• Publicly available information about the attorney or law firm
  
• Business card-type information about practice areas
  
• Firm website and information concerning legal issues, such as news articles, legal articles, editorial opinions, or other legal developments or events
  
  Twittering/Blogs: If it’s just opinion then it does not need to be reviewed. If it says, “contact me” then the blog is considered a public media ad and needs to be reviewed.
  
  Websites: All pages must be reviewed.
  
  Videos: Videos are viewed as being used to solicit business. MUST be reviewed because it is treated as a public media ad. Videos need to have name of attorney and principal office.
  
  Self-syndicated articles: If you are doing it for free for informational purposes it does not need to be reviewed.
  
  Podcasting: Depending on what you say or do, it may need to be submitted by being recorded first and then submitted with script. If its just opinion, is probably okay. If the pod cast is used to solicit business or is paid for or bartered for, it needs to be reviewed.
  
  LinkedIn/Facebook: All videos need to be reviewed. The site itself does not need to be reviewed if it’s for networking purposes only. But if the words include “these are the services I can provide you” it becomes a public media ad.