Reporting Honors And Lawyer Advertising

The North Dakota Supreme Court has asked for comments on proposed amendments to its rule governing communications concerning the lawyer’s services. The proposed additions (which are underscored) deal with comparisons and accolades about the lawyer and are accompanied by the following proposed new comment:

A truthful communication that the lawyer has received an honor or accolade is not misleading or impermissibly comparative for purposes of this Rule if: (1) the comparing organization has made inquiry into the lawyer’s fitness, (2) the comparing organization does not issue the honor or accolade for a price, and (3) a truthful, plain language description of the standard or methodology upon which the honor or accolade is based is available for inspection either as part of the communication itself or by reference to a convenient, publicly available source.

The recommendation for the change is linked here. (Mike Frisch)