ETH 2020-12
Opinion No. 2020-12
Ohio Ethics Opinion
Board of Professional Conduct
December 11, 2020
D.
Allan Asbury, Senior Counsel
Kristi
R. McAnaul, Counsel
Richard A. Dove, Director
Patricia A. Wise, Vice- Chair
Lawyer
or Law Firm Use of Service Mark
SYLLABUS:
A lawyer or law firm may register and use a service mark in
communications and advertising. A service mark used by a
lawyer or law firm cannot be false, misleading, or
nonverifiable. A service mark that implies certain results,
expediency, or a connection to a governmental, nonprofit, or
charitable organization is inherently false or misleading. A
lawyer may not use the terms “pros” or
“pro” in a registered service mark regardless of
whether the lawyer has been certified as a specialist in an
area of law. A lawyer or law firm may register and use a
service mark to convey a limitation or concentration in a
particular field of law. A lawyer or law firm may only use a
service mark in written or oral communications in conjunction
with the formal legal name of the law firm.
QUESTION
PRESENTED:
1)
Whether a lawyer or a law firm may use a service mark such as
“The Residential Real Estate Pro” or “The
Appeals Pro” in advertising and letterhead in
conjunction with a firm name that complies with the Rules of
Professional Conduct if the service mark is properly
registered.
2)
Whether a lawyer or law firm may use a service mark such as
“The Residential Real Estate Pro,” “The
Bankruptcy Pro” or the “The Federal Taxation
Pro,” to communicate the fact that the lawyer
concentrates his or her practice in a particular field of law
when the lawyer has not been certified as a specialist in the
are of law identified by the service mark.
3)
Whether a lawyer is permitted to identify an area of the law
for which the lawyer has been certified as a specialist by a
service mark such as “The Residential Real Estate
Pro,” “The Bankruptcy Pro” or “The
Federal Taxation Pro,” in advertising material or on
firm letterhead.
APPLICABLE
RULES: Prof.Cond.R. 7.1, 7.2, 7.4, 7.5
OPINION
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