Interpretive Comment 17

Part 7.  Information About Legal Services
To assist lawyers advertising in the public media or soliciting prospective clients by written communications, the Advertising Review Committee has adopted Internal Interpretive Comments to be used by staff.  The Interpretive Comments are designed to establish objective means for staff members to review advertisements or writings and to determine whether they comply with Part 7 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.  If the statements and representations contained in advertisements or writings comply with the Interpretive Comments, staff is authorized to approve them.

17. The Internet and Similar Services Including Home Pages. (March 1996, revised May 2003)
Part VII of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct applies to information disseminated digitally via the Internet. A digitally transmitted message that addresses the availability of a Texas< lawyer’s services is a communication subject to Rule 7.02, and when published to the Internet, constitutes an advertisement in the public media.

A. Websites
A website on the Internet that describes a lawyer, law firm or legal services rendered by them is an advertisement in the public media. For the purposes of Part VII of the TDRPC, “website” means a single or multiple page file, posted on a computer server, which describes a lawyer or law firm’s practice or qualifications, to which public access is provided through publication of a uniform resource locator (URL).

Of the pages of a website subject to these rules, many may be accessible without use of the site’s own navigational tools. Of those pages, for the purpose of this Interpretative Comment, the “intended initial access page” is the page of the file on which navigational tools are displayed or, in the case that navigational tools are displayed on several pages, the page which provides the most comprehensive index capability on the site. The intended initial access page of a lawyer or law firm’s website shall include:

     1) the name of the lawyer or law firm responsible for the content of the site

     2) if areas of law are advertised or claims of special competence are made on the  
         intended initial access page or elsewhere on the site, a conspicuously displayed  
         disclaimer regarding such claims in the language prescribed at Rule 7.04(b); and

     3) the geographic location (city or town) in which the lawyer or law firm’s principal office is 
         located.

B. Compliance
Whether displayed on the intended initial access page or elsewhere on the site, the content of the site, including words, sound and images, shall conform to the requirements of Part VII of the TDRPC.

C. Records Retention
A copy of the intended initial access page, web based display or banner ads and target page are subject to the retention requirements of Rule 7.04(f).

D. Web-Based Display or Banner Ads
An image or images displayed through the vehicle of another’s website is an advertisement in the public media if the ad describes a lawyer or law firm’s practice or qualifications, whether viewed independently or in conjunction with the page or pages reached by a viewer through links offered by the ad (“target page’). The content of a web-based display or banner ad will be viewed in conjunction with the target page.

E. Filing Requirements
The filing requirements of Rule 7.07 apply to the intended initial access page of a website as well as to web-based display or banner ads and their associated target page(s) and substantive revisions thereto. A web-based display or banner ad and the target page for the web-based display or banner ad will be considered a single communication for the purposes of Rule 7.07. Unless exempt from filing under Rule 7.07, web-based display or banner ads together with their associated target pages and the intended initial access page of a website must be filed.

F. Web-Based Directories
A lawyer or law firm’s listing on a web-based directory that is accessible by the public shall be exempt from the filing requirements of Rule 7.07 if it meets the requirements of 7.07(e)(1). G. Internet Domain Names Rule 7.01 prohibits lawyers and law firms from advertising or practicing under trade names. Therefore, an Internet domain name or URL may not be used as the name under which a lawyer or firm does business. A domain name that is a reasonable variation of the law firm name as permitted under Rule 7.01 or that is a description of the lawyer or law firm may be used as a locator or electronic address only if such use does not violate provisions of Rule 7.02.