20010065 | Office of Legal Ethics Counsel & Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Missouri

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Informal Opinion Number: 20010065

Rules: 4–7.5; 4–7.1

Information About Legal Services

Firm Names and Letterheads; Communication Concerning a Lawyer's Services

Subject: Advertising and Solicitation

Summary: letterhead logo must not be misleading

QUESTION: Attorney has submitted proposed letterhead, which includes a logo that Attorney’s firm would like to use to commemorate the existence of the firm for a specific number of years. Is the letterhead appropriate?

ANSWER: There is no problem, in general, with a law firm using a logo on its letterhead. The next question is whether the logo is misleading. In light of the fact that Attorney’s letterhead provides other information that indicates that the actual firm, as it presently exists, has not been in existence for that number of years, Attorney’s letterhead is not misleading. Similar information should be included wherever the logo is used, so that the public would understand that Attorney’s current firm is in a direct line of succession but has not, itself, been in existence for that number of years.

Informal Opinions are ethics advisory opinions issued by the Office of Legal Ethics Counsel to members of the Bar about Rule 4 (Rules of Professional Conduct), Rule 5 (Complaints and Proceedings Thereon), and Rule 6 (Fees to Practice Law) pursuant to Missouri Supreme Court Rule 5.30(c). Written summaries of select Informal Opinions are published for informational purposes as determined by the Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Missouri pursuant to Rule 5.30(c). Informal opinion summaries are advisory in nature and are not binding. These opinions are published as an educational service and do not constitute legal advice.

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