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(a)
A lawyer may advertise through all forms of public media and through written
communication not involving personal contact so long as the communication is not false, fraudulent, deceptive or misleading.
By
way of illustration, but not limitation, a communication is false, fraudulent, deceptive or misleading
if it:
(1) contains a material
misrepresentation of fact or law or omits a fact necessary to make the
statement considered as a whole not materially misleading;
(2) is likely to create an unjustified
expectation about results the lawyer can achieve, or states or implies that
the lawyer can achieve results by means that violate the Georgia Rules of
Professional Conduct or other law;
(3) compares the lawyer's services with other lawyers' services unless the
comparison can be factually substantiated;
(4) fails to include the name of at least one lawyer responsible for its
content; or
(5) contains any information regarding contingent fees, and fails to
conspicuously present the following disclaimer:
"Contingent attorneys' fees refers only to those fees charged by
attorneys for their legal services. Such fees are not permitted in all types
of cases. Court costs and other additional expenses of legal action usually
must be paid by the client."
(6) contains the language 'no fee unless you win or collect' or any similar
phrase and fails to conspicuously present the following disclaimer:
"No fee unless you win or collect" [or insert the similar language
used in the communication] refers only to fees charged by the attorney. Court
costs and other additional expenses of legal action usually must be paid by
the client. Contingent fees are not permitted in all types of cases.
(b) A public communication for which a lawyer has given value must be
identified as such unless it is apparent from the context that it is such a
communication.
(c) A lawyer retains ultimate responsibility to insure that all
communications concerning the lawyer or the lawyer's services comply with the
Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct.
The maximum penalty for a violation of this Rule is disbarment.
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A
lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's
services.
A
communication is false or misleading if it
contains a material
misrepresentation of fact or law, or omits a fact necessary to make the
statement considered as a whole not materially misleading (same as GRPC 7.1(a)(1)).
NOTE:
no comparable provisions for the remainder of the Georgia Rule.
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