Recent amendments to the Hawaii Rules of Professional Conduct include language allowing lawyers to advertise on social media. The amendments conform the language of Rules 7.2 and 7.3 to their counterparts in the current version of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Amended Rule 7.2(a) explicitly includes “electronic communication” as a permissible way to advertise legal services. The comments to the amended Rule are more direct, noting that “electronic media, such as the Internet, can be an important source of information about legal services, and lawful communication by electronic mail is permitted by this Rule.” Although the amended Rules don’t define “electronic communication,” the term appears broad enough to include social media.
The amendments place limits on soliciting clients on social media, however. Rule 7.3 currently prohibits a lawyer from contacting potential clients in person or by telephone to solicit business for personal monetary gain unless the potential client has a family, close personal, or prior professional relationship with the lawyer. Amended Rule 7.3 adds “real-time electronic contact” to the list of forbidden solicitation methods. What “real-time electronic contact” means has yet to be examined in a reported case, but the term could conceivably apply to text messages, instant messages, Skype, and posts on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
Tech-savvy lawyers will also appreciate the deletion of the requirement in current Rule 7.2(b) that a lawyer keep records of every advertisement for two years. Lawyers who promote their services by posting online content frequently could find compliance with the requirement impractical. The amended Rules omit the retention requirement for all forms of legal advertising.
The amended Rules take effect on January 1, 2014.
Related articles
