Once again, we at ENX2 Legal Marketing want to talk about the different law marketing rules across the many states in the United States. We’ve had clients from all over the country, but Delaware is a state that has been home to some clients of ours for years. This means we have experience with the law marketing rules in Delaware.
Delaware shares many of the same rules as other states, with some differences in verbiage, but like before, it is not the same. There are important differences that a marketing firm for lawyers needs to be aware of. When you’re a law firm looking for a marketing firm, you need to be able to trust that your marketing will not break any rules and put your law firm in jeopardy.
With ENX2 Legal Marketing, you never have to worry.
Familiar Law Marketing Rules in Delaware
Like in other states, in Delaware, advertising materials include any written content, recorded content, electronic content, or public media used to advertise a product. As long as the content was in the pursuit of advertising an attorney’s legal ability, it is considered advertising material, even if it was an individual attorney, rather than the law firm. This means if an individual attorney has public advertising, the law firm associated with them must have a record of it as well.
Public advertising does not always include an attorney’s social media. For example, if they are tweeting about their hobbies or current events, this isn’t advertising. If an attorney makes a social post about a legal issue to be non-professional or casual, they should still keep a record of it to be safe. Whether or not it is advertising material is at the discretion of Delaware’s courts.
How Are Law Firms Allowed to Advertise in Delaware?
The Delaware Rules of Professional Conduct permit specific information and types of content for law firms to use in their advertisements. While they do not list everything that is legal, you can rest assured that these marketing avenues are allowed.
- Name of the attorney and/or law firm
- Practice areas the attorney and/or law firm provide
- Names of clients the attorney and/or law firm have represented if they have the client’s permission
- Names of references
- The attorney’s foreign language abilities
- The types of payment the attorney or law firm accepts, such as credit cards, debit cards, and checks
- How client fees are determined
How Honest Does Advertising Have to Be?
Like in most states, attorney advertising in Delaware has to be incredibly honest. Rule 7.1 of the Delaware Rules of Professional Conduct states that attorney advertising cannot be false or misleading. What does being misleading mean? This means that a law firm can’t:
- Make statements that would convince someone of an unfounded and specific belief about the attorney/law firm or the services they provide.
- Imply that the results of a previous client’s case can be attained for another similar case.
- Compare the attorney fees or services with another attorney without substantiated proof.
What is Significantly Different About Delaware’s Law Marketing Rules?
In Delaware, it is against the rules to solicit clients in person, via live telephone, or through real-time electronic contact. The only time an attorney can is when:
- The person being solicited is also an attorney
- The person being solicited has a familial, closely personal, or previous professional relationship with the attorney or law firm
A solicitation, as defined by the Delaware courts, is “a targeted communication initiated by the lawyer that is directed to a specific person and that offers to provide, or can reasonably be understood as offering to provide, legal services.”
Why ENX2 Legal Marketing Can Help You
The Delaware courts have these rules in place for the high potential for abuse, such as with in-person solicitations. This does restrict some of your biggest marketing avenues. Thankfully, ENX2 Legal Marketing has extensive experience in many other areas that are perfectly within the rules, so you can find success in your legal field.
We can offer services in SEO, content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, PPC advertising, and more. These are all well within the rules Delaware has established, so if your Delaware law firm is trying to figure out how you can get your name out there, we have options for you. To hear more, contact us today!