I would rather practice ethically than be rich and have my license revoked. Both the ABA and the state bars are working on the question of confidentiality. Currently, some states have adopted the recommendation of the ABA and others have taken the opposite position that failing to encrypt could lose the confidential status of an Internet communication with a client. The majority of states follow a reasonable approach that most client communications do not require encryption, but highly confidential material should be encrypted. Advertising on the Internet opens an entirely different can of worms.
Most state bars treat Internet advertising the same way they treat print advertising.
However, there is no consistency amongst the state bars. The State Bar of Michigan promulgated RI-276 to cover lawyer advertising on the Internet and electronic solicitation. A lawyer may not solicit legal business during an interactive electronic communication unless ethics rules governing in-person solicitation are followed. The text of RI-276 is illuminating. In evaluating the inquiry, an understanding of the three forms of computer advertising referred to by the inquirer is important.