Opinion ID: 1299203
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Respondents' Acceptance of Referrals.

Text: The Board contends that the respondents' relationship with Candace Brown and the referrals made to them as a result of that relationship warrant discipline under the former disciplinary rule relating to in-person solicitation. DR 2-103(A), (C), (D), (E) (1977). [11] The respondents' position is that they did not violate the provisions of the rule and that if a technical violation did occur, their activity was constitutionally protected. The decision in Ohralik v. Ohio State Bar, 436 U.S. 447, 98 S.Ct. 1912, 56 L.Ed.2d 444 (1978), set forth the standards to be applied in assessing whether in-person contacts by a lawyer are entitled to constitutional protection. The attorney involved in Ohralik had visited an accident victim in the hospital and had her sign a retainer agreement. The attorney also visited another accident victim and tape recorded the conversation in which she assented to retaining him. Both of these injured young women later discharged the attorney, but he succeeded in obtaining a portion of the insurance settlement after he initiated suit for breach of contract against one of the women. In deciding the conduct warranted discipline, the Court noted that the potential for abuse by attorneys engaged in personal solicitation was far greater than the potential for harm that exists with advertising. The state's interest in preventing such abuses was also seen as more compelling when personal contact was made. The Court even suggested that the societal interests identified in Bates may actually be disserved by solicitation tactics that prevent informed and reliable decision-making by the public. As in Primus, the Court recognized that the appropriate focus was whether the attorney's activities presented the same dangers the ban on solicitation sought to prevent and therefore whether the state's interests were indeed served by restricting such conduct. The Court indicated that this analysis did not require proof of whether the conduct was in fact abusive in some manner, but rather that the question was whether the conduct involved the potential for such abuse. One court has carefully applied the Ohralik analysis to a case that involved an attorney who solicited victims of a large train accident. In In re Teichner, 75 Ill.2d 88, 25 Ill.Dec. 609, 387 N.E.2d 265 (1979), a train derailment and resulting explosion caused extensive and severe damage to citizens and residences of Laurel, Mississippi. Many of the injured parties were poor. The attorney involved was contacted through the efforts of the Reverend Allen Johnson, a pastor of a local church and community leader who had established a relief effort. The Reverend arranged for the attorney to visit Laurel and contact the victims of the accident. Rev. Johnson believed that the representatives of the railroad were negotiating inadequate settlement agreements with injured persons and that advice of legal counsel was necessary. The attorney had repeatedly contacted the son of two hospitalized victims of the accident and requested permission to contact his parents in the hospital. [12] The court determined that such activity constituted solicitation but found that the contacts made were entitled to first amendment protection. The court reasoned as follows: In the instant case, we are faced with an attorney whose activities are tinged with the sort of associational values strongly protected by the first and fourteenth amendments, yet whose intent to benefit financially also is unmistakable. If we were to base our judgment solely upon what we believe to be the prevailing motive of the respondent, we would have to conclude that his motive was pecuniary, not ideological. Yet our analysis cannot stop there, for as Mr. Justice Marshall aptly pointed out in his separate opinion, activity and expression which fall within the core of protected first amendment values do not automatically lose their protection because the actor or speaker stands to benefit financially from his actions. It is the flow of information and the effective association of individuals which are protected. 25 Ill.Dec. 609, 387 N.E.2d at 271 (citations omitted). The kind of associational interests present in Teichner can also be recognized in respondents' activities. Respondents do not contest that one of their motivations for distributing written materials and accepting referrals was monetary. Respondents argue, however, that their contacts with prospective clients, like the contacts involved in Teichner, also served a significant public interest. That interest is to inform injured parties of their rights and the availability of legal services that allow them to enforce those rights. The injuries sustained by women using the Dalkon Shield were sometimes severe and disabling. Like the overreaching by railroad adjusters in Teichner, the Robins Company evidenced a disregard for the health and safety of women using the Dalkon Shield by continuing to market the product after serious defects were discovered. The litigation that resulted from respondents' contacts further publicized the injuries suffered and the dangers associated with the use of the Dalkon Shield. The state's interests in prohibiting overreaching, harassment and other abuses by attorneys who engage others to solicit legal business are also obvious. We need not, however, address the issue of whether the state's interests are sufficiently compelling in light of the substantial public interest involved. Rather, we have determined that the facts do not justify a finding that respondents violated the applicable disciplinary rule through their relationship with the Antioch project or the acceptance of referrals from Ms. Brown. In support of its contention that respondents intentionally established a referral system, the Board has stressed (1) respondent Pyle's relationship to the school, (2) respondents' assistance in providing materials and suggestions to the researchers, (3) respondents' acceptance of referrals made by Ms. Brown, and (4) respondent Pyle's attempt to contact Ms. Boelke. A careful review of each of these factors demonstrates that there is no evidence of a concerted effort on the part of respondents to obtain clients through Ms. Brown or Mr. Jones. Respondent Pyle does in fact have a close involvement with Antioch College. He was an instructor there and his wife holds several important and influential positions at the school. There is no evidence in the record, however, to indicate that respondent Pyle or Mrs. Pyle ever used or threatened to use influence to instigate or control a research project designed to benefit respondents' law firm. Ms. Brown had been injured by a Dalkon Shield so she had a legitimate and personal interest in doing a project that would help her better understand her own experience, inform other women in similar circumstances of possible injuries, publicize the irresponsible activities of the manufacturer, and fulfill an academic requirement. Respondents did provide the researchers, specifically Ms. Brown, with certain information they had compiled on the Dalkon Shield. There is no suggestion that providing the information was conditioned on or given as compensation for referral of cases to the firm. The referee specifically found that there was no evidence respondents paid any money to Ms. Brown or Mr. Jones for the referrals made by them. The Board cites In re Carroll, 124 Ariz. 80, 602 P.2d 461 (1979), in which the court held that activities of third parties in personally recruiting clients were ratified by the attorneys because of continued acceptance of such referrals. That case can be distinguished because one of the referring parties in Carroll was an investigator hoping to gain employment with the attorneys and the other referring party received special credit treatment and cash through the attorneys involved. No exchange of value took place in this case. The research information and advice given by respondents to Ms. Brown was wholly gratuitous. Additionally, it was only natural for Ms. Brown to look to respondents for background material. They had represented her in her own suit against Robins, respondent Pyle had been one of her instructors, and she was aware that they had a certain expertise in the matter. Ms. Brown undoubtedly referred cases to respondents because she knew them, because they had handled her case competently and because she did not want the people she had interviewed to remain injured and uncompensated. Because of her own limited knowledge of attorneys who could handle such involved litigation work, it is not likely that Ms. Brown could have confidently made a referral to anyone other than respondents. The facts indicate that Respondent Pyle informed Ms. Brown that such referrals were permissible. There is no suggestion, however, that either of respondents requested that such referrals be made. In sum, the conclusion that the referrals made were made through Ms. Brown as an agent for respondents is not warranted by the facts. Finally, the Board argues that respondent Pyle's attempts to contact Lisa Boelke violated DR 2-103(A), (C), (D), (E) (1977). The facts as found by the referee show that respondent Pyle only attempted to contact Lisa Boelke after he had received a message to do so. Respondent Pyle contends that he assumed that Ms. Boelke had requested that he call her. Such an assumption is reasonable and is not refuted in the record. Since the facts are not sufficient to indicate respondents violated the applicable disciplinary rules in dealing with the Antioch project or in accepting referrals from Ms. Brown, the petition for discipline must be dismissed. We also note, parenthetically, that Judge Rolloff concluded that the distributed materials were self-laudatory and in violation of DR 2-101 (1977). While we do not believe that the first brochure necessarily violated DR 2-101, it appears that the second brochure, which referred to respondents' ability to settle Dalkon Shield cases out of court, did. This violation was not of such serious proportions, however, as to warrant more than an admonition. Despite our holding in this case that respondents cannot be disciplined for their conduct, we think it important to emphasize that this decision should not be read to permit indiscriminate solicitation by attorneys of this state nor are the attorneys involved entitled to accolades for their conduct. We believe it would have been preferable for them to have contacted the Board and sought an opinion from it after the Bates case and to have proceeded in an attempt to get the rules changed before acting on their own. While we are determined to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the United States Constitution as delineated by the United States Supreme Court in Bates, Primus and Ohralik, we are equally determined to do what we can to prevent and discourage abuses that may occur. We view the right of the general public to know of the availability of professional services as the principal interest involved in advertising for such services. Advertisements designed to achieve less important objectives will be subject to a more critical scrutiny. Overbearing and intrusive practices such as personal solicitation, direct or indirect, and the giving of value in exchange for a favorable commendation or reference are not permitted. We insist on affirmative adherence to the principle that false, misleading or deceptive statements constitute a serious violation of professional ethics and will require severe sanction. Conduct that the advertising attorney knows or should know is an interference with an existing professional relationship is prohibited. Claims of special expertise in advertisements may be found to be material representations giving rise to a warranty of competence or information that is false, deceptive or misleading. The Petition for Discipline is dismissed.