On your website or social media page, you probably don’t think much about legal ethics or an ARDC investigation that stems from something you write on a blog. However, Illinois’ legal ethics apply to legal blogs as well, and if you are blogging or making social media posts, there are things you should keep in mind to avoid trouble with the Illinois ARDC.
The Chicago ARDC defense attorney at Ellis Legal explains more below.
Keep What You Post
The first thing to remember is that the Illinois bar requires that you keep copies of whatever you write, disseminate, or publish for three years. If you are automatically backing up your data or information, this may not be a concern for you. But if you don’t have a system to keep and preserve the things you post, you should start implementing one.
Current Lawsuits
The other thing to keep in mind is to be very careful about saying anything related to current, pending litigation or trials. There are strict bar rules about publicizing pending cases.
Bar Status
There is some authority that an attorney is not allowed to continue to post blogs or promote websites or social media pages if the lawyer is suspended from the practice of law. That applies even if the content of the communication itself doesn’t give legal advice.
Pre-Screening
In Illinois, there is no requirement that advertising material be pre-screened or pre-approved. But in other states, that may be a requirement.
That means that if you are licensed in other states, you have a potential problem: Blog posts are dynamic, posted often, posted quickly, and can’t always practically be submitted for pre-approval by a state bar association before publication.
The best advice to avoid trouble and to avoid having blog posts pre-approved is to keep blogs informational in nature—and not more similar to an advertisement or solicitation. If the blog is a commercial transaction—an advertisement in disguise—you have few legal protections. If your blog is just your opinion about the law, discussing interesting areas of the law, or informing the general public, you have much stronger First Amendment legal protections.
Careful of Bragging
It’s always best to avoid superlatives or bragging, as that can get you in trouble with issues related to false advertising or misrepresenting your services.
It is OK, for example, to say that you have X number of years of experience in personal injury law. But you should avoid saying that you are “the best personal injury law firm in Illinois,” something that is abstract, can’t be proven, and looks very much like advertising and commercial speech.
As a general rule, most experts say that you should go ahead and blog so long as you are smart about it. While the ultimate intent of a blog may be to promote your firm and get clients, the content of the blog itself should be focused on information—not solicitation.
We can help if your firm is in trouble with the ARDC. Speak with a Chicago commercial litigation attorney at Ellis Legal at (312) 967-7629 today.