Permitting lawyers to purchase a competitor lawyer’s name as a keyword in an internet search as part of a search engine’s ad campaign in order to promote the lawyer’s law firm “condones gamesmanship over professionalism,” said the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) in its brief to the New Jersey Supreme Court last week. The NJSBA urged the Court to review Opinion Number 735 by the Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics (ACPE), which opined that the practice does not violate the Rules of Professional Conduct. The brief was written by NJSBA member Bonnie C. Frost, of Einhorn Barbarito.
“The NJSBA believes a critical question exists about whether it is ethical for one lawyer to buy another lawyer’s name for the purpose of a keyword search, thereby capitalizing on someone else’s goodwill and reputation,” said the NJSBA in its brief. “While Opinion 735 attempts to answer that question, the NJSBA believes it is based on several presumptions which may not always be accurate and could yield questionable conclusions.”
