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AREA OF PRACTICE:

Q: What do the attorney ads mean? Various attorneys or firms list an area of practice, or say "practice limited to...," or "practicing primarily in...," or "general practice including but not limited to..." Are there differences?

A: Yes, there are differences. They can be subtle to people who are not attorneys, but as of July, 2005, the rules are as follows:

RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT RULE 32:7.4: COMMUNICATION OF FIELDS OF PRACTICE AND SPECIALIZATION, July 2005

(a) A lawyer may communicate the fact that the lawyer practices in or limits the lawyer's practice to certain fields of law as authorized by this rule. Subject to the exceptions and requirements of this rule, a lawyer may identify or describe the lawyer's practice by reference to the following fields of practice:

(other areas omitted)

Workers' Compensation

(other area omitted)

Any member of the bar desiring to expand this list may file an application with the supreme court specifying the requested change.

In describing the field of practice the lawyer may use the suffix "law," "lawyer," "matters," "cases," or "litigation."

(reference to other areas omitted)

(d) A lawyer shall not state or imply that a lawyer is certified as a specialist in a particular field of law, unless:

(1) the lawyer has been certified as a specialist by an organization that has been approved by the Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board; and

(2) the name of the certifying organization is clearly identified in the communication.

(e) Prior to publicly describing one's practice as permitted in paragraph (a) and (c), a lawyer shall comply with the following prerequisites:

(1) For all fields of practice designated, a lawyer must have devoted the greater of 100 hours or 10 percent of the lawyer's time spent in the actual practice of law to each indicated field of practice for the preceding calendar year. In addition, the lawyer must have completed at least ten hours of accredited continuing legal education courses of study in each indicated field of practice during the preceding calendar year.

(2) A lawyer who wishes to use the terms "practice limited to . . ." or "practicing primarily in . . ." must have devoted the greater of 400 hours or 40 percent of the lawyer's time spent in the actual practice of law to each separate indicated field of practice for the preceding calendar year. In addition, the lawyer must have completed at least fifteen hours of accredited continuing legal education courses of study in each separate indicated field of practice during the preceding calendar year.

Prior to communication of a description or indication of limitation of practice, a lawyer shall report the lawyer's compliance with the eligibility requirements of this paragraph each year to the Commission on Continuing Legal Education. See Iowa Ct. R. 41.9.

(f) A lawyer describing the lawyer's practice as "General practice including but not limited to" followed by one or more fields of practice descriptions set forth in this rule need not comply with the eligibility requirements of paragraph (e). (emphasis added) (back)

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