Rule 7.4 Communication of Fields of Practice and Specialization

This Rule permits a lawyer to indicate areas of practice in communications about the lawyer’s services; for example, in a telephone directory or other advertising. If a lawyer practices only in certain fields, or will not accept matters except in those fields, the lawyer is permitted to so indicate. All communications are, however, subject to the “false and misleading” standard applied in Rule 7.1 to communications concerning a lawyer’s services. A lawyer may not communicate that the lawyer is a specialist or has been recognized or certified as a specialist in a particular field of law, except as provided by this rule. Recognition of specialization in patent matters is a matter of long established policy of the Patent and Trademark Office, as reflected in paragraph (a). The American Bar Association’s Model Rule 7.4 also permits attorneys who specialize in admiralty law to use the designation “proctor in admiralty” or otherwise hold themselves out as specialists in admiralty. This exception was not included in Alaska’s Professional Conduct Rule 7.4 because the Alaska Bar Association’s Committee on the Rules of Professional Conduct concluded that under modern practice the field of admiralty is no longer a unique specialization. Paragraph (b) permits a lawyer to communicate that the lawyer has been certified as specialist in a field of law when the American Bar Association has accredited the organization’s specialty program to grant the certification. Certification procedures imply that an objective entity has PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT Rule 8.1 recognized a lawyer’s higher degree of specialized ability than is suggested by general licensure to practice law. Those objective entities may be expected to apply standards of competence, experience, and knowledge to ensure that a lawyer’s recognition as a specialist is meaningful and reliable. In order to ensure that consumers can obtain access to useful certification information, the name of the certifying organization or agency must be included in any communication regarding the certification. See Peel v. Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Comm’n, 496 U.S. 91, 110 S. Ct. 2281, 110 L.Ed.2d 83 (1990).