Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal News Blogs -> Legal Blog Watch

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Legal News

: Legal Blog Watch

Can Lawyers Sell Their Services on Groupon?

By Bruce Carton

ADVERTISEMENTS

By now you've probably heard of or even used Groupon, a "daily deal"-type website that uses the power of collective buying over the Internet to provide purchasers with discounts. Launched just over two years ago, Groupon has exploded in popularity to the point that it recently received (and rejected!) a reported $6 billion buyout offer from Google. On Friday, the Lawyerist blog pondered an interesting question: Can lawyers advertise and sell legal services on Groupon without violating ethics rules? One of the key rules involved in this discussion is Rule 5.4(a) of the ABA?s Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which provides that ?a lawyer or law firm shall not share legal fees with a nonlawyer.? As Lawyerist notes, Groupon splits the proceeds of the deal offered with the seller, a practice that would appear to run afoul of Rule 5.4(a). However, the purpose of this rule is to "protect the lawyer's professional independence of judgment." Lawyerist argues that, as Groupon's share of the fee is strictly for its advertisement services, "no harm has come to the lawyer?s independence in practice." Based on this rule, North Carolina has already rejected the use of Groupon by lawyers. Missouri, on the other hand,...

Full post as published by Legal Blog Watch on February 23, 2011 (boomark / email).