North Carolina State Bar May OK Live Chat Support Services This Month
Many of our law firm clients feature a live chat support service on their websites.
For instance, the New York personal injury law firm of Belluck & Fox, LLP, features buttons inviting visitors to “click here” for a live chat on the home pages for its main law firm website, www.belluckfox.com, and for satellite sites that provide information for mesothelioma victims and mesothelioma related topics.
After visitors spend time on the Web page, a screen pops up, reminding them “we are available to answer your questions” and giving them the option of clicking a “yes” button for live help.
The live chat provides a way for the law firm to obtain contact information and basic facts about the potential client’s case.
State Bars that regulate lawyers have been asked about these chat features, and at least one agency appears to be headed towards approval of them.
In April, the North Carolina State Bar drafted a proposed ethics ruling, Proposed 2011 Formal Ethics Opinion 8, which would okay those click-to-chat programs. The ruling would also provide guidelines for the ethical use of live chat support services on law firm websites.
The ruling is not yet final. The State Bar’s Ethics Committee and its Councilors are expected to give the opinion final approval this month during the agency’s quarterly meeting.
The ethics opinion is important because it clarifies that the live chat features do not run afoul of Rule 7.3(a) of the North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct. The rule generally prohibits using “in-person, live telephone or real-time electronic contact” to solicit prospective clients. Lawyers in states across the country face a similar ethics rule.
As proposed 2011 FEO 8 points out, the ban on direct solicitation applies only to “lawyer-initiated contact,” and not to real-time electronic contact that the potential client initiates, which is the case with the live chat feature. The opinion notes that the prospective client has to visit the law firm’s website and then initiate a conversation by clicking on the live chat button.
One of the purposes for the direct solicitation ban is to prevent lawyers from exerting undue influence, intimidation or over-reaching by contacting a possible client at a time when they’re at their most vulnerable, such as after a car accident or an arrest. The North Carolina State Bar ethics ruling says that this threat doesn’t exist with the live chat feature. The website’s visitor can simply ignore it or get it off their screen with a single click.
However, the live chat feature still carries some ethics risks, according to the proposed ruling.
The proposed ethics opinion warns law firms to make sure that visitors understand they are not talking to a lawyer. The firm can make it clear that the live chat is with an “operator” or provide a disclaimer stating that the chat is with a non-lawyer “staff member.”
Also, the opinion reminds law firms that the live chat may result in the firm obtaining confidential information that could create a potential conflict of interest. The firm should incorporate live chat discussions into its conflicts-checking system, the proposed opinion states.
The proposed opinion marks a positive step that will allow lawyers to get maximum value out of their law firm websites and the latest technologies, such as click-to-chat programs, while still maintaining their ethical duties to the public.
If your firm’s website features a live chat feature, you should consult your state’s regulating agency to determine its stance. As in North Carolina, an inquiry to the State Bar may result in an ethics opinion that approves live chats while providing some needed ethical guidance.
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