Is it ethical for attorney's to solicit clients by "texting"? There has been some discussion on this recently and here is a post arguing against it. The big question is whether texting can be distinguished from using regular mail or e-mail which are protected speech subject to the limits imposed by the rules. I think texting does result in more of an invasion of privacy than regular mail or e-mail. Also, it can result in a minimal financial burden on the person who receives the message. However, I am not sure the difference in the level of invasion of privacy is enough to justify a different analysis and, as the story mentions, the lawyers are supposed to pay for the cost of the message - although it is not clear how this can be enforced.
The issue was in the news recently because of an Advisory Opinion of the Ohio Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline which states that Ohio lawyers are not prohibited from soliciting potential clients via text messages. The Advisory Opinion is available here and discussed here.
