1972, March, Pg. 41. ETHICS.

1 Colo.Law. 41

Colorado Lawyer

1972.

1972, March, Pg. 41.

ETHICS

411972, March, Pg. 41ETHICSOpinions of the Ethics Committee of the Colorado Bar Association are published here for the information of the members of the Association. Formal opinions are given on matters of general and continuing interest to the Bar. Informal opinions are given in response to specific inquiry.Informal Opinion: 9-13-70 11-10-71

Topic:Group legal services: solicitation of contributions.Digest:Certain "outreach activities" of a non-profit organization offering group legal services are ethically permissible as a means of creating public awareness as to the availability of the services. Solicitation of contributions for such a non-profit organization is permissible.QuestionThe Ethics Committee received an inquiry from Colorado Rural Legal Services (CRLS) requesting the opinion of the Committee as to the ethical propriety of the following "outreach activities" of CRLS. The following is the "Proposed Statement by the CRLS Board of Directors concerning Permissible Limits of Outreach Activities."

"The function of Colorado Rural Legal Services, Inc. is to provide legal services to indigents in rural Colorado in an attempt to break the cycle of poverty. To provide such services efficiently, two problems must be surmounted. First, more people must be made aware that the program is available to them. Second, efforts must be made to educate the client community with respect to basic legal rights, so that individuals can identify potential legal difficulties and know the circumstances under which legal remedies may be employed to seek redress of their grievances. Far too frequently poor people do not know there is a legal services program in the vicinity, or when they do know that free legal services are available they do not have sufficient sophistication to recognize their own problems as legal.

"It is therefore imperative that the attorneys and lay staff employed by CRLS take an active and aggressive role in disseminating information concerning the services offered by CRLS and in educating the client community as to their legal rights so that they may utilize the legal system as a means of resolving conflict; and, more importantly, they may be able to avoid legal difficulties altogether because they will be able to recognize the legal consequences of their actions.

"It is equally imperative that the outreach and community action efforts on the part of CRLS staff members be within the limits of ethical conduct prescribed by the American Bar Association's Canons of Professional Ethics and the newly promulgated Code of Professional Responsibility which may be adopted soon in Colorado. Particular care must be taken to avoid violating Canon 27 which prohibits individual advertising by an attorney and Canon 28 which prohibits stirring up litigation where an...