The Ethics of Groupon

These days, bar associations have to act fast to stay on top of changing technology and its use by lawyers. A North Carolina State Bar ethics committee faces an interesting dilemma when it meets later this week: can Groupon, the coupon site that generates deals, in part, through social networking, be ethically used by law firms seeking new business?

Oyez!, a blog from North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, says that a state law firm recently sought guidance from the State Bar because it wanted to “promote its ‘virtual law office’ under Groupon’s terms but wanted to make sure that wouldn’t run afoul of any of the Bar’s ethical rules.” According to the post, the ethics committee does indeed have a problem with using Groupon. While there is nothing wrong with law firms paying money for advertising, the ethics committee is unhappy with the profit-sharing aspect of the potential Groupon deal. Groupon would receive compensation through a percentage of money paid to the law firm. The potential customer, then, would be paying a non-lawyer to receive legal services, which the column notes is “a violation of Rule 5.4(a), which bars sharing legal fees with a non-lawyer.”