In yet another recognition of changed times and perhaps the commoditization of legal services, the Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics (ACPE) has overruled an opinion it issued 45 years ago. In its current opinion, the ACPE held that lawyers do not violate the Rules of Professional Conduct by donating defined legal services, such as preparing a simple will, to a charity silent auction fundraiser. The ACPE noted that its earlier opinion was issued when lawyer advertising was prohibited in New Jersey and was premised on the belief that such donations put charities in the position of recommending the lawyers who made the donation and being compensated by the lawyers for the introductions.

The ACPE appropriately recognized that bidders at a silent auction likely are not thinking that the charity is endorsing or recommending the lawyer or vouching for the quality of the lawyer's services. Rather, the ACPE concluded that "like other businesses donating services, such as massages, haircuts, or lawn care, the bidders would understand that the donor seeks to support the charity's mission and to market the donor's business in an effort to find new customers or clients."