Rule 7.4.Communication of Field of Practice 
                                                                
Rule 7.4.Communication of Field of Practice 
 (a)A lawyer may communicate the fact that the lawyer does or does not 
 practice in particular fields of law.  A lawyer may state or imply that the 
 lawyer is a specialist in accordance with Rule 7.1. 
  
 (b)A lawyer admitted to engage in patent practice before the United 
 States Patent and Trademark Office may use the designation "Patent Attorney" 
 or a substantially similar designation. 
  
 (c)A lawyer engaged in admiralty practice may use the designation 
 "Admiralty", "Proctor in Admiralty" or a substantially similar designation. 
  
 (d)A lawyer may permit his or her name to be listed by a lawyer 
 referral service in specific fields of law in which the lawyer will accept referrals. 
  
 (e)A lawyer available to act as a consultant to or as an associate of 
 other lawyers in a particular branch of law or legal service may distribute 
 to 
 other lawyers and publish in legal journals an announcement of such 
 availability.  The announcement may state that the lawyer is a specialist, in 
 accordance with Rule 7.1. 
  
 (f)In any advertisement in which a lawyer affirmatively claims to be 
 certified in any area of the law, such advertisement shall contain the 
 following disclosure: "Colorado does not certify attorneys as specialists in 
 any field." This disclaimer is not required where the information concerning 
 the lawyer's services is contained in a law list, law directory or a 
 publication intended primarily for use of the legal profession. 
  
 (g)A lawyer purchasing a private law practice under Rule 1.17 may allow 
 the lawyer's 
 qualifications to be described by the lawyer selling the private law 
 practice. 
  
 
                                                                

ANNOTATIONS
Source: 
 (g) added and adopted June 12, 1997, effective July 1, 1997; 
 entire rule and comment amended and adopted 
 and committee comment deleted June 12, 1997, 
 effective January 1, 1998. 
  
  
  
 COMMENT 
 This Rule permits a lawyer to indicate areas of practice in communications 
 about the lawyer's services, for example, in a telephone directory or other 
 advertising.  If the lawyer practices only in certain fields, or will not 
 accept matters except in such fields, the lawyer is permitted to so 
 indicate. 
  
 Recognition and specialization in patent matters is a matter of long 
 established policy of the Patent and Trademark Office.  Designation of 
 admiralty practice has a long historical tradition associated with maritime 
 commerce and federal courts. 
  
 In some instances, a lawyer confines his or her practice to a particular 
 field of law.  A lawyer may indicate in permitted advertising, if it is 
 factual, a limitation of the practice in one or more particular areas or 
 fields of law in which the lawyer practices. 
  
 The legal profession has developed referral systems designed to aid 
 individuals who are able to pay fees but need assistance in locating lawyers 
 competent to handle their particular problems.  Use of the lawyer referral 
 system enables a lay person to avoid an uninformed selection of a lawyer 
 because such a system makes possible the employment of competent lawyers who 
 have indicated an interest in the subject matter involved. 
  
 Rule 7.4 requires disclosures when attorneys claim to be certified in a 
 particular area of law.  This rule recognizes the fact that colorado does not 
 certify lawyers in any field of practice and seeks to protect the public from 
 the impression that a lawyer's claimed expertise signifies the lawyer has 
 proven such claimed expertise through any type of colorado certification 
 process.  It should additionally be noted that the rule requires compliance 
 with Rule 7.1, and thereby Rule 1.1, in reference to a lawyer's claim of 
 expertise or limitation of practice to particular fields of law.  Therefore, 
 a lawyer is prohibited from claiming expertise or emphasis in a field of 
 law unless the lawyer has or develops the legal knowledge, skill, 
 thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for representation of 
 clients in 
 that field of law. 
  
 A claim of certification contained in a lawyer's letterhead does not 
 require the disclaimer in Rule 7.4(f) unless the letterhead is used in an 
 advertisement. 
  
  
  
 ANNOTATION 
  
 Annotator's note. 
 Rule 7.4 is similar to 
 DR 2-101, DR 2-102, and DR 2-105 
 as they 
 existed prior to the 1992 repeal and reenactment of the Code of 
 Professional Responsibility. 
 Relevant cases construing 
 DR 2-105 have 
 been included in the annotations to this rule. 
 Cases construing DR 2-101 and DR 2-102 have been included under Rule 7.1. 
  
 Cases Decided Under Former DR 2-105. 
 Law reviews. 
 For formal opinion of the Colorado Bar Association Ethics Committee on 
 Lawyer Advertising, Solicitation and Publicity, see 19 Colo. Law. 25 (1990).