Ethically Using Groupon and Like Services

In the summer of 2010, Craig S. Redler, an estate planning attorney from St. Louis, offered an 87% discount on a will and durable power of attorney using the website Groupon. Since this first estate planning Groupon deal, many state bars have discussed whether advertising on daily deal websites like Groupon is ethical in the legal profession.

Prior to offering his Groupon deal of $99 for a will and durable power of attorney, Redler cleared the decision with Missouri ethics regulators.  Though the regulators gave Redler approval to create the Groupon, they did not issue a blanket approval for use of daily deal websites for all lawyers.

The potential problem with attorneys using daily deal websites is that it could violate Rule 5.4(a) of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct by constituting an impermissible fee-splitting arrangement with non-lawyers.  Several state bars, including North Carolina, South Carolina, and New York have approved services similar to Groupon 2010, though a few of theses states have implemented some restrictions.

In addressing the fee-splitting issue, North Carolina’s bar stated:

[a]lthough the website company’s fee is deducted from the amount paid by a purchaser for the anticipated legal service, it is paid regardless of whether the purchaser actually claims the discounted service and the lawyer earns the fee by providing the legal services to the purchaser. Therefore, the fee retained by the website company is the cost of advertising on the website and does not violate Rule 5.4(a) . . . 

For more on this story, see Missouri Estates Attorney Reflects on His Groupon Offer As More States Explicitly Approve Them, Elder Law Answers, Jan. 28, 2012.