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ETHICS OPINION 454-1957 SOLICITATION
NUMBER 454
QUESTION.
What is the extent of the duty, if any, of an attorney who has drawn a testamentary document for a client, to communicate voluntarily with that client when the attorney has knowledge of a change in the law or changes in the client’s financial status, such as an increase in his fortune, his retirement from business, the marriage of a beneficiary, etc.?
ANSWER.
We believe that within the limitations of Canon 27 of the Canons of Professional Ethics, which provides among other things:
“It is unprofessional to solicit professional employment by circulars, advertisements, through touters, or by personal communication or interviews not warranted by personal relations.”
A lawyer may with propriety take the initiative in communicating with a client for whom he has drawn a testamentary document concerning changes in the law or in the client’s affairs which may have consequences of which the client should be advised. Whether or not the lawyer is under a duty to do so involves a question of law, and is, therefore, beyond the province of the Committee to answer.