The Supreme Court of South Carolina

In re: Amendments to Rules of
Professional Conduct, Rule 407, SCACR.

ORDER

By order dated June 20, 2005, we substantially amended the Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 407, SCACR, to incorporate many of the changes made by the ABA to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct as part of its Ethics 2000 initiative, as well as other changes. These amendments become effective October 1, 2005.

Pursuant to Article V, § 4, of the South Carolina Constitution, we further amend the Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 407, SCACR, as follows.

Rule 7.3(c) is amended to read:

(c) Every written or recorded communication subject to this Rule, except those directed only to other lawyers, family members, close personal friends, or persons with whom the sender has a prior or existing professional relationship, shall be filed with the Commission on Lawyer Conduct within ten (10) days after any written communication is sent or any recorded communication is made together with a fee of $50.00. If a written communication is sent or a recorded communication is made generally to persons similarly situated, a representative copy may be filed with a listing of those persons to whom the communication was sent. Any lawyer who uses written or recorded solicitation shall maintain a file for two years showing the following:

(1) the basis by which the lawyer knows the person solicited needs legal services; and

(2) the factual basis for any statements made in the written or recorded communication.

Rule 8.5(b)(2) is amended to read:

(b) Choice of Law. In any exercise of the disciplinary authority of this jurisdiction, the rules of professional conduct to be applied shall be as follows:

….

(2) for any other conduct, the rules of the jurisdiction in which the lawyer's conduct occurred, or, if the predominant effect of the conduct is in a different jurisdiction, the rules of that jurisdiction shall be applied to the conduct. A lawyer shall not be subject to discipline if the lawyer's conduct conforms to the rules of a jurisdiction in which the lawyer reasonably believes the predominant effect of the lawyer's conduct will occur. Any communication made for the purpose of soliciting clients from within South Carolina or advertising a lawyer’s services in South Carolina shall be deemed to have its predominant effect within South Carolina and shall be subject to the provisions of Rules 7.1 through 7.5 of the Rules of Professional Conduct and Rule 418, SCACR, regardless of the jurisdiction in which the lawyer is licensed or in which the matter may be pending.

These amendments shall also become effective October 1, 2005.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Columbia , South Carolina