Is your firm's publicity putting you in the risk zone?

"There is no such thing as bad publicity" is a familiar saying, but not one which should be taken too literally by lawyers. Solicitors should be mindful that it can generate many risks and needs to be kept under review, says Tracey Calvert

In the pre-SRA handbook era, thinking about publicity was high on the agenda of many practitioners. There were many common queries. What should we put on our notepaper? Do we need to list all of our partners? Can we advertise "no win, no fee"? With the move to principles and outcomes, and the regulator's very different style, some firms have turned their attention away from this to other risk targets.

However, publicity remains a concern, both in terms of legal and regulatory compliance, and also because of the risks attached to different forms of publicity. While most firms understand and manage the risks connected with cold-calling, as a form of publicity and means of generating business, they are perhaps not so focused on other publicity methods, as once was the case.

To set the scene, publicity is a defined terms for Solicitors Regulation Authority purposes. It covers all promotional material and activity, including the name or description of the firm, stationery, advertisements, brochures, websites, directory entries, media appearances, promotional press releases, and direct approaches to potential clients and other persons, whether conducted in person, in writing, or in electronic form, but does not include press releases prepared on behalf of a client.

The outcomes that must be achieved are in chapter 8 of the SRA code and, in a nutshell, require that publicity must be accurate and not misleading, clearly expressed, and not involve any form of cold-calling to members of the public.

A prudent approach

In terms of emails, letterheads and websites, the firm's COLP will demonstrate a prudent approach to risk by ensuring that the following points are among those captured in their compliance planning:

• the full, and unaltered, statement "authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority" is on the website, emails and letterhead;

• LLPs and companies include full company registration details and partnerships and sole practitioners include details of their authorisation records with the SRA;

• all types of entities publish their SRA registration number;

• that firms comply with the relevant requirements about naming managers (principal, partners, directors or members) and this is kept accurate when there are changes in composition;

• non-managers named in publicity are not held out incorrectly;

• references to the SRA and conduct requirements (as required by The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002) have been updated to reflect current requirements with links to the latest website resources;