Rule 7.3 - Solicitation of Clients(a) A lawyer shall not by in-person, live telephone or real-time electronic contact solicit professional employment when a significant motive for the lawyer's doing so is the lawyer's pecuniary gain, unless the person contacted: (2) Has a family, close personal, or prior professional relationship with the lawyer.(b) A lawyer shall not solicit professional employment by written, recorded or electronic communication or by in-person, live telephone or real-time electronic contact even when not otherwise prohibited by paragraph (a), if:(1) The target of the solicitation has made known to the lawyer a desire not to be solicited by the lawyer; or(2) The solicitation involves coercion, duress, or harassment.(c) A copy of every written or recorded communication from a lawyer soliciting professional employment from anyone shall be deposited no less than thirty days prior to its dissemination or publication with the Secretary-Treasurer of the South Dakota State Bar by mailing the same to the Office of the State Bar of South Dakota in Pierre, postage prepaid, return receipt requested.(d) Every written, recorded or electronic communication from a lawyer soliciting professional employment from a prospective client known to be in need of legal services in a particular matter shall include the words "Advertising Material" on the outside envelope, if any, and at the beginning and ending of any recorded or electronic communication, unless the recipient of the communication is a person specified in paragraphs (a)(1) or (a)(2). Where the communication is written, the label shall appear in a minimum 18-point type or in type as large as the largest type otherwise used in the written communication, whichever is larger. This labeling requirement shall not apply to mailings of announcements of changes in address, firm structure or personnel, nor to mailings of firm brochures to persons selected on a basis other than prospective employment.(e) Notwithstanding the prohibitions in paragraph (a), a lawyer may participate with a prepaid or group legal service plan operated by an organization not owned or directed by the lawyer that uses in-person or telephone contact to solicit memberships or subscriptions for the plan from persons who are not known to need legal services in a particular matter covered by the plan.SDCL app TO CHAPTER 16-18 r. 7.3
SL 2004, ch 327 (Supreme Court Rule 03-26), eff. Jan. 1, 2004; SL 2018, ch 297 (Supreme Court Rule 18-06), eff. July 1, 2018.