Opinion
December 22, 2003
ORDER
By action of this court en banc, DR 2-105(B)(3) of the Iowa Code of Professional Responsibility for Lawyers is adopted, effective immediately, as shown in attached exhibit "A."
Dated this 22nd day of December, 2003.
THE SUPREME COURT OF IOWA
By /s/ Louis A. Lavorato Louis A. Lavorato, Chief JusticeDR 2-105. Description and Limitation of Practice
(A) A lawyer may be identified as practicing in or limiting practice to certain fields of law as follows:
(1) Patents. A lawyer admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office may use the designation "Patents," "Patent Attorney," "Patent Lawyer," or "Registered Patent Attorney" or any combination of those terms, on the lawyer's professional card, letterhead, office sign, professional notice or announcement, all as otherwise allowed by DR 2-102(A), and in newspapers, periodicals, telephone directory listings, and legal directories, as otherwise allowed by DR 2-101(B).
(2) Fields of practice. Subject to the exceptions and requirements of this rule, a lawyer may identify or describe his or her practice by reference to the following fields of practice:
Administrative Law
Admiralty and Maritime Law
Adoption Law
Agricultural Law
Alternate Dispute Resolution
Antitrust and Trade Regulation
Appellate Practice
Aviation and Aerospace
Banking Law
Bankruptcy
Business Law
Civil Rights and Discrimination
Collections Law
Commercial Law
Communications Law
Constitutional Law
Construction Law
Contracts
Corporate Law
Criminal Law
Debtor and Creditor
Education Law
Elder Law
Election, Campaign and Political
Eminent Domain
Employee Benefits
Employment Law
Energy
Entertainment and Sports
Environmental Law
Family Law
Finance
Franchise Law
Government
Government Contracts
Health Care
Immigration
Indians and Native Populations
Information Technology Law
Insurance
Intellectual Property
International Law
International Trade
Investments
Labor Law
Legal Malpractice
Litigation Media Law
Medical Malpractice
Mergers and Acquisitions
Military Law
Municipal Law
Natural Resources
Occupational Safety Health
Pension and Profit Sharing Law
Personal Injury
Product Liability
Professional Liability
Public Utility Law
Real Estate
Securities
Social Security Law
Taxation
Tax Returns
Technology and Science
Toxic Torts
Trademarks and Copyright Law
Transportation
Trial Law
Wills, Trusts, Estate Planning and Probate Law
Workers' Compensation
Zoning, Planning and Land Use
The lawyer may, in describing the field of practice, use the suffix "law," "lawyer," "matters," "cases" or "litigation."
(B) Prerequisites. Prior to publicly describing one's practice as set forth above, a lawyer shall comply with the following prerequisites:
(1) For all fields of practice designated, a lawyer must have devoted the greater of 100 hours or 10 percent of the lawyer's time spent in the actual practice of law to each indicated field of practice for the preceding calendar year. In addition, the lawyer must have completed at least 10 hours of accredited continuing legal education courses of study in each indicated field of practice during the preceding calendar year.
(2) A lawyer who wishes to use the terms "practice limited to . . ." or "practicing primarily in . . ." must have devoted the greater of 400 hours or 40 percent of the lawyer's time spent in the actual practice of law to each separate indicated field of practice for the preceding calendar year. In addition, the lawyer must have completed at least 15 hours of accredited continuing legal education courses of study in each separate indicated field of practice during the preceding calendar year.
(3) Up to 6 hours of the accredited continuing legal education courses of study required of a lawyer for each field of practice designated under DR 2-105(B)(1) or each field of practice indicated under 2-105(B)(2) in any calendar year may be obtained through completion of computer-based legal education courses accredited by the commission on continuing legal education.
(C) Filing requirements. Prior to communication of a description or indication of limitation of practice permitted by DR2-105(A) a lawyer shall report the lawyer's compliance with the eligibility requirements of DR 2-105(B) each year in the written report required to be submitted to the Commission on Continuing Legal Education. In reporting compliance with the percentage or hours of practice requirements in DR 2-105(B) a statement of compliance is sufficient. In reporting compliance with the continuing legal education requirements of DR 2-105(B), the lawyer shall identify the specific courses and hours that apply to each indicated field of practice. Contents of the portion of the report required by this rule shall be public information. If, due to hardship or extenuating circumstances, a lawyer is unable to complete the hours of accredited continuing legal education during the preceding calendar year as required by DR 2-105(B) or (C) the lawyer may apply to the commission on continuing legal education for an extension of time in which to complete the hours. No extension of time shall be granted unless written application therefor shall be made on forms prescribed by the commission. Extensions of time within which to fulfill the minimum educational requirements may, in individual cases involving hardship or extenuating circumstances, be granted by the commission for a period not to exceed six months immediately following expiration of the year in which the requirements were not met.
(D) Exception. A lawyer describing the lawyer's practice as provided in DR 2-101(C)(2)(b) shall not be required to comply with the requirements of DR 2-105(B) and (C).
(E) Certification. Unless a lawyer has been certified by an agency or program formally recognized by the Iowa Supreme Court Board of Professional Ethics and Conduct, a lawyer shall not use the following terms: "specialist," "specializing in," "certified," or "certified in." In the event that a lawyer is so certified, the lawyer may identify the certifying entity and describe the field of practice in accordance with the certification.
(F) Amending fields of practice. The Iowa Supreme Court Board of Professional Ethics and Conduct, acting as commissioners of the supreme court as provided by chapter 35 of the Iowa Court Rules, on its own motion or upon the request of a lawyer admitted to practice in this state, shall, from time to time, consider and recommend to the court proposed amendments to these rules expanding or restricting the permitted list of fields of law practice.