10-1587-cv
Hayes v. State of N.Y. Atty. Grievance Committee
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
August Term 2010
Heard: June 6, 2011 Decided: March 5, 2012
Docket No. 10-1587-cv
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J. MICHAEL HAYES, ESQ.,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
STATE OF NEW YORK ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE
COMMITTEE OF THE EIGHTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT,
and DEANNE M. TRIPI, IN HER CAPACITY
AS CHAIR OF STATE OF NEW YORK ATTORNEY
GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE OF THE EIGHTH JUDICIAL
DISTRICT,
Defendants-Appellees.*
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Before: NEWMAN and LYNCH, Circuit Judges.**
Appeal from the July 26, 2004, judgment of the United States
District Court for the Western District of New York (John T. Elfvin,
District Judge) and the March 31, 2010, judgment of the United States
District Court for the Western District of New York (H. Kenneth
Schroeder, Jr., Magistrate Judge), rejecting First Amendment and
void-for-vagueness challenges to Rule 7.4 of the New York Rules of
Professional Conduct concerning attorney specialization.
*
Pursuant to Rule 43(c)(2) of the Federal Rules of Appellate
Procedure, Deanne M. Tripi, the current chair of the Committee is
substituted for John V. Elmore. The Clerk is directed the amend the
official caption to conform to the caption herein.
**
The Honorable Roger J. Miner, originally a member of the panel,
died on February 18, 2012. The two remaining members of the panel,
who are in agreement, have determined the matter. See U.S.C. § 46(d);
2d Cir. IOP E(b); United States v. Desimone, 140 F.3d 457 (2d Cir.
1998).
The Court of Appeals rules that enforcement of part of the
disclaimer required by Rule 7.4 violates the First Amendment and that
the lack of standards for enforcement of Rule 7.4 renders it void for
vagueness as applied to Plaintiff-Appellant Hayes.
Reversed and remanded for entry of judgment in favor of the
Plaintiff-Appellant.
J. Michael Hayes, Esq., pro se, Buffalo,
N.Y., for Plaintiff-Appellant.
Simon Heller, Assistant Solicitor General,
Office of the N.Y. State Atty. General,
New York, N.Y. (Eric T. Schneiderman,
N.Y. State Atty. General, Barbara D.
Underwood, Solicitor General, Nancy
Spiegel, Senior Asst. Solicitor
General, Alison J. Nathan, Special
Counsel, New York, N.Y., on the brief),
for Defendants-Appellees.
JON O. NEWMAN, Circuit Judge.
This appeal concerns a First Amendment challenge to a New York
rule requiring attorneys who identify themselves as certified
specialists to make a prescribed disclosure statement. The statement
must identify the certifying organization, which must have been
approved by the American Bar Association (“ABA”), and must include a
disclaimer concerning certification. Plaintiff-Appellant, J. Michael
Hayes, Esq., appeals from the July 26, 2004, judgment of the United
States District Court for the Western District of New York, John T.
Elfvin, Judge, granting summary judgment to Defendants-Appellees State
of New York Attorney Grievance Committee of the Eighth Judicial
District (“Grievance Committee”) and Nelson F. Zakia, the then-
chairman of the Grievance Committee with respect to Hayes’s First
Amendment claim. Hayes also appeals from the March 31, 2010, judgment
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of the United States District Court for the Western District of New
York, H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr., Magistrate Judge, rejecting, after a
bench trial, Hayes’s claim, based on unconstitutional vagueness,
against the Grievance Committee and John V. Elmore, Esq., the then-
current chairman. On appeal, the issue is whether Rule 7.4 of the New
York Rules of Professional Conduct, codified at N.Y. Comp. Codes R. &
Regs. tit. 22 § 1200.53(c)(1) (2011) (“Rule 7.4"),1 which requires a
prescribed disclaimer statement to be made by attorneys who state that
they are certified as a specialist in a particular area of the law,
either violates Hayes’s freedom of speech or is unconstitutionally
vague.
Because enforcement of two componentx of the required disclaimer
statement would violate the First Amendment and because the absence of
standards guiding administrators of Rule 7.4 renders it
unconstitutionally vague as applied to Plaintiff-Appellants Hayes, we
reverse with directions to enter judgment for the Plaintiff-Appellant.
Background
Hayes has been licensed to practice law in the State of New York
since 1977, limiting his practice to representing plaintiffs in civil
litigation. He has taught at the Buffalo Law School, lectured at New
York State Bar Association programs, and published articles on civil
litigation. In 1995 he was awarded Board Certification in Civi1 Trial
Advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (“NBTA”),2 an
1
Before 2009, the rule at issue was Disciplinary Rule 2-105(c)(1)
in the Code of Professional Responsibility, codified at N.Y. Comp.
Codes R. & Regs. tit 22, § 1200.10(c)(1) (“DR 2-105"). The text of
the rule has remained unchanged since a 1999 amendment to DR 2-105.
2
The NBTA is now known as the National Board of Legal Specialty
Certification.
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organization accredited by the American Bar Association. Thereafter
Hayes began to refer to himself as a “Board Certified Civil Trial
Specialist” in various advertisements, including his letterhead.
See Hayes v. Zakia, 327 F. Supp. 2d 224, 226 (W.D.N.Y. 2004). In
August 1996, and again on November 1996, the Grievance Committee,
which is appointed by the Appellate Division (Fourth Department) and
which is empowered to investigate allegations of professional
misconduct, including complaints of improper advertising, wrote to
Hayes and took issue with his use of the term “specialist.” Hayes
agreed to include the name of the NBTA on his letterhead and in future
telephone directory advertisements. See id.
On June 30, 1999, Disciplinary Rule 2-105(C)(1) of New York’s
Code of Professional Responsibility, N.Y. Comp. Cpdes R. & Regs. tit.
22 § 1200.10(c)(1), went into effect. DR 2-105(C)(1) is the
predecessor of current Rule 7.4, which carries forward the same text.
Rule 7.4 permits a lawyer certified as a specialist by an ABA-approved
organization to state that fact provided the lawyer also makes a
prescribed statement that includes a disclaimer about certification of
40 words plus the name of the certifying organization. Rule 7.4
states:
A lawyer who is certified as a specialist in a particular
area of law or law practice by a private organization
approved for that purpose by the American Bar Association
may state the fact of certification if, in conjunction
therewith, the certifying organization is identified and the
following statement is prominently made: “[1] The [name of
the private certifying organization] is not affiliated with
any governmental authority[,] [2] Certification is not a
requirement for the practice of law in the State of New York
and [3] does not necessarily indicate greater competence
than other attorneys experienced in this field of law.”
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We will refer to the three components of the statement, which we have
numbered, as the “Disclaimer.” Rule 7.4 provides no details for
determining what will satisfy the requirement that the required
statement is “prominently made.”
In the second half of 1999, Hayes placed ads on two billboards in
Buffalo. Although the billboards contained the Disclaimer, the
Grievance Committee wrote to Hayes questioning whether the print size
of the Disclaimer on one of the billboards complied with the
“prominently made” requirement. Hayes responded that he had attempted
to satisfy DR 2-105(C)(1) by using six-inch letters, which was one-
inch larger than what was required for federal cigarette warnings on
billboards. The Grievance Committee closed its investigation.
In May 2000, the Grievance Committee twice contacted Hayes, first
about the Disclaimer included on the second billboard, and then to
indicate that it was beginning an investigation into his letterhead,
which did not contain the Disclaimer. Hayes responded that he did not
believe that the Disclaimer was necessary because the letterhead
indicated that he was “Board Certified,” rather than a “specialist.”
The Grievance Committee responded that a claim of certification
implies specialization, so as to require the Disclaimer, and indicated
that it would recommend that formal disciplinary action be instituted
unless Hayes modified his letterhead. Hayes then commenced a
declaratory judgment action in the Western District of New York. The
Grievance Committee requested Judge Elfvin to abstain from the case
due to the pending state disciplinary action. The Court granted that
request and dismissed the case. See Hayes v. N.Y. Attorney Grievance
Committee, No. 01-CV-0545E, 2001 WL 1388325 (W.D.N.Y. Nov. 1, 2001).
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Shortly thereafter Hayes informed the Grievance Committee that he
would comply with DR 2-105(C)(1), as directed, and the Grievance
Committee closed its investigation.
In December 2001, Hayes commenced the current action, seeking a
declaration that DR 2-105(C)(1) is unconstitutional both facially and
as applied to his advertising. The complaint also sought to
permanently enjoin the Defendant from enforcing DR 2-105(C)(1) against
the Plaintiff. The District Court denied the motion for a preliminary
injunction, see Hayes v. Zakia, No. 01-CV-0907E, 2002 WL 31207463
(W.D.N.Y. Sept. 17, 2002), and both parties moved for summary
judgment. The District Court, relying on the Supreme Court’s
decisions in Peel v. Attorney Registration and Disciplinary
Commission, 496 U.S. 91 (1990), and Central Hudson Gas & Electric
Corp. v. Public Service Commission, 447 U.S. 557 (1980), found that
the State had a substantial interest in protecting consumers from
potentially misleading attorney advertisements; that DR 2-105(C)(1)
advanced that interest; and that the rule was narrowly drawn. See
Hayes, 327 F. Supp. 2d at 230. With respect to vagueness, the
District Court rejected the Plaintiff’s claim that the rule was
unconstitutionally vague on its face, but determined that the
Plaintiff had raised issues of fact regarding his as-applied vagueness
challenge. See id. at 232 n.14, 233.
The parties consented to a bench trial on the vagueness question
before Magistrate Judge Schroeder, who ruled that DR 2-105(C)(1) was
not constitutionally vague as applied. Specifically, the Magistrate
Judge stated that the language “prominently made” signaled that the
Disclaimer must be noticeable or conspicuous and permitted a “single
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standard throughout the spectrum of advertising media.” In addition,
he stated that this language was sufficient to enable a person “of
ordinary intelligence” to understand what the regulation required and
that it also provided sufficiently explicit standards to guide the
Grievance Committee in the enforcement of the regulation.
Discussion
This Court reviews de novo a grant of summary judgment, see Owens
v. New York City Housing Authority, 934 F.2d 405, 408 (2d Cir. 1991),
the standards for which are well established, see Fed. R. Civ. P.
56(c); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23 (1986).
Certification of attorney specialists. Rule 7.4(d) of the ABA’s
Model Rules of Professional Responsibility permits a lawyer to be
identified as a specialist in a particular field of law provided that
(1) the lawyer has been certified by an organization approved by a
state or accredited by the ABA and (2) the name of the certifying
organization is clearly identified. See Model Rules of Professional
Conduct R. 7.4(d) (2009). 48 states have rules that permit lawyers to
identify themselves as specialists. The rules of 32 of these states
are similar to the ABA’s model rule,3 although some of these require
3
See Ala. Rules of Prof. Conduct, Rule 7.4(c) (2011); Alas. R.
Prof. Conduct 7.4(b) (2011); Ariz. Rules of Prof’l Conduct, R.
7.4(a)(3) (2011); Ark. Rules of Prof. Conduct 7.4(d) (2011); Cal.
Rules of Prof’l Conduct, Rule 1-400(D)(6) (2011); Conn. Rules of
Prof’l Conduct 7.4A (2011); Del. Prof. Cond. R. 7.4(d) (2011); Fla.
Bar Reg. R. 4-7.2(c)(6) (2011); Ga. R. & Regs. St. Bar 7.4 (2011);
Idaho Rules of Prof’l Conduct, R. 7.4(c) (2011); Ind. Rules of Prof’l
Conduct 7.4(d) (2011); Iowa R. of Prof’l Conduct 32:7.4(d) (2011);
Kan. Rules of Prof. Conduct 7.4(d) (2011); Ky. SCR Rules 7.40 (2011);
La. St. Bar Ass’n Art. XVI § 7.2(c)(5) (2011); Me. Rules of Prof’l
Conduct 7.4(d) (2010); Mont. Prof. Conduct R. 7.4 (2010); Neb. Ct. R.
of Prof. Cond. § 3-507.4 (2011); Nev. Rules of Prof’l Conduct 7.4(d)
(2011); N.H. Rules of Prof’l Conduct Rule 7.4(c) (2011); N.J. Court
Rules, RPC 7.4 (2011); N.M. R. Prof. Conduct, 16-704 (2011); N.C.
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state board or state court approval of the certifying body.4 Many of
the states that have not adopted the Model Rule require any claim of
specialization to be accompanied by various forms of disclaimers,
such as a statement that the state does not certify lawyers as
specialists.5 Two of the 48 states, Minnesota and Missouri, permit
identification of a lawyer as a specialist even in the absence of
certification, but require disclosure that there has been no
certification by an organization accredited by a state board or court.6
One state, West Virginia, prohibits lawyers from identifying
themselves as specialists except for patent attorneys and proctors in
admiralty.7 One state, Maryland, prohibits identification as a
specialist with no exceptions.8 Michigan and Mississippi have no rules
concerning communications about lawyer specialization.
Efforts by states or bar associations to restrict lawyer
Prof. Cond. Rule 7.4(b) (2011); Ohio Prof. Cond. Rule 7.4(e) (2011);
Or. Rules Prof’l Conduct 7.1(4) (2009); Pa. RPC 7.4(a) (2011); S.C.
Rule 7.4(a), RPC, Rule 407, SCACR (2010); S.D. Codified Laws § 16-18-
appx.-7.4(d) (2011); Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 8, Rule 7.4 (2011); Tex. R.
Prof. Conduct 7.4(b) (2011); Utah Rules of Prof’l Conduct, Rule 7.4(d)
(2011); Wis. SCR 20:7.4(d) (2011); Wyo. Prof. Conduct Rule 7.4(d)
(2010).
4
See Ala. Rules of Prof. Conduct, Rule 7.4(c) (state bar
approval); Ariz. Rules of Prof’l Conduct, R. 7.4(a)(3) (state board
approval); Conn. Rules of Prof’l Conduct 7.4A (state court committee
approval); Pa. RPC 7.4(a) (state court approval); S.C. Rule 7.4(a),
RPC, Rule 407 SCACR (state court approval); Tex. R. Prof. Conduct
7.4(b) (state board approval).
5
See, e.g., Colo. RPC 7.4(d) (2011); Ill. Sup. Ct. R. Prof’l
Conduct, R. 7.4 (2011); Va. Sup. Ct. R. pt. 6, sec. II, 7.4 (2011).
6
See Minn. Rules of Prof’l Conduct 7.4(d) (2011); Mo. Sup. Ct. R.
4-7.4 (2010).
7
See W. Va. Prof. Cond. Rule 7.4 (2011).
8
Md. Lawyer’s R. Prof’l Conduct 7.4(a) (2011).
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advertising, particularly ads asserting accreditation in specialized
areas of law, inevitably create some tension between legitimate
concerns to protect the public from misleading claims and guild
mentality maneuvers to stifle legitimate competition in the market for
legal services. The ABA has endeavored to steer a course between
these competing concerns by establishing standards for accreditation
of specialty certification programs. These standards permit a
certifying organization to certify lawyers in a field of
specialization only if a lawyer has practiced in the specialty for at
least three years, spent at least one-fourth of that time in the
specialty area, passed a written exam, obtained five recommendations
a majority of which are from judges or lawyers, taken at least 36
hours of continuing legal education (“CLE”) in the specialty area in
the preceding three years, and be in good standing. See ABA Standards
for Special Certification Programs for Lawyers, § 4.06,
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/commit
tees_commissions/specialization/resources/resources_for_programs/acc
reditation_standards.html (last visited Jan. 18, 2012). Pursuant to
these criteria, the ABA has accredited the NBTA to certify lawyers as
a specialist in the areas of trial, criminal, and family law. See
http://www.nblsc.us (last visited Jan. 18 2012). The standards of the
NBTA for attorney certification as a specialist include at least 30
percent concentration in the field for at least the preceding three
years, at least 45 hours of CLE in the preceding three years, ten to
twelve references, including at least three judges and three
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attorneys, being lead counsel in at least five jury trials, and
successful completion of a six-hour NBTA examination. See
http://www.nblsc.us/certification_standards_civil/. A certified
attorney is required to apply for recertification after five years.
See id. The NBTA certified Hayes in civil trial advocacy in 1995 and
recertified him in 2000.
Constitutional standards for restrictions on lawyer advertising.
Both parties agree that attorney advertising is commercial speech,
which may be subjected to restrictions so long as they satisfy the
standards set forth by the Supreme Court in Central Hudson. The four-
part test is as follows:
First, for commercial speech to merit any First Amendment
protection, it “must concern lawful activity and not be
misleading.” Next, the government must assert a substantial
interest to be achieved by the restriction. If both these
conditions are met, the third and fourth parts of the test
are “whether the regulation directly advances the
governmental interest asserted” and whether the regulation
“is not more extensive than is necessary to serve that
interest.”
Anderson v. Treadwell, 294 F.3d 453, 461 (2d Cir. 2002)(quoting
Central Hudson, 447 U.S. at 563-66). In some contexts, a less
rigorous First Amendment test applies to governmental requirements
that compel rather than prohibit speech. See Milavetz, Gallop &
Milavetz, P.A. v. United States, 130 S. Ct. 1324, 1339-40 (2010);
Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel of Supreme Court of Ohio,
471 U.S. 626, 651-52 (1985); In re R.M.J., 455 U.S. 191, 202-03
(1982); National Electrical Manufacturers Assn. v. Sorrell, 272 F.3d
104, 113-14 (2d Cir. 2001). But see Riley v. National Federation of
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Blind of N.C., Inc., 487 U.S. 781, 796-97 (1988); Milavetz, 130 S. Ct.
at 1343 (Thomas, J., concurring in part and concurring in the
judgment); Glickman v. Wileman Brothers & Elliott, Inc., 521 U.S. 457,
480-81 (1997) (Souter, J., dissenting).
In two decisions the Supreme Court has considered the
constitutional validity of state restrictions on professionals holding
themselves out as specialists. See Peel and Ibanez v. Florida Dep’t of
Business and Professional Regulation, 512 U.S. 136 (1994). The
teaching of these two cases is not entirely clear.
In Peel, the Supreme Court considered a prohibition against an
attorney’s advertisement that stated that he was a civil trial
specialist certified by the NBTA. The Court held, 5 to 4, that
absolute prohibition of the certification statement violated the First
Amendment. See Peel, 496 U.S. at 99-111 (Stevens, J., with whom
Brennan, Blackmun, and Kennedy, JJ., join); id. at 111-17 (Marshall,
J., with whom Brennan, J. joins, concurring in the judgment). The
plurality opinion was willing to assume, however, that the specialist
certification was “potentially misleading,” id. at 109, and observed
that, “[t]o the extent that potentially misleading statements of
private certification or specialization could confuse consumers, a
State might consider . . . requiring a disclaimer about the certifying
organization or the standards of a specialty,” id. at 110. Justice
Marshall’s concurring opinion noted that the certification statement
was “potentially misleading,” id. at 111, and also suggested that a
state “could require a lawyer claiming certification by the NBTA as a
civil trial specialist to provide additional information in order to
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prevent that claim from being misleading,” id. at 117.
The opinions in Peel differed as to the respect in which a
certification might be misleading. For the plurality, it could be
misleading “if the certification had been issued by an organization
that had made no inquiry into [the lawyer’s] fitness, or by one that
issued certificates indiscriminately for a price.” Id. at 102. For
Justices Marshall and Brennan, “[t]he name ‘National Board of Trial
Advocacy’ could create the misimpression that the NBTA is an agency of
the Federal Government,” id. at 112, and they stated that a state
could require “a disclaimer stating that the NBTA is a private
organization not affiliated with, or sanctioned by, the State or
Federal Government,” id. at 117. Justice White also considered the
certification statement “potentially misleading” for the reasons
stated by Justices Brennan and Marshall. Id. at 118 (White, J.,
dissenting). The Chief Justice and Justices Scalia and O’Connor
considered the certification statement “inherently likely to deceive,”
id. at 121 (O’Connor, J., with whom Rehnquist, C.J., and Scalia, J.,
join, dissenting), in that it “lead[s] the consumer to believe that
this lawyer is better than those lawyers lacking such certification,”
id. at 123, and “to conclude that the State has sanctioned the
certification,” id.
Thus, although the absolute prohibition of a certification
statement was rejected 5 to 4, at least six members of the Court (the
Chief Justice and Justices Brennan, Marshall, O’Connor, Scalia, and
White) considered the statement at least potentially misleading,
believing that it could be understood to imply state sanctioned
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certification. And Justice Stevens’s opinion for the plurality also
indicated that a state “could require a disclaimer stating that the
NBTA is a private organization not affiliated with, or sanctioned by,
the State or Federal Government.” Id. at 117.
Four years later in Ibanez, the Court, considering a state’s
censure of a lawyer for truthfully listing herself as a CPA (Certified
Public Accountant) and a CFP (Certified Financial Planner), sent a
rather different message. Invalidating by a vote of 7 to 2 the
censure as violative of the First Amendment, Ibanez, 512 U.S. at 143-
49, the Court began by emphasizing the requirement from Central Hudson
that “[c]ommercial speech that is not false, deceptive, or misleading
can be restricted, but only if the State shows that the restriction
directly and materially advances a substantial state interest in a
manner no more extensive than necessary to serve that interest.” Id.
at 142 (citing Central Hudson, 447 U.S. at 566) (footnote omitted);
see Florida Bar v. Went For It, Inc., 515 U.S. 618, 625-26 (1995).
Continuing, the Court in Ibanez noted that “[t]he State’s burden is
not slight,” and that “‘[m]ere speculation or conjecture’ will not
suffice; rather the State ‘must demonstrate that the harms it recites
are real and that its restriction will in fact alleviate them to a
material degree.” Id. at 143 (quoting Edenfield v. Fane, 507 U.S. 761,
770, 771 (1993)). And, said the Court, “we cannot allow rote
incantation of the words ‘potentially misleading’ to supplant the
[regulating body’s] burden.” Id. at 146 (citing Edenfield, 507 U.S. at
771).
Then, recalling that Peel had indicated some tolerance for a
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disclaimer to avoid potentially misleading statements about
certification, the Court stated that Ibanez “does not fall within the
caveat noted in Peel covering certifications issued by organizations
that ‘had made no inquiry into [the lawyer’s] fitness,’ or had ‘issued
certificates indiscriminately for a price,’” id. at 148 (quoting Peel,
496 U.S. at 102), thereby using the extreme examples of a potentially
misleading certification offered by the plurality opinion in Peel,
rather than a consumer’s possible belief that the certifying
organization was affiliated with the government, which had been noted
by five Justices in Peel. Indeed, the Court in Ibanez invalidated the
requirement that a disclaimer state that the certifying agency is not
affiliated with the state or federal government “[g]iven the state of
the record–the failure of the [regulating agency] to point to any harm
that is potentially real, not purely hypothetical.” Id. at 146. The
Court even observed that the detail required in the disclaimer, which
also included the requirements for certification, was too extensive to
be included on a business card or letterhead or in a yellow pages
listing. See id. at 146-47.
Thus, we are left to wonder whether to follow Peel’s apparent
approval of some sort of disclaimer to avoid at least some potentially
misleading aspects of a certification statement or to insist, as
Ibanez did, on a record demonstrating real harms that will be
alleviated to a material degree by the challenged disclaimer
requirement. Despite this perplexity, we will consider separately the
three components of the Disclaimer at issue in the pending case and
then turn to the vagueness challenge to the requirement that the
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Disclaimer be “prominently made.”
We see no First Amendment infirmity in the required assertion
that the certifying organization, i.e., the NBTA, is not affiliated
with any governmental authority. Absent this assertion, which is
entirely accurate, there would be a risk that some members of the
public would believe that New York State or its judicial branch had
authorized the NBTA to certify lawyers in their field of specialty.
Such a belief might make some people think that this certification is
more valuable than a certification conferred by a private organization
without official authorization. Avoiding such a possible
misconception furthers a substantial governmental interest in consumer
education and is not more intrusive than necessary to further that
interest. Although the Grievance Committee has not developed a record
in support of the possible misconceptions concerning government
affiliation, we feel obliged to follow what a majority of the Court
said in Peel on this precise subject in a case dealing explicitly with
NBTA specialist certification.
The statement that certification is not a requirement for the
practice of law is more questionable. It is sought to be justified on
the basis that, absent this assertion, there would be a risk that some
members of the public would believe that certification is required to
practice law, thereby leading them to think that they must limit their
choice of state-licensed lawyers to those who have been certified as
specialists. See Appellees’ Br. At 18, 23. This possible belief that
certification is needed to practice law is sufficiently strained to
require some basis in the record to support it. See, e.g., Florida
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Bar, 515 U.S. at 626 (“‘[A] governmental body seeking to sustain a
restriction on commercial speech must demonstrate that the Harms it
recites are real . . . .’” (quoting Rubin v. Coors Brewing Co., 514
U.S. 476, 487 (1995) (emphasis added). Although trial testimony is
not required, the proponents of a restriction must either advance an
interest that is self-evident or put something in the record to make
the required “demonstrat[ion].” No such demonstration is present in
the record before us. And the alleged harm is surely not self-
evident. It is difficult to imagine that any significant portion of
the public observing the thousands of lawyers practicing in New York
without certification believe that all of them are acting unlawfully.
Because ths second statement relies on “mere speculation or
conjecture,” Edenfield v. Fane, 507 U.S. 761, 770 (1993), it does not
satisfy the Central Hudson test.
The third required assertion–that certification “does not
necessarily indicate greater competence than other attorneys experi-
enced in this field of law”–is even more problematic. Although the
assertion might be technically accurate, depending on how “competence”
and “experienced in the field” are understood, the assertion has a
capacity to create misconceptions at least as likely and as serious as
that sought to be avoided by the first assertion. Some members of the
public, reading this third assertion, might easily think that a
certified attorney has no greater qualifications than other attorneys
with some (unspecified) degree of experience in the designated area of
practice. In fact, the qualifications of an attorney certified as a
civil trial specialist by the NBTA include having been lead counsel in
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at least 5 trials and having “actively participated” in at least 100
contested matters involving the taking of testimony, passing an
extensive examination, participating in at least 45 hours of CLE, and
devoting at least 30 percent of the lawyer’s practice to the special-
ized field. See http://www.nblsc.us/certification_standards_civil/.
These qualifications may reasonably be considered by the certifying
body to provide some assurance of “competence” greater than that of
lawyers meeting only the criterion of having some experience in the
field, and a contrary assertion has a clear potential to mislead.
Such a requirement does not serve a substantial state interest, is
far more intrusive than necessary, and is entirely unsupported by the
record. As such, it cannot survive First Amendment scrutiny.
Because the first of the three statements in the Disclaimer may
be required, we must consider the Plaintiff’s challenge to the entire
Disciplinary Rule on the ground of vagueness, a challenge based on the
requirement that the Disclaimer is “prominently made” in conjunction
with an attorney’s statement of the fact of certification. To
determine whether a regulation is unconstitutionally vague, we “must
first determine whether the statute gives the person of ordinary
intelligence a reasonable opportunity to know what is prohibited.”
United States v. Strauss, 999 F.2d 692, 697 (2d Cir. 1993) (internal
quotation marks omitted). Although regulations with civil
consequences “receive less exacting vagueness scrutiny” than criminal
statutes, see Arriaga v. Mukasey, 521 F.3d 219, 223 (2d Cir. 2008),
regulations that limit the exercise of constitutionally protected
rights are subject to an enhanced vagueness test, see Village of
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Hoffman Estates v. Flipside, Hoffman Estates, 455 U.S. 489, 499
(1982), and the practice of a profession is entitled to some
constitutional protection, see Board of Education v. Roth, 408 U.S.
564, 572 (1972). In addition to a requirement of adequate notice of
what is prohibited, a regulation must provide at least as much notice
of what is required. See Rock of Ages Corp. V. Secretary of Labor, 170
F.3d 148, 156 (2d Cir. 1999); cf. Village of Hoffman Estates, 455 U.S.
at 498-502 (finding that a licensing requirement for the sale of items
“designed or marketed for use with illegal cannabis or drugs” was not
vague as applied because the plaintiff “had ample warning that its
marketing activities required a license”).
After determining whether a regulation affords adequate notice,
we must also determine whether it “provides explicit standards for
those who apply it,” Strauss, 999 F.2d at 297 (internal quotation
marks and alteration omitted), to guard against the risk of
discriminatory or inconsistent enforcement. A regulation will
encounter valid vagueness objection if it accords “unfettered
discretion” to those who enforce it, Chatin v. Combe, 186 F.3d 82, 89
(2d Cir. 1999), and if administrators cannot determine the meaning of
a prohibition, those subject to it “can hardly [be] expect[ed] . . .
to do so,” Fox TV Stations, Inc. v. FCC, 613 F.3d 317, 331 (2d Cir.
2010), cert. granted, 131 S. Ct. 3065 (2011) (No. 10-1293).
Several federal statutes that impose disclosure requirements use
generalized terms to indicate an adequate degree of visibility.
Required warnings in cigarette advertising must be made in
“conspicuous and legible type.” 15 U.S.C. § 1333(b)(1) (2011).
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Required warning on hazardous substances must be “located prominently
and . . . in conspicuous and legible type.” 15 U.S.C.
§ 1261(p)(2)(2008). Required warnings about the dangers of alcohol
must be in a “conspicuous and prominent place” on a beverage
container. 27 U.S.C. § 215(b) (2011). We note, however, that in some
instances, regulations, and sometimes statutes, provide details for
compliance with such terms. This has been done for warnings about
alcohol, see 27 C.F.R. § 16.22 (2011), hazardous substances, see 16
C.F.R. § 1500.121(c) (2011), and cigarettes, see Family Smoking
Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, Pub. L. No. 111-31, sec. 201, §
4(a)(2), 123 Stat. 1842, 1843 (2009) (to be codified at 15 U.S.C. §
1333). Specificity may also be provided through the availability of
pre-enforcement advisory opinions. See Mason v. Florida Bar, 208 F.3d
952, 954 n.1 (11th Cir. 2000).
We consider it a close question whether “prominently made”
provides adequate notice to lawyers as to the required placement and
type font of the Disclaimer in writings, which include billboards,
stationery, and business cards, or the speed and duration of its
expression in radio or television ads. Specificity would be helpful,
yet we understand the Grievance Committee’s reluctance to prescribe
details that would apply to advertising that can be communicated in so
many forms. Moreover, we are confident that, because there are
sufficient instances of core application of the rule – for example,
setting the disclaimer in type too small to be legible in the context
of the particular medium, or in a color with insufficient contrast to
be noticeable by the average reader of the particular advertisement –
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in which any lawyer of ordinary intelligence would be on clear notice
that the rule would be violated, the prominence requirement would
likely survive a facial challenge. The record in this case, however,
demonstrates that the Disciplinary Rule is unconstitutional as applied
to Hayes.
Hayes advertised on billboards that set forth the disclaimer in
lettering six inches high, one inch larger than the lettering required
by the federal government for health warnings on similar cigarette
advertising. It is not our role to assess whether such a disclaimer
does or does not comply with the New York rule, and this case does not
require us to opine on whether a clear and specific rule that required
even larger lettering would comport with the Constitution. We find
ourselves unable to conclude, however, that a lawyer of average
intelligence could anticipate that lettering of that dimension could
be construed as not “prominently made.” Although Hayes was never in
fact disciplined for violation of the rule, the mere existence of
repeated and extended investigations of his conduct created a cloud on
his good standing as a member of the bar that was a meaningful adverse
consequence to him, and that would clearly chill legitimate
advertising by similarly situated lawyers, based on a rule whose
contours that a lawyer of ordinary skill and intelligence could not
reasonably discern.
Our concern is only exacerbated by the inability of the
Committee’s representatives to clarify the content of the rule. A
former principal counsel to the Committee acknowledged that his
successor would likely apply a different standard of “what constitutes
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prominently made.” He also testified that he did not think “there’s an
obligation to set forth an objective standard” as to how long the
Disclaimer would be displayed in a television commercial, and as to
whether his successor would use the same objective standard he used,
answered, “I doubt it. [I]t’s a different person.” He also said he
could not tell if the Disclaimer was prominently made on a billboard
or a TV commercial unless he had seen them. With respect to the size
of lettering of the disclaimer on a Hayes billboard, the attorney for
the Grievance Committee at one time indicated that letters must be six
inches in height, but the Committee apparently accepted four-inch
letters. At trial he could not state whether placing the disclaimer
in a footnote on the last page of a Hayes document would satisfy the
prominence requirement.
Although the uncertainties as to how the prominence requirement
will be enforced could be alleviated if the Grievance Committee would
give pre-enforcement guidance to inquiring attorneys, such guidance
was not available to Hayes. The former principal counsel to the
Grievance Committee was asked at trial, “[I]s there a way that you
would assist the attorney if there were not a grievance file pending?”
He replied, “The short answer is, no.” He added that the Committee
did not provide advisory opinions because, in part, “it would probably
take up most of our work.” Because the prominence requirement is not
clear to those who sought to enforce it against Hayes’s billboards,
let alone to Hayes as a lawyer of ordinary skill and intelligence
attempting to comply with it, it cannot validly be enforced against
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him in this context. See Fox TV Stations, Inc., 613 F.3d at 331. It
is therefore void for vagueness as it has been applied to Hayes.
Conclusion
The judgments of the District Court are reversed, and the case is
remanded with directions to enter judgment for the Plaintiff-Appellant
declaring the second and third components of the Disclaimer invalid
and enjoining enforcement of the first component against Hayes absent
clear advance notice to him from the Committee of specific alleged
defects in his advertising and an opportunity for him either to know
what he must do to comply or to seek judicial review of the
Committee’s elaboration of the requirement.
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