Opinion 181

It is a violation of the Canons of Ethics for an attorney to mail to the attorneys of a large city a letter advising them that their cases (which are designated by style and number in the letters) are set for trial during a certain week as specified in the settings of the courts and offering for a fee to answer the call of the docket, for such attorneys as to such cases? The letter mailed to the members of the bar is to be in the following form:

"Re[ ]vs.[ ]No.[ ]

Dear Sirs:

"The above entitled and numbered case is set for trial for the week of [    ], 195[ ] To help many attorneys who are unable to be present at docket call or could use their valuable time to a better advantage or to prevent dismissal of the case, we offer to answer the docket call for you. Possibly you have additional cases set for this term of court. Enclosed are several forms which, if you desire to avail yourself of this service may be filled out and mailed to us for any additional cases you wish us to answer. Our fee for answering the docket for any case is $______.

"Enclosed is a form which must be filled out and mailed to us no later than the Monday preceding the docket call of Friday, the _____ day of ______, 195__. Our fee for this service is $_______. Your check for this amount must accompany the enclosed form.

"We will inform you of the status of the case immediately after docket call either by telephone or by letter.

"We also offer to file and hand carry through, any cause of action, such as, adoption, show cause, etc. Just mail us your cause of action, the filing fee and our fee of $____ and we will take care of all filing requirements.

"Yours very truly,"