Barbour and the Blind Trust Issue

Wanted to pass along an article from Bloomberg.com as Gov. Haley Barbour's blind trust dealings and his past as a CEO/partner of a lobbying firm who bid on contracts with the state of Mississippi seems to be making waves outside of the state.

Of interest I find the continued statements by Barbour that he has nothing to do with Barbour Griffith and Rogers except for a meager retirement check. Will this turn into something later, I doubt it but with his name still on the firm we know on some level he has something to do with the lobby firm still. Using the MS Rules of Ethics for attorneys this seems to be improper as the firm name implies Barbour is still a partner. Rule 7.5 in MS could easily call this a "deceptive or misleading communication".

Rule 7.5 Link
Rule 7.5 provides that a lawyer shall not use a firm name, letterhead or other professional designation which contains a false, deceptive or misleading communication about the lawyer or lawyer's services. Specifically, a lawyer in private practice shall not practice under a trade name or a name that is misleading as to the identity of that lawyer or lawyers practicing under such name. Here, the Committee is of the opinion that the proposed name is potentially misleading as there is no reference to firm name or the other lawyers practicing under the proposed name. Although Rule 7.2(d) requires that an advertisement include the name of at least one lawyer responsible for its content, this does not override the strong policy of the Bar that lawyer advertising should not contain statements that possibly could deceive or mislead the public. A communication may be misleading if it omits a fact necessary to make the statement not materially misleading. Under the facts presented, the Committee is of the opinion that the public would be potentially mislead as to the correct identity of the lawyers practicing under the proposed name.