I watched a Seinfeld rerun last night that involved a man who had graduated from med. school, but never passed the license exam. He was not practicing as a doctor. But it made me think. If he had business cards printed as "John Smith, MD", it would seem misleading, yet he did earn the degree. I once had a philosophy professor who had a JD, but never took the bar exam. The fact that he listed it in the college catalog did not seem misleading, but if he had it on a business card (even if he did not present himself as a lawyer) I think it would be.
Writing only about the law side -- it could be misleading -- actually, for a long time, many law professors had JDs, but refused to take a bar exam (I think they saw it as a point of pride, to separate researchers from practitioners). But confusion was minimal as to who was doing what. And many attorneys leave off the credential initials from their cards and letterheads, instead appending "Attorney at Law" or similar, which implies the law degree and bar license. After all, lawyers aren't called "Doctor," so you know, not much gained from alphabet soup on a business card. I think the exception might be listing a JD plus another degree (LL.M. or MBA, etc.), to emphasize the specialty or second field -- "not just a JD" kind of thinking -- but it seems fairly rare. Might depend on the legal market. -- Tom7
I'm not aware of an instance where an individual has faced a UPL charge merely for including the letters "JD" on business cards (not stating that there aren't any, of course). But I think that would have to be coupled with a showing of intent to hold oneself out as a lawyer. On the other hand, passing out business cards with anything more, such as "attorney-at-law", is a different matter; definitely misleading as it clearly indicates the person is licensed to practice law.
What about MD? I think most people would assume "John Smith, MD" was a practicing doctor. But If he did not claim to be a medical doctor, and did earn the degree, would it still be unethical?
In medicine, there is a difference between earning a medical degree and having a medical license. Earning the medical degree entitles one to put the initials 'MD' after their name. You can earn a medical degree and choose not to be licensed to practice. You are still entitled to use the initials. You are not entitled to practice medicine until you are licensed. Working in the field as I do, I know of many, many physicians with medical degrees who never practiced or no longer have an active medical license. They still use the initials. I would also say, however, that in some states, their medical licensing laws require active licensure in order to use the initials 'MD'. So in those states, you need the degree and the license in order to use the initials. Regards, Michael Lloyd Mill Creek, Washington USA
It's time to remember the man whose business card read John Smith, BA, MD Turned out (when they came for him) that he simply had a BA from the University of Maryland.
