Every ad a law firm runs answers to a rulebook, and the rulebook belongs to the firm’s state. This guide walks through the rules that shape marketing work most often, so a managing partner knows which questions to put to the bar before anything goes live.
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The short version
Each state regulates lawyer ads through its own rules of professional conduct. The ABA publishes Model Rules; every state adopts a version of its own. Three of them touch almost every campaign: Rule 7.1 on misleading communications, Rule 7.2 on advertising and what a lawyer may pay for, and Rule 7.3 on soliciting clients. Some states, such as Texas and Florida, also review or require filing of certain ads. Your state’s lawyer advertising rules apply; your firm decides what runs.
| Rule | What it is about | Where marketing feels it |
|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | No false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services | Headlines, website copy, attorney bios, any mention of past results |
| 7.2 | Advertising through any media, what a lawyer may pay for, the responsible lawyer’s name | Ad budgets, vendor bills, lead sources, the name and contact line on each ad |
| 7.3 | Soliciting clients by live person-to-person contact | Direct messages, follow-up calls, outreach after an event |
| State filing | Review or filing of certain ads in some states | Launch dates, revisions, the approval calendar |
Rule 7.1: nothing false or misleading
The model rule says a lawyer may not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services. A communication counts as misleading if it misstates a material fact or the law, or leaves out a fact needed to keep the whole message from misleading. That reaches past ads: website pages, attorney bios, social posts and a Google listing are communications too.
The comments add a point that catches many firms: a past result can be true and still mislead if it creates an unjustified expectation about what the firm will do next. So a campaign plan flags every mention of a past matter for the firm’s lawyers to weigh.
Rule 7.2: paying for advertising, not for recommendations
Colorado’s 2020 version of Rule 7.2 follows the 2018 ABA model, and its text makes a clear example. Section (a) reads: “A lawyer may communicate information regarding the lawyer’s services through any media.” Section (b) adds that a lawyer “shall not compensate, give or promise anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer’s services,” with exceptions that include paying “the reasonable costs of advertisements or communications permitted by this Rule” and “the usual charges of a legal service plan or a not-for-profit or qualified lawyer referral service”.
Colorado’s comment [3] says a lawyer may pay for “Internet-based advertisements” and may pay vendors “engaged to provide marketing or client-development services, such as … website designers.” Comment [5] covers lead sources: a lawyer may pay for client leads “as long as the lead generator does not recommend the lawyer”, and “must not pay a lead generator that states, implies, or creates a reasonable impression that it is recommending the lawyer”. Fee-sharing rules also apply. The lawyer leads guide looks at that line closely.
Section (d) asks for a name on the work: “Any communication made under this Rule must include the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for its content.” Plan for that line on every billboard, video and landing page.
Rule 7.3: solicitation
The model rule bars soliciting work by live person-to-person contact when making money is a significant motive, with exceptions. The ABA comments treat text messages and other written messages a person can easily ignore differently from live contact. States add their own layers. Colorado’s Rule 7.3(d), for one, bars solicitation by any media about a personal injury or wrongful death within 30 days of the event (with exceptions), and requires the words “Advertising Material” on envelopes and electronic messages that solicit.
Check your state’s rules
Each rule above is the model or Colorado’s version, quoted as an example. Your state may word it differently, number it differently or add duties of its own. Before a headline, a review request or a new lead source goes live, ask your state bar or a lawyer who handles ethics questions.
States that review or collect filed ads
Texas runs an Advertising Review Department that reviews ads “as required by Part VII of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.” Failing to file a non-exempt ad is itself a violation, and the State Bar may assess a $250 fine and a $100 review fee for one. The application fee is $100. Preapproval is optional and may be sought not fewer than thirty days before the ad first runs.
Florida reviews filed ads under Rule 4-7.19 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar. From July 1, 2026 the fee is $250 for each timely filed ad (filed 20 days or more before use) and $750 for each late one. The Bar also says that any change of any kind makes the ad a new ad with a new filing fee, and it publishes a checklist for lawyer and law firm websites, social media pages and video sharing channels.
Lawyer advertising ethics in a working campaign
Rules are easier to follow when they live inside the schedule. A sound agency process for a firm looks like this:
- Name an approver. One lawyer at the firm reads every ad, page and post before it runs.
- Build in filing time. Where a state reviews ads, the calendar starts from the filing deadline, not the launch date.
- Keep the responsible name visible. The lawyer or firm name and contact line sits in the layout from the first draft.
- Ask for reviews the honest way. Google’s Maps policy bars incentives for reviews and selective asking, and the FTC’s rule bars rewards tied to a review saying something positive or negative. Ask every client, offer nothing.
- Keep a dated copy. Save each approved version, and send every revision back through approval.
The same discipline applies channel by channel: page claims in law firm SEO, ad text in law firm PPC, and the outreach questions in social media for lawyers.
Want a marketing plan that leaves room for your state’s rules? Tell us about the firm and an independent agency can send a written proposal.
This guide is general information about marketing, not legal advice. For what your state permits, ask your state bar. For whether a firm may advertise at all, read can lawyers advertise, or send the proposal form when the firm wants a plan.
Questions firms ask
Who writes lawyer advertising rules?
Each state does, through its rules of professional conduct. The ABA publishes Model Rules that states can adopt in their own version, so wording and numbering vary.
Are attorney advertising rules the same in every state?
No. Each state adopts its own version, and some add steps. Texas and Florida, for example, review or require filing of certain ads. Ask your state bar what applies to your firm.
Can a law firm mention past results in an ad?
The model rule’s comments warn that a true past result can still mislead if it creates an unjustified expectation. Whether and how your firm may mention one is a question for your state bar or a lawyer who handles ethics questions.
Does every ad need a lawyer’s name on it?
Colorado’s Rule 7.2(d) requires the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for the content. Check your own state’s version before a campaign is designed.
Does a marketing agency decide whether an ad follows the rules?
No. An agency builds the campaign and drafts the words. The firm’s lawyers decide what runs, and questions about the rules go to the state bar.