Lawyer Regulation
Rules Regulating The Florida Bar
4 RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
4-7 INFORMATION ABOUT LEGAL SERVICES
RULE 4-7.2 COMMUNICATIONS CONCERNING A LAWYER’S SERVICES
The following shall apply to any communication conveying information about a lawyer’s or a law firm’s services:
(a) Required Information.
(1) Name of Lawyer or Lawyer Referral Service. All advertisements and written communications pursuant to these rules shall include the name of at least 1 lawyer or the lawyer referral service responsible for their content.
(2) Location of Practice. All advertisements and written communications provided for under these rules shall disclose, by city or town, 1 or more bona fide office locations of the lawyer or lawyers who will actually perform the services advertised. If the office location is outside a city or town, the county in which the office is located must be disclosed. A lawyer referral service shall disclose the geographic area in which the lawyer practices when a referral is made. For the purposes of this rule, a bona fide office is defined as a physical location maintained by the lawyer or law firm where the lawyer or law firm reasonably expects to furnish legal services in a substantial way on a regular and continuing basis. If an advertisement or written communication lists a telephone number in connection with a specified geographic area other than an area containing a bona fide office, appropriate qualifying language must appear in the advertisement.
(b) Prohibited Statements and Information.
(1) Statements About Legal Services. A lawyer shall not make or permit to be made a false, misleading, deceptive, or unfair communication about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services. A communication violates this rule if it:
(A) contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law or omits a fact necessary to make the statement considered as a whole not materially misleading;
(B) contains any reference to past successes or results obtained or is otherwise likely to create an unjustified expectation about results the lawyer can achieve except as allowed in the rule regulating information about a lawyer’s services provided upon request;
(C) states or implies that the lawyer can achieve results by means that violate the Rules of Professional Conduct or other law;
(D) compares the lawyer’s services with other lawyers’ services, unless the comparison can be factually substantiated; or
(E) contains a testimonial.
(2) Misleading or Deceptive Factual Statements. Any factual statement contained in any advertisement or written communication or any information furnished to a prospective client under this rule shall not:
(A) be directly or impliedly false or misleading;
(B) be potentially false or misleading;
(C) fail to disclose material information necessary to prevent the information supplied from being actually or potentially false or misleading;
(D) be unsubstantiated in fact; or
(E) be unfair or deceptive.
(3) Descriptive Statements. A lawyer shall not make statements describing or characterizing the quality of the lawyer’s services in advertisements and written communications; provided that this provision shall not apply to information furnished to a prospective client at that person’s request or to information supplied to existing clients.
(4) Prohibited Visual and Verbal Portrayals. Visual or verbal descriptions, depictions, or portrayals of persons, things, or events shall not be deceptive, misleading, or manipulative.
(5) Advertising Areas of Practice. A lawyer or law firm shall not advertise for legal employment in an area of practice in which the advertising lawyer or law firm does not currently practice law.
(6) Stating or Implying Florida Bar Approval. A lawyer or law firm shall not make any statement that directly or impliedly indicates that the communication has received any kind of approval from The Florida Bar.
(c) General Regulations Governing Content of Advertisements.
(1) Use of Illustrations. Illustrations used in advertisements shall contain no features that are likely to deceive, mislead, or confuse the viewer.
(2) Fields of Practice. Every advertisement and written communication that indicates 1 or more areas of law in which the lawyer or law firm practices shall conform to the requirements of subdivision (c)(3) of this rule.
(3) Communication of Fields of Practice. A lawyer may communicate the fact that the lawyer does or does not practice in particular fields of law. A lawyer shall not state or imply that the lawyer is “certified,” “board certified,” or a “specialist” except as follows:
(A) Florida Bar Certified Lawyers. A lawyer who complies with the Florida certification plan as set forth in chapter 6, Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, may inform the public and other lawyers of the lawyer’s certified areas of legal practice. Such communications should identify The Florida Bar as the certifying organization and may state that the lawyer is “certified,” “board certified,” or a “specialist in (area of certification).”
(B) Lawyers Certified by Organizations Other Than The Florida Bar or Another State Bar. A lawyer certified by an organization other than The Florida Bar or another state bar may inform the public and other lawyers of the lawyer’s certified area(s) of legal practice by stating that the lawyer is “certified,” “board certified,” or a “specialist in (area of certification)” if:
(i) the organization’s program has been accredited by The Florida Bar as provided elsewhere in these Rules Regulating The Florida Bar; and,
(ii) the member includes the full name of the organization in all communications pertaining to such certification.
(C) Certification by Other State Bars. A lawyer certified by another state bar may inform the public and other lawyers of the lawyer’s certified area(s) of legal practice and may state in communications to the public that the lawyer is “certified,” “board certified,” or a “specialist in (area of certification)” if:
(i) the state bar program grants certification on the basis of standards reasonably comparable to the standards of the Florida certification plan as set forth in chapter 6, Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, as determined by The Florida Bar; and,
(ii) the member includes the name of the state bar in all communications pertaining to such certification.
(4) Disclosure of Liability For Expenses Other Than Fees. Every advertisement and written communication that contains information about the lawyer’s fee, including those that indicate no fee will be charged in the absence of a recovery, shall disclose whether the client will be liable for any expenses in addition to the fee.
(5) Period for Which Advertised Fee Must be Honored. A lawyer who advertises a specific fee or range of fees for a particular service shall honor the advertised fee or range of fees for at least 90 days unless the advertisement specifies a shorter period; provided that, for advertisements in the yellow pages of telephone directories or other media not published more frequently than annually, the advertised fee or range of fees shall be honored for no less than 1 year following publication.
(6) Firm Name. A lawyer shall not advertise services under a name that violates the provisions of rule 4-7.10.
(7) Payment by Nonadvertising Lawyer. No lawyer shall, directly or indirectly, pay all or a part of the cost of an advertisement by a lawyer not in the same firm. Rule 4-1.5(f)(4)(D) (regarding the division of contingency fees) is not affected by this provision even though the lawyer covered by rule 4-1.5(f)(4)(D)(ii) advertises.
(8) Referrals to Another Lawyer. If the case or matter will be referred to another lawyer or law firm, the communication shall include a statement so advising the prospective client.
(9) Payment for Recommendations; Lawyer Referral Service Fees. A lawyer shall not give anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer’s services, except that a lawyer may pay the reasonable cost of advertising or written or recorded communication permitted by these rules, may pay the usual charges of a lawyer referral service or other legal service organization, and may purchase a law practice in accordance with rule 4-1.17.
(10) Language of Required Statements. Any words or statements required by this subchapter to appear in an advertisement or direct mail communication must appear in the same language in which the advertisement appears. If more than 1 language is used in an advertisement or direct mail communication, any words or statements required by this subchapter must appear in each language used in the advertisement or direct mail communication.
(11) Appearance of Required Statements. Any words or statements required by this subchapter to appear in an advertisement or direct mail communication must be clearly legible if written or intelligible if spoken aloud. If the words or statements appear in text, then the text also must be no smaller than one-quarter the size of the largest type otherwise appearing in the advertisement.
(12) Permissible Content of Advertisements. The following information in advertisements and written communications shall be presumed not to violate the provisions of subdivision (b)(1) of this rule:
(A) subject to the requirements of this rule and rule 4-7.10, the name of the lawyer or law firm, a listing of lawyers associated with the firm, office locations and parking arrangements, disability accommodations, telephone numbers, Web site addresses, and electronic mail addresses, office and telephone service hours, and a designation such as “attorney” or “law firm”;
(B) date of admission to The Florida Bar and any other bars, current membership or positions held in The Florida Bar, its sections or committees, former membership or positions held in The Florida Bar, its sections or committees, together with dates of membership, former positions of employment held in the legal profession, together with dates the positions were held, years of experience practicing law, number of lawyers in the advertising law firm, and a listing of federal courts and jurisdictions other than Florida where the lawyer is licensed to practice;
(C) technical and professional licenses granted by the state or other recognized licensing authorities and educational degrees received, including dates and institutions;
(D) foreign language ability;
(E) fields of law in which the lawyer practices, including official certification logos, subject to the requirements of subdivisions (c)(2) and (c)(3) of this rule;
(F) prepaid or group legal service plans in which the lawyer participates;
(G) acceptance of credit cards;
(H) fee for initial consultation and fee schedule, subject to the requirements of subdivisions (c)(4) and (c)(5) of this rule;
(I) a listing of the name and geographic location of a lawyer or law firm as a sponsor of a public service announcement or charitable, civic, or community program or event;
(J) common salutary language such as “best wishes,” “good luck,” “happy holidays,” or “pleased to announce”;
(K) an illustration of the scales of justice not deceptively similar to official certification logos or The Florida Bar logo, a gavel, or traditional renditions of Lady Justice, or a photograph of the head and shoulders of the lawyer or lawyers who are members of or employed by the firm against a plain background consisting of a single solid color or a plain unadorned set of law books; and
(L) a lawyer referral service may advertise its name, location, telephone number, the referral fee charged, its hours of operation, the process by which referrals are made, the areas of law in which referrals are offered, the geographic area in which the lawyers practice to whom those responding to the advertisement will be referred, and, if applicable, its nonprofit status, its status as a lawyer referral service approved by The Florida Bar, and the logo of its sponsoring bar association.
Comment
This rule governs all communications about a lawyer’s services, including advertising permitted by this subchapter. Whatever means are used to make known a lawyer’s services, statements about them must be truthful. This precludes any material misrepresentation or misleading omission, such as where a lawyer states or implies certification or recognition as a specialist other than in accordance with this rule, where a lawyer implies that any court, tribunal, or other public body or official can be improperly influenced, or where a lawyer advertises a particular fee or a contingency fee without disclosing whether the client will also be liable for costs. Another example of a misleading omission is an advertisement for a law firm that states that all the firm’s lawyers are juris doctors but does not disclose that a juris doctorate is a law degree rather than a medical degree of some sort and that virtually any law firm in the United States can make the same claim. Although this rule permits lawyers to list the jurisdictions and courts to which they are admitted, it also would be misleading for a lawyer who does not list other jurisdictions or courts to state that the lawyer is a member of The Florida Bar. Standing by itself, that otherwise truthful statement implies falsely that the lawyer possesses a qualification not common to virtually all lawyers practicing in Florida. The latter 2 examples of misleading omissions also are examples of unfair advertising.
Prohibited information
The prohibition in subdivision (b)(1)(B) of statements that may create “unjustified expectations” precludes advertisements about results obtained on behalf of a client, such as the amount of a damage award or the lawyer’s record in obtaining favorable verdicts, and advertisements containing client endorsements or testimonials. Such information may create the unjustified expectation that similar results can be obtained for others without reference to the specific factual and legal circumstances.
The prohibition in subdivision (b)(1)(D) of comparisons that cannot be factually substantiated would preclude a lawyer from representing that the lawyer or the lawyer’s law firm is “the best,” “one of the best,” or “one of the most experienced” in a field of law.
The prohibition in subdivision (b)(1)(E) precludes endorsements or testimonials, whether from clients or anyone else, because they are inherently misleading to a person untrained in the law. Potential clients are likely to infer from the testimonial that the lawyer will reach similar results in future cases. Because the lawyer cannot directly make this assertion, the lawyer is not permitted to indirectly make that assertion through the use of testimonials.
Subdivision (b)(4) prohibits visual or verbal descriptions, depictions, or portrayals in any advertisement which create suspense, or contain exaggerations or appeals to the emotions, call for legal services, or create consumer problems through characterization and dialogue ending with the lawyer solving the problem. Illustrations permitted under Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the Supreme Court of Ohio, 471 U.S. 626 (1985), are informational and not misleading, and are therefore permissible. As an example, a drawing of a fist, to suggest the lawyer’s ability to achieve results, would be barred. Examples of permissible illustrations would include a graphic rendering of the scales of justice to indicate that the advertising attorney practices law, a picture of the lawyer, or a map of the office location.
Communication of fields of practice
This rule permits a lawyer or law firm to indicate areas of practice in communications about the lawyer’s or law firm’s services, such as in a telephone directory or other advertising, provided the advertising lawyer or law firm actually practices in those areas of law at the time the advertisement is disseminated. If a lawyer practices only in certain fields, or will not accept matters except in such fields, the lawyer is permitted so to indicate. However, no lawyer who is not certified by The Florida Bar or an organization accredited by The Florida Bar may be described to the public as a "specialist" or as "specializing," “certified,” “board certified,” or any variation of similar import.
Paying others to recommend a lawyer
A lawyer is allowed to pay for advertising permitted by this rule and for the purchase of a law practice in accordance with the provisions of rule 4-1.17, but otherwise is not permitted to pay or provide other tangible benefits to another person for procuring professional work. However, a legal aid agency or prepaid legal services plan may pay to advertise legal services provided under its auspices. Likewise, a lawyer may participate in lawyer referral programs and pay the usual fees charged by such programs, subject, however, to the limitations imposed by rule 4-7.11. Subdivision (c)(9) does not prohibit paying regular compensation to an assistant, such as a secretary or advertising consultant, to prepare communications permitted by this rule.
Required disclosures
Required disclosures would be ineffective if they appeared in an advertisement so briefly or minutely as to be overlooked or ignored. Thus the type size to be used for required disclosures is specified to ensure that the disclosures will be conspicuous.
[Updated:
01-02-2007
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