Rule Text (verbatim from The Florida Bar)
(a) Name and Office Location. All advertisements for legal
employment must include:
(1) the name of at least 1 lawyer, the law firm, the lawyer
referral service if the advertisement is for the lawyer referral service,
the qualifying provider if the advertisement is for the qualifying
provider, or the lawyer directory if the advertisement is for the
lawyer directory, responsible for the content of the advertisement;
and
(2) the city, town, or county of 1 or more bona fide office
locations of the lawyer who will perform the services advertised.
(b) Referrals. If the case or matter will be referred to another
lawyer or law firm, the advertisement must include a statement to
this effect.
(c) Languages Used in Advertising. Any words or
statements required by this subchapter to appear in an
advertisement must appear in the same language in which the
advertisement appears. If more than 1 language is used in an
advertisement, any words or statements required by this
subchapter must appear in each language used in the
advertisement.
(d) Clear and Conspicuous and Legibility. Any information
required by these rules to appear in an advertisement must be clear
and conspicuous and must be clearly legible if written, or
intelligible if spoken. Information is clear and conspicuous if it is
written, displayed, or presented in such a way that a reasonable
person should notice it.
Educational reference. This page summarizes a Florida Rule of Professional Conduct for educational purposes. The rule text and Comment are mirrored from the Florida Bar's official publication and are public domain. The plain-English summary and any commentary are the opinion of Phillips, Hunt & Walker and are general information only — not legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you believe a Florida lawyer has violated this rule, you can file a complaint with The Florida Bar at floridabar.org. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
What this rule means in plain English
Florida lawyer ads and other communications about legal services must include specific required content: the name of at least one lawyer or the law firm responsible for the content, and the city or town where the lawyer’s principal office is located. Disclaimers required by other rules also appear here. The rule is the floor — every other 4-7 rule layers on additional restrictions on top.
Comment (verbatim from The Florida Bar)
Name of lawyer or lawyer referral service
All advertisements are required to contain the name of at least
1 lawyer who is responsible for the content of the advertisement.
For purposes of this rule, including the name of the law firm is
sufficient. A lawyer referral service, qualifying provider or lawyer
directory must include its actual legal name or a registered
fictitious name in all advertisements in order to comply with this
requirement.
Geographic location
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.
An office in which there is little or no full-time staff, the lawyer
is not present on a regular and continuing basis, and where a
substantial portion of the necessary legal services will not be
provided, is not a bona fide office for purposes of this rule. An
advertisement cannot state or imply that a lawyer has offices in a
location where the lawyer has no bona fide office. However, an
advertisement may state that a lawyer is “available for consultation”
or “available by appointment” or has a “satellite” office at a location
where the lawyer does not have a bona fide office, if the statement is
true.
Referrals to other lawyers
If the advertising lawyer knows at the time the advertisement
is disseminated that the lawyer intends to refer some cases
generated from an advertisement to another lawyer, the
advertisement must state that fact. An example of an appropriate
disclaimer is as follows: “Your case may be referred to another
lawyer.”
Language of advertisement
Any information required by these rules to appear in an
advertisement must appear in all languages used in the
advertisement. If a specific disclaimer is required in order to avoid
the advertisement misleading the viewer, the disclaimer must be
made in the same language that the statement requiring the
disclaimer appears.
Clear and conspicuous
Information required by these rules to appear in an
advertisement must be clear and conspicuous. If a disclaimer is
required to modify specific written text, generally it will be clear and
conspicuous if it receives equal or greater prominence,
presentation, and placement and appears in close proximity relative
to the text to be modified. For example, if a disclaimer is required
to modify specific written text, generally it will be clear and
conspicuous if it appears in the same or larger size text and
immediately together with the text to be modified. If a disclaimer is
required to modify spoken words, generally it will be clear and
conspicuous if spoken at the same volume, tone, and speed as the
words it modifies. If a disclaimer appears in text to modify spoken
words, generally it will be clear and conspicuous if displayed in
sufficiently large text that a reasonable person should notice it, at
the same time the words it modifies are spoken, and for the
duration of the time as the words it modifies. The overarching
consideration for required information or a disclaimer is that
consumers notice it, read or hear it, and understand it.
Adopted January 31, 2013, effective May 1, 2013 (108 So.3d 609),
amended March 8, 2018, effective April 30, 2018 (238 So.3d 164); amended
June 22, 2023, effective August 21, 2023 (SC22-1294).