News Post

On May 13, 2025, the Supreme Court of Alabama issued an order adopting significant amendments to the Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct related to lawyer advertising and solicitation. These changes, which take effect January 1, 2026, represent a comprehensive overhaul of Rules 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3, as well as updates to Rule 8.5 and Rule 1(a)(1) of the Alabama Rules of Disciplinary Procedure.

BACKGROUND

Under the direction of the Supreme Court of Alabama, a committee was appointed several years ago to evaluate and update the portion of the Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct that governs attorney advertising. The committee was composed of lawyers from across the state, representing a wide range of practice areas.

As part of the work assigned by the Court, the committee conducted surveys of Alabama citizens, interviewed attorneys who were not part of the committee, and held two public comment periods to gather input on what the public and the legal community expect—and do not expect—to see in lawyer advertising.

The goals of revising the advertising rules were twofold: first, to craft a set of rules that protect the citizens of Alabama to the fullest extent permitted by law; and second, to modernize the rules so they can apply with equal force to the emerging landscape of social media and online advertising.

The committee also took the opportunity to update the jurisdictional rules to make clear that lawyers who are not licensed in Alabama will still be held to the same standards as Alabama lawyers if they are soliciting clients in this state.

As Chief Justice Sarah Stewart noted:

“It is important to the Supreme Court that the rules governing the behavior of attorneys in our state protect the public to the furthest extent possible within the constraints of the Constitution. We strongly believe we owe Alabamians transparency and accountability for attorney and judicial conduct.”

You can read more of Chief Justice Stewart’s comments in her press release here.

Below are some highlights of the rule changes to help Alabama lawyers navigate these updates and stay in compliance. This information is not meant to be an exhaustive list of all the rule changes or a complete itemization of obligations an attorney has when advertising his or her legal services.

Rule 8.5, Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct & Rule 1(a)(1), Alabama Rules of Disciplinary Procedure:

A lawyer not admitted in this jurisdiction is also subject to the disciplinary authority of this jurisdiction if the lawyer provides or offers to provide any legal services in this jurisdiction.

Rule 7.1:

• Truthful statements in an advertisement can still be determined to be misleading if they omit necessary facts to make the lawyer’s communication, considered as a whole, materially misleading.
• A lawyer not licensed to practice law in Alabama shall not direct a communication about the lawyer’s services to prospective clients in Alabama without disclosing that the lawyer is not licensed to practice law in Alabama.

Rule 7.2:

• Lawyers are no longer required to submit advertisements to the Alabama State Bar within three days of dissemination.  Instead, lawyers are required to maintain a copy of all advertisements for six years, which is the same length of time as the statute of limitations for a violation of the Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct.
• A lawyer appearing in an advertisement, who is not licensed in Alabama, must disclose that they are not licensed to practice law in this state.
• If a law firm does not have a “bona fide office” location in Alabama, this fact will need to be disclosed in the advertisement.
• If a lawyer has a “bona fide office” in Alabama, the advertisements should include the city, town, county or address of at least one location where legal services may be performed.
• A bona fide office is defined as a “physical location, including a personal residence, 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.”
• The general disclaimer requirement has been removed.  A few shorter, specific disclaimers have been added.  All disclaimers shall be “legible and easy to see and read, if written, and easy to understand and hear, if spoken.
• A lawyer who advertises for certain cases, but does not expect to work on those cases, and instead refers them out to another law firm, should disclose this fact.
• Any testimonials offered in an advertisement must come from someone with actual knowledge and personal experience with the lawyer.
• Actors are not allowed in advertisements unless they are merely background participants in a non-speaking role.
• Internet search terms bought by lawyers should not be used in a way that makes potential clients reasonably believe they are contacting one lawyer or law firm when, in reality, they are being steered to contact a different lawyer.
• Any advertised results should be objectively verifiable, not misleading, and not be the result of a default judgment or similar uncontested matter.
• Short form advertisements are used in internet marketing and are too small for any required disclaimer, i.e., a banner advertisement.  These types of advertisements should conform to the one-click rule that allows any applicable disclaimer to be prominently seen when a prospective client clicks on the short form advertisement.

Rule 7.3:

• A lawyer may directly send an email or letter to a person who has received a known personal injury, even though the lawyer has no prior affiliation with that individual.  However, this communication can only occur twenty-one days (or later) after the accident.  In non-personal injury cases, a lawyer may send an email or letter to a specific individual, known to need legal services and for which the lawyer has no prior affiliation, only after that person has been served with a lawsuit or an indictment.  Emails and letters sent under this rule must include the word “ADVERTISEMENT” in a contrasting color from other printed words.  Additional disclaimers for this type of targeted communication are also required under this rule.
• Despite the authorization to send emails and letters directly to individuals who are known to need legal services, lawyers may not solicit professional employment through live, in-person, or real-time communications (like text messages).

QUESTIONS:

As you prepare to make any necessary changes to your advertisements, you can seek guidance from the Office of General Counsel by calling 334-269-1515 or emailing advertising@alabar.org.

Importantly, the “Effective Date” of the new rules is January 1, 2026.