Advertising Bar Regulations For Nevada
When building digital marketing and SEO campaigns for law firm websites, it’s important to be mindful of your state’s bar regulations for advertising. In this article we’ll go over some of the high level points to look out for. Many of the lawyer advertising rules that govern attorney websites and digital marketing can be found in the section about Information about Legal Services of the Nevada Rules for Professional Conduct. Those rules include:
- Rule 7.1 for Communications Concerning a Lawyer’s Services:
- Rule 7.2 for Advertising;
- Rule 7.2A for Advertising Filing Requirements; and
- Rule 7.3 for Communications With Prospective Clients, and
- Rule 7.4 for Communication of Fields of Practice and Specialization.
Additionally, In Nevada a lawyer that advertises must file ALL non-exempt advertisements pursuant to the requirements of RPC 7.2A.
The Rules of Professional Conduct are as follows:
Rule 7.1: This law states that a lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services. A communication is false or misleading if it:
- Contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law, or omits a fact necessary to make the statement considered as a whole not materially misleading;
- Is likely to create an unjustified or unreasonable expectation about results the lawyer can or has achieved, which shall be considered inherently misleading for the purposes of this Rule, or states or implies that the lawyer can achieve results by means that violate the Rules of Professional Conduct or other law;
- Compares the lawyer’s services with other lawyers’ services, unless the comparison can be factually substantiated;
- Contains a testimonial or endorsement which violates any portion of this Rule.
Rule 7.2: This rule governs advertising.
“While subject to the requirements of Rule 7.1, a lawyer may advertise services through the public media, such as a telephone directory, legal directory, newspaper or other periodical, billboards and other signs, radio, television and recorded messages the public may access by dialing a telephone number, or through written or electronic communication not involving solicitation as prohibited by Rule 7.3.”
While advertising is permitted, rule 7.2 sets forth various regulations:
“However, the advertisement must contain a disclaimer that successful past results are not a guarantee in future cases if the advertisement contains any reference to past successes or results obtained. If the past successes or results obtained include a monetary sum, the amount involved must have been actually received by the client, and the reference must be accompanied by adequate information regarding the nature of the case or matter and the damages or injuries sustained by the client, and if the gross amount received is stated, the attorney fees and litigation expenses withheld from the amount must be stated as well.”
To avoid misleading future clients, it is required attorneys accompany all advertisements with disclaimers and disclosures. All disclaimers and disclosures must be “of sufficient size to be clearly legible and prominently placed so as to be conspicuous to the intended viewer.