Rule 4-7.16 - PRESUMPTIVELY VALID CONTENTThe following information in advertisements is presumed not to violate the provisions of rules 4-7.11 through 4-7.15:
(a) Lawyers and Law Firms. A lawyer or law firm may include the following information in advertisements and unsolicited written communications:(1) the name of the lawyer or law firm subject to the requirements of this rule and rule 4-7.21, a listing of lawyers associated with the firm, office locations and parking arrangements, disability accommodations, telephone numbers, website addresses, and electronic mail addresses, office and telephone service hours, social media contact information including social media icons or logos, and a designation such as "attorney" or "law firm"(2) date of admission to The Florida Bar and any other bars, current membership or positions held in The Florida Bar or its sections or committees or those of other state bars, former membership or positions held in The Florida Bar or its sections or committees with dates of membership or those of other state bars, former positions of employment held in the legal profession 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;(3) technical and professional licenses granted by the state or other recognized licensing authorities and educational degrees received, including dates and institutions;(4) military service, including branch and dates of service;(5) foreign language ability;(6) fields of law in which the lawyer practices, including official certification logos, subject to the requirements of this subchapter regarding use of terms such as certified, specialist, and expert;(7) prepaid or group legal service plans in which the lawyer participates;(8) acceptance of credit cards;(9) fee for initial consultation and fee schedule, subject to the requirements of this subchapter regarding cost disclosures and honoring advertised fees;(10) common salutary language such as "best wishes," "good luck," "happy holidays," "pleased to announce," or "proudly serving your community"(11) punctuation marks and common typographical marks;(12) an illustration of the scales of justice not deceptively similar to official certification logos or The Florida Bar logo, a gavel, traditional renditions of Lady Justice, the Statue of Liberty, the American flag, the American eagle, the State of Florida flag, an unadorned set of law books, the inside or outside of a courthouse, column(s), diploma(s), or a photograph of the lawyer or lawyers who are members of, or employed by, the firm against a plain background such as a plain unadorned office or a plain unadorned set of law books.(b) Lawyer Referral Services and Qualifying Providers. A lawyer referral service or qualifying provider may advertise its name, location, telephone number, the fee charged, its hours of operation, the process by which referrals or matches are made, the areas of law in which referrals or matches are offered, the geographic area in which the lawyers practice to whom those responding to the advertisement will be referred or matched. The Florida Bar's lawyer referral service or a lawyer referral service approved by The Florida Bar under chapter 8 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar also may advertise the logo of its sponsoring bar association and its nonprofit status.Adopted January 31, 2013, effective 5/1/2013 (108 So.3d 609); amended March 8, 2018, effective 4/30/2018 (238 So.3d 164); amended June 22, 2023, effective 8/21/2023 (SC22-1294).Comment
The presumptively valid content creates a safe harbor for lawyers. A lawyer desiring a safe harbor from discipline may choose to limit the content of an advertisement to the information listed in this rule and, if the information is true, the advertisement complies with these rules. However, a lawyer is not required to limit the information in an advertisement to the presumptively valid content, as long as all information in the advertisement complies with these rules.
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