ABA Rule 7.2 is the model rule on lawyer advertising: it lets a lawyer advertise through any media, bars paying anyone for recommending the lawyer's services outside five exceptions, and requires every ad to name the lawyer or firm responsible for it.
This page walks it letter by letter and comment by comment, with the state divergences that matter; the surrounding rules are covered in attorney advertising rules.
One caution holds throughout: ABA Model Rules bind no one until a state adopts them, so what follows describes the ABA template as it read in October 2026, and your state's adopted version controls.
What ABA Model Rule 7.2 says
7.2(a): media
7.2(b): payments
7.2(c): certification
7.2(d): attribution
The August 2018 revision deleted Rules 7.4 and 7.5, folding their content into Rule 7.2 and the 7.1 comments, so a guide citing "Model Rule 7.4" is out of date.
"Any media" is no exemption: content stays subject to Rule 7.1's false-or-misleading standard, Rule 7.3's solicitation limits and your state's filing rules, covered in ABA Model Rule 7.1 and ABA Rule 7.3.
Paying for recommendations: Rule 7.2(b) and its five exceptions
Model Rule 7.2(b) says a lawyer shall not give anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer's services.
Comment [2] defines the trigger: a recommendation endorses or vouches for a lawyer's credentials, abilities, competence or character, and a directory listing or group ad that lists lawyers by practice area, without more, is not one; paid "top lawyer" badges and sponsored "recommended" placements are where that line gets argued.
The five exceptions, as the rule lists them:
- The reasonable costs of advertisements and other permitted communications, under 7.2(b)(1).
- The usual charges of a legal service plan or a not-for-profit or qualified lawyer referral service, under 7.2(b)(2).
- Buying a law practice from another lawyer, under Rule 1.17 and 7.2(b)(3).
- Reciprocal referral agreements that are not exclusive and are disclosed to the client, under 7.2(b)(4).
- Nominal gifts of appreciation, not promised or expected in advance, under 7.2(b)(5).
The comments then cover vendor relationships: lawyers may pay the reasonable cost of advertising, including online directories, internet ads, domain names and sponsorships, and may pay employees, agents and vendors providing marketing or client-development services, website designers included.
How the vendor is paid is policed elsewhere: Model Rule 5.4(a) bars sharing legal fees with a nonlawyer outside narrow exceptions, and state opinions differ on where specific fee structures fall.
The referral-service exception is narrower than it looks: Comment [6] limits 7.2(b)(2) to not-for-profit or "qualified" services, consumer-oriented organizations approved by an appropriate regulatory authority, and treats any organization holding itself out as a lawyer referral service as one, which is why for-profit lead sites avoid the phrase.
Nominal gifts must stay tokens: Comment [4] compares them to holiday tokens or ordinary social hospitality, and the rule bars gifts made under a promise or understanding that they will follow referrals.
Not every state adopted the gift provision, and state referral-service texts differ.
Referral economics and lawyer-to-lawyer fee splits are covered in attorney referral fees.
Payments the comments treat as marketing
- Reasonable costs of advertisements, including internet ads and sponsorships
- Marketing vendors and website designers
- Search engine optimization, named in New York's comment
Payments that read as a recommendation
- Anything of value to a person for endorsing or vouching for the lawyer
- A lead generator implying it analyzed the person's problem to pick the lawyer
- A lead generator implying it refers without being paid
Paying lead generators: Rule 7.2 Comment [5]
Comment [5] permits paying for client leads, including internet-generated leads, when three conditions hold.
The generator must not recommend the lawyer, the payment must be consistent with Rules 1.5(e) and 5.4, and the generator's communications must be consistent with Rule 7.1.
A lawyer must not pay a generator that implies it is recommending the lawyer, referring without being paid, or having analyzed the person's legal problem to pick the lawyer; copy like "we'll review your case and connect you with the right attorney" is the third.
The Model Rule never says "pay per lead", and whether a per-case or percentage payment is fee-sharing under Rule 5.4 is a state-by-state question.
New York's Rule 7.2 comment [1] allows paying for advertising, naming online directories, internet ads, search engine optimization and group advertising, and allows paying lead generators that do not recommend the lawyer.
California Rule 7.2(b) has its own exception list, and Business and Professions Code §6157.4 requires referral-service ads to disclose whether panel lawyers paid more than a proportional share of actual cost to be listed.
California's comments contain no equivalent of the ABA's lead-generator comment, so the ABA text does not stand in for California's position.
Vendor vetting and lead pricing are covered in lead generation ethics for lawyers and legal leads.
Rule 7.2(d): the required name and contact information in every ad
Rule 7.2(d) requires every communication to carry the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for its content.
The 2018 amendment swapped "office address" for "contact information", and the comment counts a website, phone number, email or physical office.
California goes further: its Rule 7.2(c) requires every advertising communication to include the name and address of at least one responsible lawyer or law firm.
Business and Professions Code §6157.2(b), amended by SB 37 effective January 1, 2026, also requires ads to show conspicuously the name of a California-licensed lawyer, firm, certified referral service or joint advertiser, plus the city, town or county of a bona fide office or address of record.
The ABA's 2022 Rule 7.2 chart also lists states requiring ads to be filed or sent to the bar (Alabama, Connecticut, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada) and states requiring copies kept two to five years after last use (Arkansas five years; Connecticut and Maryland three; Georgia, Idaho, Kansas and Michigan two).
The chart was last updated July 2022 with some entries tracing to 2020 rule text, and the Model Rule itself has no filing or retention requirement.
Rule 7.2(c): certification and specialist claims
Model Rule 7.2(c) permits a specialist certification claim only when the certification comes from an organization approved by a state, District of Columbia or U.S. territory authority or accredited by the ABA, and the certifying organization is clearly named.
The comment calls certification a signal of knowledge and experience greater than general licensure suggests.
Saying a lawyer "specializes in" or "concentrates in" a field without certification is different: the comments permit it based on experience or training, subject to Rule 7.1, and the patent (PTO) and admiralty designations are expressly not prohibited.
That permissive comment is not a national rule: many states have not adopted it, several restrict "specialist" further, and the Model Rule never addresses "expert" by name.
New York moved the same ground on June 1, 2026, eliminating its Rule 7.4 and folding specialization content into Rule 7.1(c).
The wording rules for bios and practice pages are covered in lawyer specialist advertising.
What Rule 7.2 means for a firm's marketing budget
More Booked Cases charges a flat monthly fee for CRO and local SEO, never a share of fees and never a per-case amount, with tests judged on consultations and signed cases through read access to the firm's intake or CRM numbers.
This page describes the ABA template as of October 2026, not your state's rule; before any payment structure or ad claim goes live, confirm it with your state bar's ethics counsel or an ethics lawyer.
Frequently asked questions
Is ABA Model Rule 7.2 binding law?
No. The Model Rules are the ABA's template, and a firm answers to the version its state has adopted, which differs on referral-service payments, filing and retention. The ABA text is the reference point; your state's rule is the one that governs.
What are the five exceptions in ABA Model Rule 7.2(b)?
Paying the reasonable costs of advertisements or other permitted communications, the usual charges of a legal service plan or a not-for-profit or qualified lawyer referral service, buying a law practice under Rule 1.17, non-exclusive reciprocal referral agreements disclosed to the client, and nominal thank-you gifts. State versions vary on several of them.
When can a lawyer pay a lead generator under Rule 7.2?
Comment [5] to the Model Rule permits paying for leads when the generator does not recommend the lawyer, the payment is consistent with Rules 1.5(e) and 5.4, and the generator's communications are consistent with Rule 7.1. Whether a per-case or percentage payment counts as fee-sharing is decided state by state.
What contact information must a lawyer's ad include under Rule 7.2?
Rule 7.2(d) requires the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for the communication, and a website, phone number, email address or physical office can supply it. Some states still require a street address or city.
What does Rule 7.2(c) require for a certified specialist claim?
The certification must come from an organization approved by a state, District of Columbia or U.S. territory authority or accredited by the ABA, and the certifying organization must be clearly named in the communication. The comments otherwise let a lawyer say they specialize in or concentrate in a field based on experience, subject to Rule 7.1, though many states have not adopted that comment.