ABA Model Rule 7.2: Paying for Legal Ads & Referrals

By Steve Levine · Updated July 3, 2026 · 7 min read

Quick Answer

ABA Model Rule 7.2 handles the mechanics of lawyer advertising. Lawyers may advertise through any media, but they can't pay anyone for recommending them — with narrow exceptions like paying the ordinary costs of ads, the usual charges of a legal service plan or qualified lawyer referral service, buying a law practice, disclosed non-exclusive reciprocal referral arrangements, and nominal thank-you gifts. Lawyers also can't claim to be a certified specialist unless a properly accredited organization actually certified them, and every ad must include the name and contact information of a lawyer or firm responsible for its content. The accuracy standard itself — no false or misleading statements — lives in Rule 7.1.

On this page

What Rule 7.2 Covers
The Ban on Paying for Recommendations
Specialist Claims
The Responsible-Name Requirement
Why It Matters to You
Frequently Asked Questions

What Rule 7.2 Covers

If Rule 7.1 is the principle — no false or misleading communications — Rule 7.2 is the plumbing. Since the ABA's 2018 reorganization of the advertising rules, it's titled "Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services: Specific Rules," and it does four jobs: it confirms lawyers may communicate about their services through any media; it bars paying for recommendations, subject to listed exceptions; it restricts claims of specialist certification; and it requires ads to identify a responsible lawyer or firm. As with all Model Rules, the ABA version is a template — the binding rule is the version each state has adopted, and states vary in the details.

The Ban on Paying for Recommendations

The core of the rule is 7.2(b): a lawyer shall not compensate, give, or promise anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer's services. A "recommendation" here means endorsing or vouching for the lawyer — steering someone to a firm because the firm paid for the steer. The listed exceptions are narrow:

• Paying the reasonable costs of advertisements or communications permitted by the rule — buying the ad itself is fine; buying the endorsement is not.
• Paying the usual charges of a legal service plan or a not-for-profit or qualified lawyer referral service — referral services that have been approved by an appropriate regulatory authority.
• Buying a law practice in accordance with Rule 1.17.
• Reciprocal referral agreements with another lawyer or a nonlawyer professional, provided the arrangement is not exclusive and the client is informed of it.
• Nominal gifts given as an expression of appreciation, so long as they're neither intended nor reasonably expected to be compensation for future recommendations — a 2018 addition that permits ordinary thank-you gestures.

This is the line that lead-generation services have to walk. Under the rule's comments, a lawyer may pay the reasonable costs of generating client leads, but the lead generator can't recommend the lawyer, vouch for the lawyer's abilities, or imply it's making a merit-based referral. Arrangements that cross into paid endorsement violate the rule.

Specialist Claims

Under 7.2(c), a lawyer may not state or imply they are certified as a specialist in a field of law unless two things are true: the lawyer has actually been certified by an organization accredited by the ABA or approved by an appropriate state authority, and the name of that certifying organization is clearly identified in the communication. Practicing heavily in an area — even exclusively — is not the same as certification, so "certified specialist" language carries a real, verifiable requirement behind it.

The Responsible-Name Requirement

Rule 7.2(d) requires any communication under the rule to include the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for its content. The point is accountability: an ad can't be anonymous marketing with no one on the hook for what it claims. When you see a law firm name and office information tucked into the fine print of a legal ad, that's this provision at work.

Why It Matters to You

For readers of class action and injury advertising, Rule 7.2 explains a lot of what you see — and a few things you shouldn't see:

• Legitimate referral services and legal plans operate under regulatory approval; a service that takes payment to "recommend" a specific firm as the best choice is on shaky ground.
• "Certified specialist" is a regulated claim — you can ask which organization issued the certification, and the ad should already tell you.
• Every real legal ad should trace back to a named, contactable lawyer or firm. Marketing with no identifiable lawyer behind it is a red flag.

California pairs its version of these rules with a statute banning specific ad practices outright — see our guide to the California attorney advertising rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does ABA Model Rule 7.2 cover?

Rule 7.2 handles the mechanics of lawyer advertising. It permits lawyers to communicate about their services through any media, bars them from compensating anyone for recommending their services outside narrow exceptions, restricts claims of being a certified specialist, and requires advertising to include the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for its content. The umbrella accuracy standard — no false or misleading communications — lives in Rule 7.1.

Can a lawyer pay someone for recommending their services?

Generally no. Under Model Rule 7.2(b), a lawyer may not compensate, give, or promise anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer's services, with narrow exceptions: paying the reasonable costs of advertising or communications permitted by the rule, paying the usual charges of a legal service plan or a not-for-profit or qualified lawyer referral service, paying for a law practice under Rule 1.17, non-exclusive reciprocal referral agreements with another lawyer or a nonlawyer professional that the client is informed about, and nominal gifts of appreciation that are neither intended nor reasonably expected to be compensation for referrals.

Can a lawyer advertise as a specialist?

Under Model Rule 7.2(c), a lawyer may not state or imply certification as a specialist in a particular field unless the lawyer has actually been certified by an organization accredited by the ABA or approved by an appropriate authority of the state, and the certifying organization is clearly identified in the communication. Simply practicing in a field is not certification.

Are lawyer lead-generation services allowed under Rule 7.2?

It depends on how they operate. The comments to Rule 7.2 distinguish paying the reasonable costs of generating leads — which can be permissible — from paying someone for a recommendation, which is not. A lead generator generally cannot recommend the lawyer, vouch for the lawyer's abilities, or create the impression that it is making a merit-based referral, and the arrangement must comply with the false-or-misleading standard of Rule 7.1. States apply their own adopted versions, which vary.

Sources

• American Bar Association — Model Rules of Professional Conduct (Table of Contents)

About This Page

General informational summary of a legal-ethics rule, not legal advice. The ABA Model Rules are a template; the rule that actually governs any particular lawyer is the version adopted in the state where that lawyer is licensed, which may differ in wording and detail. Lawyers with questions about their own advertising should consult their state bar's rules and ethics opinions.