At a Glance

Kansas retains a two-year advertising recordkeeping rule: keep a copy or recording and a record of when and where it was used for two years after its last dissemination. Advertising communications must identify at least one lawyer responsible for the content. Claims must be truthful, comparisons supportable and outcomes presented without unjustified expectations. Particular-matter solicitation carries additional restrictions and an “Advertising Material” label requirement.

Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5

Read source: Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5

Who Regulates

The Kansas Supreme Court adopts the professional-conduct rules and oversees the attorney disciplinary system. Under Supreme Court Rule 205, the Court appoints the disciplinary administrator, whose duties include investigating qualifying complaints and prosecuting disciplinary-board proceedings and cases before the Supreme Court. Rules 204 and 205 describe the disciplinary board and administrator. This guide does not describe a bar association or an advertising vendor as an official campaign-approval authority.

Kansas Supreme Court Rules 204–205, 2026 Rules book, printed pages 253–255, Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5

Read source: Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5

What Counts as Advertising

KRPC 7.1 covers all communications about a lawyer or the lawyer’s services, including advertising. KRPC 7.2(a) allows written, recorded and electronic advertising, including public media, subject to Rules 7.1 and 7.3. A firm should review its website, directory profiles, paid search, social posts, videos and other promotional content against those standards. These examples are applications of the rules, not a separate channel-by-channel code.

Comment [1] to Rule 7.3 distinguishes targeted lawyer-initiated offers to a specific person from typical general-public advertising, responses to information requests and communications automatically generated in response to internet searches. A general website and an unsolicited message to someone with a known legal problem can therefore require different treatment. Review the audience and method, not merely the platform name.

KRPC 7.1 comment [1], 7.2(a), 7.3 comment [1], printed pages 421–425, Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5

Read source: Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5

Required Disclosures

Responsible Lawyer

Rule 7.2(d) requires the name of at least one lawyer responsible for the communication. Its wording should not be replaced with another state’s lawyer-or-firm/contact-information formulation. Other rules can require additional context, including certification identification and jurisdictional limitations discussed below.

Solicitation Labels

Rule 7.3(c) requires the words “Advertising Material” for covered particular-matter solicitations, with specified placement and exceptions. It does not impose that label on every general website page. The solicitation section explains the scope.

Nonlawyer Legal Advertisers

K.S.A. 50-6,144 applies to its defined nonlawyer “person” engaging in legal advertisement within Kansas. Covered advertisements must begin with “This is a paid advertisement for legal services.” They must identify the sponsor and the representing attorney or firm, or explain how cases will be referred. The statute also prohibits specified alert/public-service framing, government logos suggesting affiliation or sponsorship, and recall claims for products that have not been recalled as the statute describes.

The statutory definition includes internet domain names and excludes services performed by a bona fide nonprofit pro bono provider. Under subsection (c), violations are unlawful and deceptive trade practices governed by the Kansas Consumer Protection Act’s penalty provisions. These consequences concern the statute’s defined nonlawyer persons, not an invented universal lawyer-advertising penalty.

Covered prescription-drug injury advertisements must include the statutory warning: “Do not stop taking a prescribed medication without first consulting with your doctor. Discontinuing a prescribed medication without your doctor’s advice can result in injury.” Covered drug/device advertisements must disclose continuing FDA approval when subsection (a)(8) applies, unless the product has been recalled or withdrawn. Required words must be clear and conspicuous; written disclosures legible and displayed long enough to be read; spoken disclosures audible and intelligible. Review the actual product and advertiser before deciding these provisions apply.

KRPC 7.2(d), 7.3(c), Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5; K.S.A. 50-6,144(a), (b), (d), Kansas Legislature, K.S.A. 50-6,144, legal advertisements

Read source: Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5 · Kansas Legislature, K.S.A. 50-6,144, legal advertisements

Filing, Review & Recordkeeping

Rule 7.2(b) requires a copy or recording of an advertisement or communication, plus a record of when and where it was used, for two years after its last dissemination. The trigger is the last dissemination, not the first launch. A reused advertisement may therefore move the relevant retention endpoint. As an implementation practice, retain each approved version and its placement dates so the firm can demonstrate what the public actually saw.

Comment [5] explains that the recordkeeping provision facilitates enforcement and does not require review before dissemination. This supports a limited conclusion about that rule, not an assurance that every campaign is free from all other legal requirements. Have counsel check any special issue or applicable order. Keep claim substantiation and permissions with the advertising file as a practical safeguard; this guide does not assign those materials a separate invented statutory retention period.

KRPC 7.2(b) and comment [5], printed pages 422–423, Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5

Read source: Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5

Results, Testimonials & Comparisons

Rule 7.1 prohibits material misrepresentations, misleading omissions, unjustified expectations, suggestions of unlawful or unethical methods, and comparisons that cannot be factually substantiated. Comment [1] says the unjustified-expectations prohibition “would ordinarily preclude” advertisements about client results, including damage awards and favorable-verdict records, and advertisements containing client endorsements. That restrictive language must not be omitted from a Kansas campaign review.

Comment [2] separately explains that truthful achievements may mislead when presented without the particular factual and legal circumstances, and that appropriate disclaimers or qualifying language may prevent a misleading impression. Read both comments together: a disclaimer is not automatic permission to advertise results or endorsements. Have Kansas counsel review the particular presentation rather than applying a generic disclaimer-only checklist.

Review the complete presentation, including headline, imagery and selected outcomes. Claims such as “best,” win-rate statistics and rankings need a defensible factual basis and context. Those examples are practical applications of Rule 7.1, not a list of expressly banned words.

Rule 7.2(c) generally prohibits giving value for recommending a lawyer, subject to its advertising and service-organization exceptions. Do not assume that disclosing a payment makes a paid recommendation permissible. Review lead generators and endorsements separately from ordinary ad production costs.

Rule 1.6 protects information relating to client representation unless the client consents after consultation or an authorization or exception applies. Marketing a case result or client story requires that confidentiality review in addition to accuracy review. A public case record is not a blanket permission to use the client’s information in promotion.

KRPC 1.6(a), 7.1 and comments [1]–[2], 7.2(c), Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5

Read source: Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5

Specialization & Certification

Rule 7.4(a) permits communication about fields in which a lawyer does or does not practice. Comment [1] expressly states that describing the lawyer as a “specialist” “is not permitted,” explaining that the term implies formal recognition and may mislead unless the lawyer is certified or recognized under procedures in the state of licensure. Do not treat “specialist” as an unrestricted synonym for a practice focus.

Rule 7.4(d) permits a claim of certification as a specialist only when its conditions are met: the certifying organization must be approved by an appropriate state authority or accredited by the American Bar Association, and the communication must clearly identify the organization. Verify the actual certification and applicable recognition requirements before using the claim.

Rule 7.4 also permits the specified patent-practice designation for lawyers admitted to practice before the USPTO and the historically recognized admiralty designations for lawyers engaged in that practice. Check actual qualifications before adding credentials, badges or directory categories. General truthfulness requirements still apply.

KRPC 7.4 and comments, printed pages 427–428, Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5

Read source: Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5

Firm, Trade & Domain Names

Rule 7.5 bars misleading names, letterheads and other professional designations. A private firm may use a trade name if it does not imply a government or public/charitable legal-services connection and complies with Rule 7.1. Comment [1] expressly recognizes a distinctive website designation. Names and domains should not create a misleading institutional identity.

A multijurisdictional firm may use the same name in different jurisdictions, but identification of lawyers in an office must indicate jurisdictional limitations for those not licensed where the office is located. Lawyers may imply a partnership or organization only when that relationship exists. Merely sharing office space does not establish a partnership. A public-office holder’s name cannot be used in the firm’s name or communications during a substantial period when the lawyer is not actively and regularly practicing with the firm.

KRPC 7.5(a)–(d), comments [1]–[2], printed pages 428–429, Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5

Read source: Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5

Solicitation & Direct Contact

Rule 7.3(a) prohibits in-person, live telephone and real-time electronic solicitation when a significant motive is pecuniary gain, unless the recipient is a lawyer or has a family, close personal or prior professional relationship with the lawyer. Do not import broader exceptions from another state’s rules. Rule 7.3(b) separately prohibits solicitation after a person has expressed a wish not to be solicited and solicitation involving coercion, duress or harassment.

Written, recorded or electronic solicitation directed to someone known to need legal services in a particular matter must carry “Advertising Material” on any outside envelope and at the beginning and end of recorded or electronic communications, unless the recipient falls within the Rule 7.3(a)(1) or (a)(2) exceptions. Comment [8] distinguishes responses to requests and general personnel or office announcements. Comment [6] warns that continued contact after no response may violate the rule; silence should not be treated as unlimited permission to pursue a lead.

Rule 7.3(d) permits limited participation in independently operated prepaid or group legal-service plans that contact people not known to need services in a particular covered matter. Its comments explain the ownership and contact limitations. This is not a general exemption for a firm-owned solicitation operation.

K.S.A. 50-6,145 separately restricts use, acquisition, sale, transfer or disclosure of protected health information without written authorization for soliciting legal services by defined nonlawyer persons. It includes exceptions for specified legally permitted uses and preserves Supreme Court authority over attorneys. Its definition of protected health information is broad; it should not be assumed identical to a vendor’s shorthand for HIPAA-covered data.

Its solicitation definition covers offers of services by an identified attorney or firm through the specified written, recorded, electronic and direct-contact methods. Violations carry Kansas Consumer Protection Act consequences; a knowing violation is additionally a class A nonperson misdemeanor under subsection (b)(2).

KRPC 7.3 and comments, printed pages 425–427, Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5; K.S.A. 50-6,145, Kansas Legislature, K.S.A. 50-6,145, protected-health-information solicitation

Read source: Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5 · Kansas Legislature, K.S.A. 50-6,145, protected-health-information solicitation

Channel-Specific Notes

Websites and Search Advertising

Name a responsible lawyer in the communication and preserve copies and use records. Check claims, results and implied location or licensing representations. Review the ad as well as the landing page; a misleading ad is not necessarily repaired by a more careful destination page.

Social and Video

Archive the actual version disseminated, including captions, audio and material changes. Recutting a video can remove a qualification. Review testimonials, badges and results graphics with the surrounding message. This is implementation guidance from Rules 7.1–7.2.

Direct Messages and Live Chat

A general public post does not automatically receive the same treatment as a targeted offer or live exchange initiated by the lawyer. Classify the communication under Rule 7.3, check exceptions and preserve required labels. Also evaluate laws beyond the professional-conduct rules before a texting or email campaign.

Agencies and Lead Generators

Rule 7.2 comment [6] permits specified marketing costs and describes conditions for paid leads that do not recommend the lawyer. Payments must also be consistent with the fee-division and professional-independence rules identified in that comment. The comment warns against a generator implying it recommends the lawyer or analyzed the person’s legal problem to choose a lawyer. Rule 5.3 adds reasonable supervision duties for nonlawyer assistance. Separately assess K.S.A. 50-6,144–145 for the nonlawyer business; paying a vendor does not eliminate the lawyer’s ethics obligations.

KRPC 5.3, 7.1–7.3 and 7.2 comment [6], Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5; K.S.A. 50-6,144–145, Kansas Legislature, K.S.A. 50-6,144, legal advertisements and Kansas Legislature, K.S.A. 50-6,145, protected-health-information solicitation

Read source: Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5 · Kansas Legislature, K.S.A. 50-6,144, legal advertisements · Kansas Legislature, K.S.A. 50-6,145, protected-health-information solicitation

Recent Changes & Scope

This review used the official 2026 Kansas Supreme Court rules book, which states that it includes amendments through January 1, 2026. Source review date: November 12, 2026. The official public-comment page then stated that no proposed or amended rules were open for public comment. That statement is not proof that no later order or closed proposal affects a particular rule.

This guide relies on the annual rules book and cited statutes rather than independently verified individual online rule pages. It does not establish a complete reconciliation of post-January 1, 2026 amendment orders. No specific pending advertising amendment is asserted here.

The relationship between the rule and its comment also deserves attention: Rule 7.2(c)’s operative text names “a not-for-profit lawyer referral service or other legal service organization”, while comment [7] discusses qualified referral services. This guide does not enlarge the operative exception based solely on that comment. Have Kansas ethics counsel evaluate the particular referral business and reconcile the wording before relying on a paid arrangement.

The guide does not exhaustively cover federal advertising/communications law, privacy obligations, all ethics opinions or campaign-specific litigation. Those questions require additional review.

2026 rules book cover and KRPC 7.2(c), comment [7], Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5; public-comment page, Kansas Judicial Branch, Rules Open for Public Comment

Read source: Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5 · Kansas Judicial Branch, Rules Open for Public Comment

Official Sources

Read the official rules alongside other applicable law and obtain campaign-specific advice.

1. Kansas Supreme Court, 2026 Rules Book, including Rule 240 and KRPC 7.1–7.5Official source · Checked November 12, 2026
2. Kansas Judicial Branch, Rules Open for Public CommentOfficial source · Checked November 12, 2026
3. Kansas Legislature, K.S.A. 50-6,144, legal advertisementsOfficial source · Checked November 12, 2026
4. Kansas Legislature, K.S.A. 50-6,145, protected-health-information solicitationOfficial source · Checked November 12, 2026

The annual book’s printed page numbers differ from the PDF viewer’s page count. Use the rule number and printed page reference together. Recheck current orders before publishing or using an advertisement.