At a Glance

Missouri has detailed advertising rules, including prescribed disclosures, two-year recordkeeping and separate requirements for targeted written solicitations. A generic ABA checklist will miss important Missouri provisions.

Advertising normally needs the conspicuous lawyer-choice statement in Rule 4-7.2(f), subject to stated exceptions. Results, paid endorsements, simulations, office availability and contingent-fee claims can trigger additional disclosures. Specialist claims ordinarily need Missouri’s disclaimer rather than an assumption that certification alone is enough.

Written solicitations concerning specified accidents or disasters are restricted during the first 30 days. The restrictions on live contact and written outreach differ, as do their recipient exceptions.

Rule 4-7.1; Rule 4-7.2; Rule 4-7.3; Rule 4-7.4

Read source: Rule 4-7.1 · Rule 4-7.2 · Rule 4-7.3 · Rule 4-7.4

Who Regulates

Missouri Supreme Court Rule 4 governs lawyers’ professional conduct. The Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel is an agency of the Court that investigates alleged lawyer misconduct, prosecutes appropriate disciplinary cases and maintains disciplinary records. Rule 5 governs the disciplinary process.

The Office of Legal Ethics Counsel publishes educational resources and informal ethics guidance. Those materials help explain practical questions but should not be mistaken for amendments to the Court’s rules or binding approval of an advertisement.

Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel; Legal Ethics Counsel: Electronic Communication And Practice

Read source: Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel · Legal Ethics Counsel: Electronic Communication And Practice

What Counts as Advertising

Rule 4-7.1 governs all communications about a lawyer’s services. It prohibits false or misleading communications, including material misrepresentations and material omissions. Rule 4-7.2 permits public-media advertising and general direct mail to people not known to need the advertised services in a particular matter.

Rule 4-7.3 applies to in-person and written solicitations directed to people known to need the lawyer’s kind of services in a particular matter for the purpose of obtaining employment. Its comment distinguishes general announcements, such as personnel or office changes, from that targeted solicitation. The comment also says the advertising-label requirement does not apply to responses to potential clients’ requests.

Online delivery does not remove these distinctions. Review the audience-selection method and the content, rather than treating all electronic messages as ordinary website advertising.

Rule 4-7.1 and comment; Rule 4-7.2(a); Rule 4-7.3 and comment [6]

Read source: Rule 4-7.1 · Rule 4-7.2 · Rule 4-7.3

Required Disclosures

Rule 4-7.2(f) ordinarily requires this conspicuous statement: “The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.” The rule excludes written solicitations governed by Rule 4-7.3(b), which have their own disclosures.

Under Rule 4-7.2(g), the office and lawyer-choice disclosures in paragraphs (e) and (f) are unnecessary when the communication is limited to firm and lawyer names, practice fields, bar-admission dates and places, addresses including email and website addresses, telephone number and office hours. Adding promotional claims can take a piece outside that limited-information exception.

The required statement must be noticeable and understandable in the actual advertisement, considering size, contrast, location, duration and audibility. The supplemental comment allows television disclosure orally or in writing and requires an oral radio disclosure. Required words and statements must appear in the advertisement’s language; multilingual advertisements require the disclosures in each language used.

Rule 4-7.1 separately requires conspicuous identification of routine referrals, paid endorsements, simulations, part-time or appointment-only offices, and potential client liability for costs or expenses when advertising contingent or no-recovery-no-fee services, as applicable. Results claims have their own qualification requirement.

For an advertised office other than the principal office, Rule 4-7.2(e) requires staffing by a lawyer at least three days weekly or disclosure of when a lawyer will be present or that meetings are by appointment only. Public-media advertising financed by another lawyer also requires disclosures about the financing lawyer, address, relationship and likely referrals; paid legal-information broadcasts need conspicuous disclosure of that consideration.

Read the specified legal-aid, pro bono and predominantly other-focused promotional exceptions in Rule 4-7.2(i) separately. They are not a general exemption for every charitable-looking law-firm advertisement.

Rule 4-7.1(c), (g)–(k); Rule 4-7.2(d)–(i) and supplemental comment

Read source: Rule 4-7.1 · Rule 4-7.2

Filing, Review & Recordkeeping

Rule 4-7.2(b) requires keeping a copy or recording of an advertisement or written communication for two years after its last dissemination, with a record of when and where it was used. The record must name at least one lawyer responsible for its content unless that lawyer’s name appears in the communication itself.

Rule 4-7.3(b)(2) separately requires two-year retention of covered written solicitations. Identical solicitations to multiple prospective clients may be retained as one copy with the recipients’ names and addresses. Do not confuse this requirement with the ordinary advertising record.

The advertising provisions read do not prescribe general submission of every advertisement for advance approval. That conclusion is limited to Rules 4-7.1–4-7.5, not every related activity.

Qualified referral services have separate obligations under Rule 4-9.1: registration before operating, updating filed materials within 30 days of a material change and an annual operations-and-finances report by June 30. These are service obligations, not universal advertisement filing rules.

Rule 4-7.2(b); Rule 4-7.3(b)(2); Rule 4-9.1(i)

Read source: Rule 4-7.2 · Rule 4-7.3 · Rule 4-9.1

Results, Testimonials & Comparisons

Rule 4-7.1(c) treats a communication proclaiming client results as misleading without stating that past results do not guarantee future results and that every case is different and must be judged on its own merits. The supplemental comment distinguishes a verifiable count of cases tried or handled in a particular area, which it permits without that results disclaimer.

Comparisons of service quality must be factually substantiated. Do not advertise for a specific type of case in which the lawyer has neither experience nor competence. Paid testimonials and endorsements require conspicuous identification of payment, and simulated portrayals require conspicuous identification as simulations. Disclosure does not rescue an otherwise false or misleading claim.

Client information requires a separate confidentiality check. Rule 4-1.6 generally bars disclosure of information relating to representation without informed consent, implied authorization to carry out the representation or a specified exception. The official ethics resource cautions that a negative online review generally does not create the controversy exception permitting a public response revealing client information.

The specified legal-services/pro-bono exception at the end of Rule 4-7.1 applies to paragraphs (c), (g), (h) and (k); it should not be expanded into an exemption from every truthfulness requirement.

Rule 4-7.1 and supplemental comment; Rule 4-1.6; Legal Ethics Counsel: Electronic Communication And Practice

Read source: Rule 4-7.1 · Rule 4-1.6 · Legal Ethics Counsel: Electronic Communication And Practice

Specialization & Certification

A lawyer may communicate practice fields, subject to Rule 4-7.1. Ordinarily, stating or implying that the lawyer is a specialist requires a disclaimer that neither the Supreme Court of Missouri nor The Missouri Bar reviews or approves certifying organizations or specialist designations.

Rule 4-7.4 contains exceptions for an appropriately admitted patent practitioner using “patent attorney” or a substantially similar designation, and an admiralty practitioner using the permitted admiralty designations. A certification badge or biography can imply specialist status even if the surrounding copy avoids the word.

Verify the actual credential and review the complete presentation for truthfulness. The rule does not supply an unrestricted safe harbor for every certification claim.

Rule 4-7.4 and comments

Read source: Rule 4-7.4

Firm, Trade & Domain Names

Rule 4-7.5 permits nonmisleading trade names in private practice, but not names implying a connection with government or a public or charitable legal-services organization. Its comment recognizes distinctive website addresses and cautions against using the name of a lawyer unconnected with the firm or a predecessor.

A multijurisdictional firm may use the same name across locations, but lawyer identification for an office must show the jurisdictional limitations of lawyers not licensed where that office is located. Lawyers may describe themselves as a partnership or other organization only when that is true.

A public official’s name cannot remain in the firm name or its communications during a substantial period when that lawyer is not actively and regularly practicing with the firm. Shared office space alone does not establish a firm relationship.

Rule 4-7.5 and comments. Entity formation and registration require a separate check

Read source: Rule 4-7.5

Solicitation & Direct Contact

Rule 4-7.3(a) prohibits initiating in-person, telephone or real-time electronic solicitation except with an existing or former client, lawyer, close friend or relative. Do not import another state’s broader business-user exception. Paragraph (b)’s written-solicitation exception uses “friend,” rather than paragraph (a)’s “close friend.”

Covered written solicitations must display “ADVERTISEMENT” on the envelope face and at the top of the first page in type at least as large as the largest type in the solicitation. Rule 4-7.3(b)(3) additionally prescribes a full warning telling recipients to disregard the solicitation if already represented, consult counsel, and understand that the writer lacks complete facts and the advice is general. Use the complete exact statement in the linked rule, not this summary as replacement copy.

Mailed solicitations must use regular U.S. mail rather than restricted or certified delivery, cannot resemble legal documents and cannot expose the legal problem on the envelope or outside of a self-mailer. Occurrence-triggered outreach must disclose how the lawyer learned of it. Disclose when another lawyer will handle or receive the matter, as required, and do not target a specific matter when the recipient is known or reasonably should be known to have counsel in it.

Written solicitation is also prohibited after an opt-out, with prohibited pressure or misleading claims, and in the other circumstances in paragraph (c). These include specified personal-injury, wrongful-death, accident or disaster outreach when the event occurred less than 30 days earlier or the recipient’s condition makes reasonable hiring judgment unlikely. Do not convert this into a ban on every advertisement or assume elapsed time resolves all restrictions.

Paragraph (d) supplies specific legal-aid and free pro bono exceptions. Campaign-specific constitutional and other-law questions remain outside this summary.

Rule 4-7.3(a)–(d) and comments

Read source: Rule 4-7.3

Channel-Specific Notes

A website, video or social profile still needs the relevant disclosures and recordkeeping. In short-format creative, lack of room is not itself a rule exception. Check prominence in the rendered format and retain the version actually disseminated.

Rule 4-7.2(c) restricts paying for recommendations while permitting reasonable advertising costs and specified other payments. Its comment also addresses paid testimonials complying with Rule 4-7.1(h). The distinction requires reviewing what a vendor actually does, not simply calling an invoice an advertising fee.

Rule 4-9.1 generally requires a qualifying registered service when an operation refers prospective clients to particular lawyers, whether or not it uses the referral-service name. The rule contains specific exclusions, including individual lawyer referrals and qualifying joint advertising of the lawyers’ own services. Do not assume an online matching platform falls outside the rule.

Separate communications, consumer-protection and privacy laws may apply to calls, texts, emails and tracking. This guide has not cleared any campaign under those laws.

Rule 4-7.2 and comments; Rule 4-9.1; Legal Ethics Counsel: Electronic Communication And Practice

Read source: Rule 4-7.2 · Rule 4-9.1 · Legal Ethics Counsel: Electronic Communication And Practice

Recent Changes & Scope

As of November 12, 2026, the Court-hosted pages show July 1, 2010 as the revised/effective date for Rules 4-7.1–4-7.3 and July 1, 2007 for Rules 4-7.4–4-7.5. These are displayed rule-history dates, not a claim that no later order exists.

The cited rule text and comments form the basis of this guide. This guide is not a complete reconciliation of court orders and pending proposals; consult current rule and order listings before use. No definite pending advertising change is represented here.

Further review is required for constitutional/case-law treatment, campaign-specific statutes, entity rules, and referral-service implementing requirements. Independent legal review is still needed. Read the current primary text again before using this guide to evaluate a campaign.

Rules 4-7.1, 4-7.3, 4-7.4, 4-7.5

Read source: Rule 4-7.1 · Rule 4-7.3 · Rule 4-7.4 · Rule 4-7.5

Official Sources

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

The Court’s rules are the primary authority. Agency and ethics resources explain administration and interpretation; they do not replace the operative text. The linked rules include comments and rule-history notes.

1. Rule 4-7.1Official source · Checked November 12, 2026
2. Rule 4-7.2Official source · Checked November 12, 2026
3. Rule 4-7.3Official source · Checked November 12, 2026
4. Rule 4-7.4Official source · Checked November 12, 2026
5. Rule 4-7.5Official source · Checked November 12, 2026
6. Rule 4-9.1Official source · Checked November 12, 2026
7. Rule 4-1.6Official source · Checked November 12, 2026
8. Office of Chief Disciplinary CounselOfficial source · Checked November 12, 2026
9. Legal Ethics Counsel: Electronic Communication And PracticeOfficial source · Checked November 12, 2026
10. Missouri Bar: Court OrdersOfficial source · Checked November 12, 2026