At a Glance

Tennessee’s advertising framework is concentrated in Rules 7.1, 7.3 and 7.6. In the official Board of Professional Responsibility-hosted compilation reviewed for this guide, Rules 7.2, 7.4 and 7.5 are deleted and reserved. Their old headings should not be used as evidence that their former provisions remain operative.

Advertising must identify a responsible lawyer or firm and provide contact information. Keep advertisements for two years after their last dissemination, with when-and-where records. Targeted solicitations have separate labeling, contact and retention requirements.

This guide is general information, not approval of an advertisement. It covers the advertising chapter in the BPR-hosted 2023 compilation, including revised intermediary provisions, and the specialist-registration section incorporated in the October 9, 2026 order. It is not a comprehensive review of later orders or campaign-specific requirements.

Rules 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6

Read source: Board of Professional Responsibility-hosted Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct, 2023 compilation, printed pages 176–190 (PDF pages 186–200). Chapter 7 and comments, including Rule 7.6. · Supreme Court order dated May 12, 2022, hosted by BPR, clarifying Rules 5.4(a)(6) and 7.6(b)(5); its recital identifies the earlier deletion of Rule 44 effective January 1, 2022.

Who Regulates

The Tennessee Supreme Court adopts the Rules of Professional Conduct in Supreme Court Rule 8. The Board of Professional Responsibility publishes professional-responsibility resources and administers its assigned regulatory functions. Its hosted rules compilation is the principal source used here.

Lawyers remain responsible for the professional obligations implicated by marketing. Rule 7.3 expressly reaches solicitation by employees and agents. Rule 7.6 requires reasonable efforts concerning an intermediary organization’s conduct before and during participation. Hiring a vendor is not a way to avoid those duties.

Treat internal marketing approval as a production step, not a regulator’s authorization. The reviewed advertising provisions do not establish that the Board has approved a particular website, lead source or campaign.

Rules 7.3, 7.6

Read source: Board of Professional Responsibility-hosted Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct, 2023 compilation, printed pages 176–190 (PDF pages 186–200). Chapter 7 and comments, including Rule 7.6. · Supreme Court order dated May 12, 2022, hosted by BPR, clarifying Rules 5.4(a)(6) and 7.6(b)(5); its recital identifies the earlier deletion of Rule 44 effective January 1, 2022.

What Counts as Advertising

Rule 7.1 governs all communications about the lawyer’s services. Its prohibition covers material misrepresentations of fact or law and omissions that make the overall communication materially misleading. A literally true statement can still mislead when it invites a conclusion without a reasonable factual basis.

The rule permits written, recorded and electronic advertising, including public media, subject to the other relevant rules. Websites, directory profiles, video descriptions and social posts therefore need the same substantive accuracy review as a print advertisement.

Rule 7.3 defines solicitation as targeted communication initiated by or for a lawyer to a specific person that offers, or reasonably appears to offer, legal services for a particular matter. Its comment distinguishes general public advertising, responses to requests for information and communications automatically generated in response to internet searches. That distinction must be applied to the actual follow-up, not merely to the original ad’s format.

Rule 7.3

Read source: Board of Professional Responsibility-hosted Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct, 2023 compilation, printed pages 176–190 (PDF pages 186–200). Chapter 7 and comments, including Rule 7.6.

Required Disclosures

Rule 7.1(b) requires communications under the rule to include the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for the content. Do not replace the responsible party with only an anonymous marketing brand.

Under Rule 7.3(c), covered written, recorded or electronic solicitations to someone known to need legal services in a particular matter require “Advertising Material.” The rule specifies the outside envelope, if any, and the beginning and ending of recorded or electronic communications. Its exceptions refer to the recipients and circumstances listed in Rule 7.3(b)(1)–(4).

The proposed representation’s subject matter must not appear on the outside envelope or self-mailing brochure. Announcements, newsletters and similar materials do not need the label merely because they come from a lawyer, unless they include the solicitation addressed by the rule.

Intermediary arrangements have additional disclosures under Rule 7.6, including inclusion criteria and payments at the consumer’s initial interaction with the intermediary and the function of the referral arrangement at the initial interaction with the lawyer. These are not interchangeable with a generic website disclaimer.

Rules 7.3(b)(1), 7.3(c), 7.6

Read source: Board of Professional Responsibility-hosted Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct, 2023 compilation, printed pages 176–190 (PDF pages 186–200). Chapter 7 and comments, including Rule 7.6. · Supreme Court order dated May 12, 2022, hosted by BPR, clarifying Rules 5.4(a)(6) and 7.6(b)(5); its recital identifies the earlier deletion of Rule 44 effective January 1, 2022.

Filing, Review & Recordkeeping

Rule 7.1(c) requires retaining a copy or recording of each advertisement for two years after its last dissemination, with a record of when and where it appeared. Its comment permits keeping one copy of materially similar advertisements through two years after the last dissemination.

Rule 7.3(e) separately requires keeping communications sent to specific recipients for two years after last dissemination, together with when and to whom they were sent. The comment explains the recipient-identification records and permits one copy of identical communications with the corresponding list of recipients and addresses.

The reviewed post-amendment chapter does not impose a general routine submission of every advertisement to the Board. That is a bounded observation about these provisions, not a finding that no other law, order or specialized requirement can apply.

An agency should preserve final creative, landing-page versions, distribution records and the lawyer’s approval. Those practical records support compliance; they do not turn a campaign into an officially approved advertisement.

Rule 7.3(e)

Read source: Board of Professional Responsibility-hosted Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct, 2023 compilation, printed pages 176–190 (PDF pages 186–200). Chapter 7 and comments, including Rule 7.6.

Results, Testimonials & Comparisons

Rule 7.1’s comment explains that even accurate past results may mislead if presented as a reason to expect the same outcome without regard to the individual facts and law. Unsubstantiated comparisons can likewise create an unsupported impression.

Review the overall message of a case-result card, testimonial, caption and landing page together. A qualifying sentence may prevent a misleading impression, but it cannot be assumed to cure a false statement or a prominent promise contradicted elsewhere on the page.

The comment permits communicating a subjective designation conferred by an organization when that organization actually investigated the lawyer’s fitness and does not award the designation indiscriminately or for a price. That is not permission to portray a purchased badge as independent recognition.

Client stories also require separate confidentiality and permission review. The advertising chapter’s discussion of permissible information does not give an agency unrestricted authority to reuse a client’s name, image or account of representation.

Board of Professional Responsibility-hosted Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct, 2023 compilation, printed pages 176–190 (PDF pages 186–200). Chapter 7 and comments, including Rule 7.6.

Read source: Board of Professional Responsibility-hosted Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct, 2023 compilation, printed pages 176–190 (PDF pages 186–200). Chapter 7 and comments, including Rule 7.6.

Specialization & Certification

Rule 7.1’s comments distinguish identifying practice areas from claiming specialist status. A lawyer may identify fields of practice or a practice limited to particular fields, but words such as specialist, specialty and specializes require the qualifications described in the comment, subject to its patent and admiralty treatment.

Comment [10] describes certification or recognition by an organization accredited by the ABA’s House of Delegates. Before communicating specialist status, it also requires registering the specialty certification with the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education under Supreme Court Rule 21. It prohibits implying that the Commission itself awarded the specialty certification.

Rule 21, Section 9 (sections 9.01–9.07), as amended by order filed October 9, 2026, retains ABA-accredited certification and Commission registration. It requires annual registration renewal and reporting expiration, withdrawal or revocation of certification within fifteen days. A lawyer may not represent specialist status without a current registration of valid certification on file. The Commission maintains the public roll and may establish reasonable registration or re-registration fees subject to Court approval; it does not itself certify specialists. Before using a badge or headline, verify the individual credential and registration. Current fee amounts, administrative regulations and any later changes require their own check.

Board of Professional Responsibility-hosted Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct, 2023 compilation, printed pages 176–190 (PDF pages 186–200). Chapter 7 and comments, including Rule 7.6; Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 21, §§ 9.01–9.07 (as amended October 9, 2026).

Read source: Board of Professional Responsibility-hosted Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct, 2023 compilation, printed pages 176–190 (PDF pages 186–200). Chapter 7 and comments, including Rule 7.6. · Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 21, Section 9 (Identification of Specialists)

Firm, Trade & Domain Names

Rule 7.1’s comments allow firm names, trade names and distinctive website addresses subject to the misleading-communication standard. A geographic trade name may require clarification to avoid implying a public legal-aid connection.

The comments discuss continuing firm identity involving deceased or retired members and prohibit misleading use of a lawyer not associated with the firm or its predecessor, or of a nonlawyer’s name. Lawyers who merely share office facilities must not use a combined name implying a firm relationship that does not exist.

A temporary legislative-service interruption is distinguished from a longer or indefinite departure into public service, which may require changing the firm name and letterhead. Apply the actual facts rather than treating every public-office role the same.

A domain name, social profile and advertising brand should tell a consistent, accurate story about who provides the legal services. These comments do not authorize invented offices, nonexistent partnerships or government affiliations.

Board of Professional Responsibility-hosted Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct, 2023 compilation, printed pages 176–190 (PDF pages 186–200). Chapter 7 and comments, including Rule 7.6.

Read source: Board of Professional Responsibility-hosted Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct, 2023 compilation, printed pages 176–190 (PDF pages 186–200). Chapter 7 and comments, including Rule 7.6.

Solicitation & Direct Contact

Rule 7.3 restricts live person-to-person solicitation for pecuniary gain, including solicitation through employees or agents. The listed exceptions include lawyers, routine business users of the services, court-ordered class-action notifications and family, close personal or prior professional relationships.

The comment defines live contact to include real-time visual or auditory encounters without time for reflection. It distinguishes written communications such as text messages and email that recipients can readily disregard. This does not exempt written messages from the other solicitation rules.

All solicitation remains subject to opt-outs and prohibitions on coercion, duress, fraud, harassment, intimidation, overreaching and undue influence. The comment also warns about further contact after an unanswered solicitation.

Rule 7.3(d)(3) restricts pecuniary-gain solicitations involving specified injury, death, accident, disaster, divorce and legal-separation circumstances until more than thirty days after the relevant event or filing, unless the specified relationship exception applies. Do not describe that as a universal ban on general injury advertising or count divorce timing from an unrelated event.

The rule’s payment exceptions cover reasonable advertising costs, permitted intermediary charges, practice purchases, qualifying nonprofit publicity arrangements and compliant reciprocal referrals. Reciprocal arrangements must be nonexclusive and disclosed to the client. An exception must fit the actual arrangement, not merely its invoice label.

Rules 7.3(d)(3), 7.3(f)

Read source: Board of Professional Responsibility-hosted Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct, 2023 compilation, printed pages 176–190 (PDF pages 186–200). Chapter 7 and comments, including Rule 7.6.

Channel-Specific Notes

Public-facing digital copy should accurately describe services, responsible lawyers, qualifications and results. Personalized intake and follow-up require a separate solicitation review. An automated message is not immune merely because software sends it.

Rule 7.6’s definition includes lawyer-advertising cooperatives, referral and matching services, online marketing platforms and similar organizations facilitating lawyer-client relationships without ultimate responsibility for the legal services. Not every website vendor necessarily falls within that definition.

The revised rule requires participating lawyers to be licensed and in good standing in Tennessee and make reasonable efforts to ensure compliance. Conditions address independent professional judgment, improper solicitation, inclusion/payment disclosures, referral-function disclosure, permitted charges and prohibited lawyer ownership or control.

For-profit intermediaries cannot be assumed to receive percentage-based legal fees. The rule describes reasonable proportional administrative and advertising costs, with a separate reasonable-percentage referral-fee provision for nonprofit intermediaries. If noncompliance is discovered, the lawyer must withdraw or seek correction; if correction does not occur, withdrawal is required.

The 2023 compilation reflects removal of the former registration framework. Do not rely on a 2021 handout that still requires intermediary registration. Lead-generator statements also require review under Rule 7.3’s comment, including whether the vendor improperly claims to recommend the lawyer or analyze the consumer’s problem to select counsel.

Rules 7.3, 7.6

Read source: Board of Professional Responsibility-hosted Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct, 2023 compilation, printed pages 176–190 (PDF pages 186–200). Chapter 7 and comments, including Rule 7.6. · Supreme Court order dated May 12, 2022, hosted by BPR, clarifying Rules 5.4(a)(6) and 7.6(b)(5); its recital identifies the earlier deletion of Rule 44 effective January 1, 2022.

Recent Changes & Scope

This guide uses the full Chapter 7 text and comments in the BPR-hosted 2023 compilation, not the earlier September 2021 handout alone. The compilation contains revised Rule 7.6 and the nonprofit-fee clarification associated with the May 12, 2022 order.

This guide relies on the cited 2023 compilation and the specialist provisions of the October 9, 2026 Rule 21 order. It does not establish the complete current rules or account for every later order. Check the current court compilation, intervening orders and applicable administrative regulations before relying on the guide for a campaign. Current fee amounts, other advertising-related statutes and campaign-specific communications/privacy requirements remain issues requiring further review.

This guide has not resolved all current-law questions described above. No intermediary relationship, specialist claim or particular campaign has been approved.

Rule 7.6

Read source: Board of Professional Responsibility-hosted Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct, 2023 compilation, printed pages 176–190 (PDF pages 186–200). Chapter 7 and comments, including Rule 7.6. · Supreme Court order dated May 12, 2022, hosted by BPR, clarifying Rules 5.4(a)(6) and 7.6(b)(5); its recital identifies the earlier deletion of Rule 44 effective January 1, 2022.

Official Sources

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

1. Board of Professional Responsibility-hosted Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct, 2023 compilation, printed pages 176–190 (PDF pages 186–200). Chapter 7 and comments, including Rule 7.6.Official source · Checked November 12, 2026
2. Supreme Court order dated May 12, 2022, hosted by BPR, clarifying Rules 5.4(a)(6) and 7.6(b)(5); its recital identifies the earlier deletion of Rule 44 effective January 1, 2022.Official source · Checked November 12, 2026
3. Historical comparison only: September 2021 Chapter 7 presentation. Its intermediary-registration language is superseded and was not used as current law.Official source · Checked November 12, 2026
4. Tennessee Supreme Court order filed October 9, 2026, No. ADM2026-00693. Order page 1, Appendix A specialist redline (PDF page 12), and Appendix B incorporated sections 9.01–9.07 (PDF page 21). Other appendix provisions fall outside this guide’s coverage.Official source · Checked November 12, 2026