At a Glance

• False, misleading and unjustified-result claims are prohibited; comparisons must be factually supportable.
• Advertising must name a responsible lawyer or firm and give an office address.
• Covered solicitations require “Advertising Material” and filing within five days.
• Paid testimonials or endorsements require the disclosures in SCR 20:7.1(d), including payment and nonclient status where applicable.
• Reciprocal referral arrangements require client informed consent, independence and confidentiality safeguards.
• The reviewed rules contain no general ad-preapproval program or fixed general advertising-copy retention term.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules, chapter 20, part B, SCR 20:7.1–20:7.5

Read source: Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules, chapter 20, part B

Who Regulates

The Wisconsin Supreme Court adopts the Rules of Professional Conduct. The Office of Lawyer Regulation receives the solicitation filings specified in SCR 20:7.3(c) and operates within the court’s lawyer-regulation system. Filing is not an assurance that content is lawful. Only the rule text is binding. Wisconsin Committee Comments and ABA Comments provide interpretive guidance, not additional binding rules. The court’s 2016 order expressly states that the comments are not adopted but may be consulted for guidance. Order 15-03, 2016 WI 76. Chapter 20, part B.

SCR 20:7.3(c)

Read source: Current chapter 20, part B

What Counts as Advertising

SCR 20:7.2(a) allows written, recorded and electronic advertising, including public media, subject to truthfulness and solicitation rules. SCR 20:7.1 governs service communications regardless of the channel.

The comment to SCR 20:7.3 distinguishes targeted offers to a specific person from general-public advertising, websites, banner advertisements, responses to information requests and automatically generated search responses. A promotional message does not escape the rules simply because it appears in a social feed rather than a newspaper. SCR 20:7.1–20:7.3.

SCR 20:7.1, 20:7.3

Read source: Current chapter 20, part B

Required Disclosures

SCR 20:7.2(c) requires the name and office address of at least one lawyer or firm responsible for an advertising communication.

For written, recorded or electronic solicitation to a person known to need legal services in a particular matter, SCR 20:7.3(c) requires “Advertising Material” on any outside envelope and at the beginning and end of the printed, recorded or electronic communication. The specified lawyer and relationship exceptions apply. The comment explains that the label does not apply to communications responding to requests from potential clients or their representatives. It separately says general announcements, such as office or personnel changes, are not communications soliciting professional employment.

SCR 20:7.1(d) addresses disclosure of paid testimonials or endorsements and whether an endorser is an actual client. Certification claims require the certifying organization’s name. SCR 20:7.1(d), 20:7.2(c), 20:7.3(c), 20:7.4(d).

SCR 20:7.1(d), 20:7.2(c), 20:7.3(c), 20:7.4(d)

Read source: Current chapter 20, part B

Filing, Review & Recordkeeping

A copy of a solicitation covered by SCR 20:7.3(c) must be filed with the Office of Lawyer Regulation within five days of dissemination. The Wisconsin Committee Comment explains the approach for standard forms mailed to multiple prospective clients: file one copy of each version and maintain the recipients’ names and addresses in the lawyer’s files.

The current provisions do not impose general preapproval or a fixed general ad-copy retention term. They also do not specify a retention duration for the recipient list described in the comment. Do not invent one or omit the filing obligation because an advertisement is electronic. SCR 20:7.3(c) and Wisconsin Committee Comment.

SCR 20:7.3(c)

Read source: Current chapter 20, part B

Results, Testimonials & Comparisons

SCR 20:7.1(b) prohibits communications likely to create unjustified expectations or imply unlawful means of obtaining results. Paragraph (c) requires factual substantiation for comparisons. The comments explain why even true achievements can mislead without the context of the individual case.

Paragraph (d) addresses paid testimonials and endorsements. It identifies as misleading a paid testimonial or endorsement without identifying the payment or, if the speaker is not an actual client, without identifying that fact. Those disclosures do not override the separate restrictions on paying for recommendations in SCR 20:7.2 or the general truthfulness rule. Review an endorsement arrangement as a whole rather than treating a “paid” label as a safe harbor. Client-information permissions under SCR 20:1.6 remain a separate issue. SCR 20:7.1–20:7.2.

SCR 20:1.6, 20:7.1, 20:7.2

Read source: Current chapter 20, part B

Specialization & Certification

SCR 20:7.4 allows lawyers to state practice fields. Its comment permits truthful specialist or specialization descriptions subject to SCR 20:7.1. A claim to be certified as a specialist requires certification by an organization approved by an appropriate state authority or accredited by the ABA, and clear identification of the certifier.

The rule also permits qualifying patent and admiralty designations. Keep a description of practice focus distinct from an assertion of independent certification. SCR 20:7.4.

SCR 20:7.1, 20:7.4

Read source: Current chapter 20, part B

Firm, Trade & Domain Names

SCR 20:7.5 allows a nonmisleading trade name, but not one implying a government agency or public or charitable legal-services affiliation. Listings for multijurisdictional offices must indicate the licensing limitations of lawyers not admitted where the office is located.

A public official’s name cannot be used during a substantial period without active, regular practice in the firm. Lawyers may describe a partnership or other organization only when it actually exists. The comments extend the analysis to distinctive website addresses and explain why office-sharing lawyers cannot present themselves as partners. SCR 20:7.5.

SCR 20:7.5

Read source: Current chapter 20, part B

Solicitation & Direct Contact

SCR 20:7.3(a) restricts in-person, live telephone and real-time electronic solicitation when a significant motive for doing so is the lawyer’s pecuniary gain, except when the recipient is a lawyer or has the specified family, close personal or prior professional relationship.

The rule also prohibits solicitation when the lawyer knows or reasonably should know that the person’s physical, emotional or mental condition makes reasonable hiring judgment unlikely; when the recipient has said not to solicit; or when the contact involves coercion, duress or harassment. Wisconsin additionally restricts a lawyer’s drafting documents at the lawyer’s own instance that require or imply later use of that lawyer’s services, subject to SCR 11.06. SCR 20:7.3(a)–(e).

SCR 11.06, 20:7.3(a)

Read source: Current chapter 20, part B

Channel-Specific Notes

SCR 20:7.2 permits reasonable advertising costs and qualifying service-plan or referral-service charges. The lead-generation commentary allows paying for leads if the service does not recommend the lawyer, the fee arrangement respects fee-division and independence rules, and the public communication is truthful.

Wisconsin’s reciprocal-referral exception is more demanding than simple notice. The arrangement must be nonexclusive; the client must give informed consent; there must be no interference with independent judgment or the client-lawyer relationship; and client information must remain protected. Apply those conditions to referral networks promoted through websites or social media. SCR 20:7.2(b)(4) and comments.

SCR 20:7.2(b)(4)

Read source: Current chapter 20, part B

Recent Changes & Scope

Sources checked November 11, 2026. Check the court’s orders, pending petitions and applicable statutes for additional requirements. This guide is not a complete account of every petition or statutory provision, and the compilation does not establish that no later order affects a campaign. Do not rely on older chapter 20 documents that contain superseded advertising provisions. Orders; pending petitions.

Current chapter 20, part B

Read source: Current chapter 20, part B

Official Sources

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

1. Current chapter 20, part B. Binding rule text with nonbinding Wisconsin Committee Comments and ABA Comments.Official source · Checked November 12, 2026
2. Supreme Court rule ordersOfficial source · Checked November 12, 2026
3. Pending rule petitionsOfficial source · Checked November 12, 2026