What Are the Rules?

Question:How can Ontario lawyers or paralegals advertise fees or practice areas without violating Law Society of Ontario marketing rules?

Answer:In Ontario, you can advertise fees and practice areas if your marketing is demonstrably true, accurate, verifiable, not misleading, and consistent with a high standard of professionalism under Law Society of Ontario: Code of Conduct, and fee advertising must be reasonably precise about the services included, clearly state whether disbursements and taxes are extra, and you must adhere to the advertised fee.  You also should avoid claims that imply you are an “expert” or “specialist” unless properly certified, avoid emotional or demeaning messaging, and do not imply that your firm is aggressive or use misleading endorsements.  For practical, CMS-ready digital marketing guidance for lawyers and paralegals in Ontario, Marketing.Legal™ helps you keep your website copy, ads, and testimonials compliant, so you can grow with confidence; call (800) 551-5751 to review your planned wording.

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Rules for Ontario

Within the Province of Ontario, the core rules which govern the practice of legal marketing are Rule 4.02, 3.03, and 3.04 in the Law Society of Ontario’s Code of Conduct.  Rule 4.02 therein refers to the marketing of legal services and contains three (3) subsections.  The first of which, 4.02(0), provides a definition of marketing as:

Note: Please contact Marketing.Legal™ by phone at: (800) 551-5751 to discuss any specific questions that you may have.

“…advertisements and other similar communications in various media as well as firm names (including trade names), letterhead, business cards and logos.”

The second subsection, 4.02(1), defines a variety of appropriate ways for a lawyer to engage in marketing, it states that:

A lawyer may market legal services, if the marketing:

(a) is demonstrably true, accurate and verifiable,
(b) is neither misleading, confusing, or deceptive, nor likely to mislead, confuse or deceive, and
(c) is in the best interests of the public and is consistent with a high standard of professionalism.

Included in this subsection is additional commentary regarding practices that violate the rules of legal marketing in Ontario.  Marketing activities that are restricted include suggesting qualitative superiority to other lawyers, raising expectations unjustifiably, suggesting or implying that a lawyer is aggressive, disparaging other persons, groups, organizations or institutions, taking advantage of a vulnerable person or group, and using testimonials or endorsements that contain emotional appeals.

The third subsection, 3.02(3), refers to the advertising of fees and states that:

A lawyer may advertise fees charged by the lawyer for legal services if:

(a) the advertising is reasonably precise as to the services offered for each fee quoted,
(b) the advertising states whether other amounts, such as disbursements and taxes, will be charged in addition to the fee, and
(c) the lawyer adheres to the advertised fee.

Rule 3.03: Advertising Nature of Practice

Rule 3.03 prescribes that a lawyer may not advertise that they are a specialist in an area of law unless that lawyer has been certified as a specialist by the Law Society of Ontario.

The rule does allow lawyers that are certified as specialists in one jurisdiction but not in another, to advertise as specialists in all jurisdictions provided that the certifying authority or organization is identified.  Additionally, the rule allows legal firms to advertise areas of practice and identify their proficiency or experience in particular areas of the law; however, the firm cannot be misleading in its representation and cannot make claims that they are the most proficient or the most experienced.