Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct, rule 7.1 · Chapter 7. Information About Legal Services
Communications Concerning a Lawyer’s Services
Text — 2026 edition, as the State Bar of California publishes it (read October 22, 2026)
(a) A lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services. A communication is false or misleading if it contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law, or omits a fact necessary to make the communication considered as a whole not materially misleading.
(b) The Board of Trustees of the State Bar may formulate and adopt standards as to communications that will be presumed to violate rule 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4 or 7.5. The standards shall only be used as presumptions affecting the burden of proof in disciplinary proceedings involving alleged violations of these rules. “Presumption affecting the burden of proof” means that presumption defined in Evidence Code sections 605 and 606. Such standards formulated and adopted by the Board, as from time to time amended, shall be effective and binding on all lawyers.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
Comment
[1] This rule governs all communications of any type whatsoever about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services, including advertising permitted by rule 7.2. A communication includes any message or offer made by or on behalf of a lawyer concerning the availability for professional employment of a lawyer or a lawyer’s law firm* directed to any person.*
[2] A communication that contains an express guarantee or warranty of the result of a particular representation is a false or misleading communication under this rule. (See also Bus. & Prof. Code, § 6157.2, subd. (a).)
[3] This rule prohibits truthful statements that are misleading. A truthful statement is misleading if it omits a fact necessary to make the lawyer’s communication considered as a whole not materially misleading. A truthful statement is also misleading if it is presented in a manner that creates a substantial* likelihood that it will lead a reasonable* person* to formulate a specific conclusion about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services for which there is no reasonable* factual foundation. Any communication that states or implies “no fee without recovery” is also misleading unless the communication also expressly discloses whether or not the client will be liable for costs.
[4] A communication that truthfully reports a lawyer’s achievements on behalf of clients or former clients, or a testimonial about or endorsement of the lawyer, may be misleading if presented so as to lead a reasonable* person* to form an unjustified expectation that the same results could be obtained for other clients in similar matters without reference to the specific factual and legal circumstances of each client’s case. Similarly, an unsubstantiated comparison of the lawyer’s services or fees with the services or fees of other lawyers may be misleading if presented with such specificity as would lead a reasonable* person* to conclude that the comparison can be substantiated. An appropriate disclaimer or qualifying language often avoids creating unjustified expectations.
[5] This rule prohibits a lawyer from making a communication that states or implies that the lawyer is able to provide legal services in a language other than English unless the lawyer can actually provide legal services in that language or the communication also states in the language of the communication the employment title of the person* who speaks such language.
[6] Rules 7.1 through 7.5 are not the sole basis for regulating communications concerning a lawyer’s services. (See, e.g., Bus. & Prof. Code, §§ 6150 –6159.2, 17000 et seq.) Other state or federal laws may also apply.
Source of truth
- Edition
- 2026 edition, as the State Bar of California publishes it (read October 22, 2026)
- Official file
- https://www.calbar.ca.gov/sites/default/files/portals/0/documents/rules/Rules-of-Professional-Conduct.pdf (PDF pages 62–63)
- Text hash
- sha256 bd7aaa111c4af8107a320de66808116c6c46fa582f9dee5ef1c6751cf22709c4
- Composed by
- rpc/build 2026-10-22: the State Bar's 2026 PDF (pages 12-71) read by two readers, PyMuPDF glyph positions and pdfminer with the PDF's tagged structure, agreeing on 834 of 843 paragraphs character for character, the other nine (paragraph boundaries only) resolved against the rendered page; 205,485 printed glyphs accounted for; the State Bar's chapter pages a third reading
This rule cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Business and Professions Code
Evidence Code
California Rules of Professional Conduct
- Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct, rule 7.2AdvertisingPrinted as rule 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4 or 7.5 | rule 7.2
- Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct, rule 7.3Solicitation of ClientsPrinted as rule 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4 or 7.5
- Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct, rule 7.4Communication of Fields of Practice and SpecializationPrinted as rule 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4 or 7.5
- Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct, rule 7.5Firm* Names and Trade NamesPrinted as Rules 7.1 through 7.5 | rule 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4 or 7.5
Cited by 4 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct, rule 7.1. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
California Rules of Professional Conduct
- Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct, rule 7.2AdvertisingPrinted as rules 7.1 and 7.3
- Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct, rule 7.3Solicitation of ClientsPrinted as rules 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3(b)
- Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct, rule 7.4Communication of Fields of Practice and SpecializationPrinted as rule 7.1
- Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct, rule 7.5Firm* Names and Trade NamesPrinted as rule 7.1
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.