Florida Bar News – Court Permits Electronic Filing of Lawyer Ads

Bar members soon will be able to submit their ads for required Bar review via the internet instead of mailing them to the Bar’s Tallahassee headquarters.

The Supreme Court on September 9 approved a Bar-recommended change to Bar Rule 4-7.19. The change removes the requirement that lawyer ads requiring Bar review must be sent to Bar headquarters and instead says the ads must be submitted “in the manner specified by The Florida Bar as posted on its website.”

“This change from requiring advertisements be filed at the Bar’s headquarters address in Tallahassee to designating the submission requirements on the Bar’s website will allow the Bar to implement procedures for online submission of advertisements,” the court said in the unanimous per curiam ruling.

The court also approved grammatical changes to the rule.

All lawyer ads, except those exempted under Rule 4-7.20, must be filed with the Bar for review at least 20 days prior to the first dissemination.

The amendments are effective immediately. It’s expected the Bar’s website will be updated next year to allow online submission of ads.

The court acted in In re: Amendments to Rule Regulating The Florida Bar 4-7.19, Case No. SC21-775.

Florida Bar News (2021, September 13) https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-news/court-permits-electronic-filing-of-lawyer-ads/