Colorado Court Rules
Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct
Information about Legal Services
As amended through Rule Change 2020(29), effective October 2020.
(a) A lawyer may communicate information regarding the lawyer’s services through any media.
(b) A lawyer shall not compensate, give or promise anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer’s services except that a lawyer may:
(1) pay the reasonable costs of advertisements or communications permitted by this Rule;
(2) pay the usual charges of a legal service plan or a not-for-profit or qualified lawyer referral service;
(3) pay for a law practice in accordance with Rule 1.17;
(4) refer clients to another lawyer or a nonlawyer professional pursuant to an agreement not otherwise prohibited under these Rules that provides for the other person to refer clients or customers to the lawyer, if: (i) the reciprocal referral agreement is not exclusive; and (ii) the client is informed of the existence and nature of the agreement; and
(5) give nominal gifts as an expression of appreciation that are neither intended nor reasonably expected to be a form of compensation for recommending a lawyer’s services.
(c) A lawyer shall not state or imply that a lawyer is certified as a specialist in a particular field of law, unless:
(1) the lawyer has been certified as a specialist by an organization that has been approved by an
appropriate authority of the state or the District of Columbia or a U.S. Territory or that has been
accredited by the American Bar Association; and
(2) the name of the certifying organization is clearly identified in the communication.
(d) Any communication made under this Rule must include the name and contact information of
at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for its content.
Comment
[1] This Rule permits public dissemination of information concerning a lawyer’s or law firm’s
name, address, email address, website, and telephone number; the kinds of services the lawyer
will undertake; the basis on which the lawyer’s fees are determined, including prices for specific
services and payment and credit arrangements; a lawyer’s foreign language ability; names of
references and, with their consent, names of clients regularly represented; and other information
that might invite the attention of those seeking legal assistance.
Paying Others to Recommend a Lawyer
[2] Except as permitted under paragraphs (b)(1) through (b)(5), lawyers are not permitted to pay
others for recommending the lawyer’s services. A communication contains a recommendation if
it endorses or vouches for a lawyer’s credentials, abilities, competence, character, or other
professional qualities. Directory listings and group advertisements that list lawyers by practice
area, without more, do not constitute impermissible “recommendations.”
[3] Paragraph (b)(1) allows a lawyer to pay for advertising and communications permitted by
this Rule, including the costs of print directory listings, on-line directory listings, newspaper ads,
television and radio airtime, domain-name registrations, sponsorship fees, Internet-based
advertisements, and group advertising. A lawyer may compensate employees, agents and
vendors who are engaged to provide marketing or client-development services, such as
publicists, public-relations personnel, business-development staff, television and radio station
employees or spokespersons and website designers.
[4] Paragraph (b)(5) permits lawyers to give nominal gifts as an expression of appreciation to a
person for recommending the lawyer’s services or referring a prospective client. The gift may
not be more than a token item as might be given for holidays, or other ordinary social hospitality.
A gift is prohibited if offered or given in consideration of any promise, agreement or
understanding that such a gift would be forthcoming or that referrals would be made or
encouraged in the future.
[5] A lawyer may pay others for generating client leads, such as Internet-based client leads, as
long as the lead generator does not recommend the lawyer, any payment to the lead generator is
consistent with Rules 1.5(d) (division of fees) and 5.4 (professional independence of the lawyer),
and the lead generator’s communications are consistent with Rule 7.1 (communications
concerning a lawyer’s services). To comply with Rule 7.1, a lawyer must not pay a lead
generator that states, implies, or creates a reasonable impression that it is recommending the
lawyer, is making the referral without payment from the lawyer, or has analyzed a person’s legal
problems when determining which lawyer should receive the referral. See Comment [2]
(definition of “recommendation”). See also Rule 5.3 (duties of lawyers and law firms with
respect to the conduct of nonlawyers); Rule 8.4 (a) (duty to avoid violating the Rules through the
acts of another).
[6] A lawyer may pay the usual charges of a legal service plan or a not-for-profit or qualified
lawyer referral service. A legal service plan is a prepaid or group legal service plan or a similar
delivery system that assists people who seek to secure legal representation. A lawyer referral
service, on the other hand, is any organization that holds itself out to the public as a lawyer
referral service. Qualified referral services are consumer-oriented organizations that provide
unbiased referrals to lawyers with appropriate experience in the subject matter of the
representation and afford other client protections, such as complaint procedures or malpractice
insurance requirements. Consequently, this Rule only permits a lawyer to pay the usual charges
of a not-for-profit or qualified lawyer referral service. A qualified lawyer referral service is one
that is approved by an appropriate regulatory authority as affording adequate protections for the
public. See, e.g., the American Bar Association’s Model Supreme Court Rules Governing
Lawyer Referral Services and Model Lawyer Referral and Information Service Quality
Assurance Act.
[7] A lawyer who accepts assignments or referrals from a legal service plan or referrals from a
lawyer referral service must act reasonably to assure that the activities of the plan or service are
compatible with the lawyer’s professional obligations. Legal service plans and lawyer referral
services may communicate with the public, but such communication must be in conformity with
these Rules. Thus, advertising must not be false or misleading, as would be the case if the
communications of a group advertising program or a group legal services plan would mislead the
public to think that it was a lawyer referral service sponsored by a state agency or bar
association.
[8] A lawyer also may agree to refer clients to another lawyer or a nonlawyer professional, in
return for the undertaking of that person to refer clients or customers to the lawyer. Such
reciprocal referral arrangements must not interfere with the lawyer’s professional judgment as to
making referrals or as to providing substantive legal services. See Rules 2.1 and 5.4(c). Except as
provided in Rule 1.5(d), a lawyer who receives referrals from a lawyer or nonlawyer professional
must not pay anything solely for the referral, but the lawyer does not violate paragraph (b) of this
Rule by agreeing to refer clients to the other lawyer or nonlawyer professional, so long as the
reciprocal referral agreement is not exclusive and the client is informed of the referral agreement.
Conflicts of interest created by such arrangements are governed by Rule 1.7. Reciprocal referral
agreements should not be of indefinite duration and should be reviewed periodically to determine
whether they comply with these Rules. This Rule does not restrict referrals or divisions of
revenues or net income among lawyers within firms comprised of multiple entities.
Communications about Fields of Practice
[9] Paragraph (c) of this Rule permits a lawyer to communicate that the lawyer does or does not
practice in particular areas of law. A lawyer is generally permitted to state that the lawyer
“concentrates in” or is a “specialist,” practices a “specialty,” or “specializes in” particular fields
based on the lawyer’s experience, specialized training or education, but such communications are
subject to the “false and misleading” standard applied in Rule 7.1 to communications concerning
a lawyer’s services.
[10] The Patent and Trademark Office has a long-established policy of designating lawyers
practicing before the Office. The designation of Admiralty practice also has a long historical
tradition associated with maritime commerce and the federal courts. A lawyer’s communications
about these practice areas are not prohibited by this Rule.
[11] This Rule permits a lawyer to state that the lawyer is certified as a specialist in a field of
law if such certification is granted by an organization approved by an appropriate authority of a
state, the District of Columbia or a U.S. Territory or accredited by the American Bar Association
or another organization, such as a state supreme court or a state bar association, that has been
approved by the authority of the state, the District of Columbia or a U.S. Territory to accredit
organizations that certify lawyers as specialists. Certification signifies that an objective entity has
recognized an advanced degree of knowledge and experience in the specialty area greater than is
suggested by general licensure to practice law. Certifying organizations may be expected to
apply standards of experience, knowledge and proficiency to ensure that a lawyer’s recognition
as a specialist is meaningful and reliable. To ensure that consumers can obtain access to useful
information about an organization granting certification, the name of the certifying organization
must be included in any communication regarding the certification.
[11A] In any advertisement in which a lawyer affirmatively claims to be certified as a specialist
in any area of the law, such advertisement shall contain the following disclosure: “Colorado does
not certify lawyers as specialists in any field.” This disclaimer is not required where the
information concerning the lawyer’s services is contained in a law list, law directory or a
publication intended primarily for use of the legal profession.
Required Contact Information
[12] This Rule requires that any communication about a lawyer or law firm’s services include
the name of, and contact information for, the lawyer or law firm. Contact information includes a
website address, a telephone number, an email address or a physical office location.
Cite as RPC 7.2
History. (c)(1), (2), and (3) amended and adopted June 12, 1997, effective July 1, 1997; entire rule and comment amended and adopted June 12, 1997, effective January 1, 1998; entire Appendix repealed and readopted April 12, 2007, effective January 1, 2008; Comment [8] amended and effective November 6, 2008. Amended and Adopted by the Court, En Banc, September 10, 2020, effective immediately