Short answer: Pennsylvania attorney advertising is governed by Rules 7.1 through 7.5 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct, enforced by the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. There is no pre-filing requirement. Pennsylvania’s distinctive problem is not the strictness of its own rules — it is that more Pennsylvania firms advertise across state lines than in almost any other jurisdiction, and a single website inherits the rules of every state it targets. This guide sets out the Pennsylvania attorney advertising rules that apply to a law firm website, and where firms most often fall short.
Philadelphia sits within reach of New Jersey and Delaware. Pittsburgh borders Ohio and West Virginia. A large share of Pennsylvania practices genuinely serve clients in two or three states, and their websites advertise accordingly. That makes multi-jurisdiction compliance the central issue rather than a footnote.
The stacking problem
A website is not confined to the state where the server sits or the firm is headquartered. If your site advertises legal services to residents of New Jersey, New Jersey’s rules are potentially in scope regardless of where your office is. The same is true of Delaware, New York and Maryland.
This produces a result many firms find counterintuitive: a Philadelphia firm’s website may need to satisfy New Jersey’s advertising requirements more carefully than a firm located in Trenton that only practises locally, simply because the Philadelphia firm is advertising into more jurisdictions.
The workable approach is a single site built to the strictest applicable standard, not a set of state-specific microsites. Divergent versions create their own problem: they are difficult to keep synchronised, and inconsistencies between them are themselves evidence of a communication that misleads somewhere.
Where the strictest requirement usually comes from
| If you advertise into… | The requirement that will bind you |
|---|---|
| New York | “Attorney Advertising” label and explicit ad retention |
| New Jersey | Disclosure of the methodology behind any award or ranking you display |
| Delaware / Maryland | Verify separately; smaller bars, less published guidance |
| Pennsylvania only | Rules 7.1–7.5, no filing step |
In practice, a Pennsylvania firm advertising into both New York and New Jersey ends up needing the New York label and the New Jersey award disclosures on the same site. Neither is difficult. Both are routinely absent.
Contingent fee messaging
“No fee unless we win” is the dominant message in Pennsylvania personal injury advertising, and it is permitted. What it generally requires is clarity that a client may still be responsible for costs and expenses even where no fee is charged, because those are distinct categories.
The common failure is placement rather than omission: the qualifying language exists, but it sits in the footer or on a separate terms page while the unqualified claim occupies the hero. If the headline makes the promise, the qualification belongs near the headline.
Specialisation
Specialist and expert claims require certification from an accredited body. Absent certification, describe the matters you handle. This is consistent across every state in this series and is the single most frequently repeated error in law firm page titles.
Pennsylvania attorney advertising rules: frequently asked questions
Which rules govern attorney advertising in Pennsylvania?
The Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct, principally Rules 7.1 through 7.5, enforced by the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Confirm the current text with the Disciplinary Board.
Does Pennsylvania require attorney advertising to be pre-approved?
No. Pennsylvania has no pre-filing or pre-approval requirement, so nothing is reviewed before it goes live.
Can a Pennsylvania firm advertise no fee unless we win?
Contingent fee messaging is permitted but generally requires clarity about the client’s responsibility for costs and expenses, which can be owed separately from fees. A bare no fee unless we win headline with no explanation anywhere on the page is the version that causes problems.
I practise in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Whose rules apply to my website?
Potentially both. A single website advertising to residents of several states can be subject to each state’s rules, which is a common position for Philadelphia firms. The practical approach is to satisfy the strictest applicable requirement rather than maintain separate sites.
Can I display Super Lawyers or Best Lawyers badges on a Pennsylvania website?
Awards can generally be referenced, but if you also advertise into New Jersey the disclosure expectations there are materially stricter, and a shared site has to meet them. Treat badge placement as a multi-state question rather than a design decision.
Pennsylvania attorney advertising rules: the short version
If you take one thing from this guide, take this: the Pennsylvania attorney advertising rules apply to every page a prospective client can reach, including campaign landing pages built outside your main website. That is usually where the gaps are.
Official source: the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
Legal Web Agency is a marketing agency, not a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice. This guide deliberately avoids quoting fees, deadlines and retention periods. Confirm current requirements with the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and with each additional state you advertise into, or with your ethics counsel.
Related reading: Attorney Advertising Rules by State, plus the Florida, California, Texas, New York and Illinois guides.
