(a) All advertisements published, distributed, or broadcasted by or on behalf of a licensee seeking professional employment for the licensee in providing services relating to immigration or naturalization shall include a statement that he or she is an active licensee of the State Bar, licensed to practice law in this state. If the advertisement seeks employment for a law firm or law corporation employing more than one attorney, the advertisement shall include a statement that all the services relating to immigration and naturalization provided by the firm or corporation shall be provided by an active licensee of the State Bar or by a person under the supervision of an active licensee of the State Bar. This subdivision shall not apply to classified or “yellow pages” listings in a telephone or business directory of three lines or less that state only the name, address, and telephone number of the listed entity.

(b) If the advertisement is in a language other than English, the statement required by subdivision (a) shall be in the same language as the advertisement.

Terms Used In California Business and Professions Code 6157.5

  • advertisement: means any communication, disseminated by television or radio, by any print medium, including, but not limited to, newspapers and billboards, or by means of a mailing directed generally to members of the public and not to a specific person, that solicits employment of legal services provided by a licensee, and is directed to the general public and is paid for by, or on the behalf of, an attorney. See California Business and Professions Code 6157
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Licensee: means a licensee in good standing of the State Bar and includes any agent of the licensee and any law firm or law corporation doing business in the State of California. See California Business and Professions Code 6157
  • State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Business and Professions Code 21
  • Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs, unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Business and Professions Code 15

(c) This section shall not apply to licensees employed by public agencies or by nonprofit entities registered with the Secretary of State.

(d) A violation of this section by a licensee shall be cause for discipline by the State Bar.

(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 659, Sec. 117. (AB 3249) Effective January 1, 2019.)

  Previous section
Next section  
 Article 9.5 Contents