Informal Opinion Number: 20070027

QUESTION:  Attorney is licensed in Missouri, Illinois and Arizona. Attorney’s office is in Illinois and the overwhelming majority of cases and clients are in Illinois. Do the Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct regarding advertising apply to Attorney’s Yellow Pages advertising in Illinois? More specifically, what about the Missouri-unique requirement, 4-7.2(f)?

ANSWER:  The Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct will apply to Attorney’s advertising in Illinois unless they directly conflict with Illinois rules. If one state’s rule on a particular issue has higher requirements than the other state’s rule, that would not be considered a conflict.  It is only a conflict if it is not possible to comply with the rules of both states.

Informal Opinions are ethics advisory opinions issued by the Office of Legal Ethics Counsel to members of the Bar about Rule 4 (Rules of Professional Conduct), Rule 5 (Complaints and Proceedings Thereon), and Rule 6 (Fees to Practice Law) pursuant to Missouri Supreme Court Rule 5.30(c). Written summaries of select Informal Opinions are published for informational purposes as determined by the Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Missouri pursuant to Rule 5.30(c). Informal opinion summaries are advisory in nature and are not binding. These opinions are published as an educational service and do not constitute legal advice.

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