Attorneys: unlawful solicitations and advertisements.

The private right of action in Section 6157.2(c) now requires a consumer to first file a complaint with the State Bar under Section 6158.4, obtain a State Bar determination that substantial evidence of a violation exists, and confirm the advertiser either failed to withdraw or rebroadcast the ad after withdrawing. Previously, any person could sue directly without going through the State Bar process.

A vexatious litigant provision was added to Section 6158.4(j): if a complainant files five or more unfounded complaints within seven years, they are deemed a vexatious litigant and must post $25,000 in security before the State Bar will consider any further complaint.

Section 6158.4(h) provides that amounts recovered in civil enforcement actions shall be paid into the Client Security Fund maintained by the State Bar, rather than going to the individual plaintiff.

The private right of action was narrowed from 'any person who was misled' to 'a consumer who was misled,' limiting standing to consumers rather than any member of the public.

Section 6158.4 is now amended, adding a comprehensive enforcement framework including: personal service of complaints on advertisers, a nine-day voluntary withdrawal period, a 21-day State Bar review timeline, a 72-hour post-determination withdrawal window, a one-year statute of limitations for civil enforcement actions, declaratory relief procedures with collateral estoppel effects, and a direct enforcement path for non-licensee advertisers requiring only 14 days notice.

The advertising content prohibition in Section 6157.2(a) was changed from requiring that characterizations of a lawyer's skills, experience, reputation, or record be 'objectively verifiable' to only prohibiting statements that are 'misleading, deceptive, or false.' This relaxes the standard by removing the affirmative verification requirement.

The prohibition on references to organizational recognition or awards was narrowed: it no longer covers a lawyer's 'membership in' an organization (only 'recognition by, or awards from'), and the standard for permissible organizations was simplified from requiring 'uniformly applied criteria' and 'a reasonable cross section of the legal community' to simply being 'recognized within the legal profession as being a bona fide organization.' An alternative path was added allowing recognition/awards even from non-bona fide organizations if they are not conferred by virtue of membership and no fee is charged.

The definitions in Section 6157 were restructured: 'advertise' and 'advertisement' were split into separate definitions. 'Advertisement' now specifically means communication 'for the purpose of encouraging individuals to secure the services of the lawyer or their law firm,' which is narrower than the prior definition that covered any communication subject to compliance with the article or State Bar rules.

Statutory damages in Section 6157.2(c) are now calculated 'per unique advertisement' rather than 'per violation,' and the court's role in determining the amount was changed from mandatory ('shall be determined') to discretionary ('may be determined'). The factors the court considers when assessing damages were also changed from mandatory ('shall consider') to discretionary ('may consider').

The document was reformatted from an official chaptered legislative document (with page numbers, 'Ch. 645' headers, and formal layout) to a web page version that includes site navigation menus, bill metadata (version history, date published, vote/appropriation/fiscal/local program flags), and the same legal text with minor typographic differences.

New Section 6155 establishes a full regulatory framework for lawyer referral services, requiring State Bar certification, prohibiting ownership by lawyers who receive more than 20 percent of referrals, mandating errors and omissions insurance ($100,000 per occurrence / $300,000 aggregate), and requiring services to establish activities serving persons of limited means.

The State Bar review procedure in Section 6158.4 is extended to individuals or entities that participate in joint legal advertising arrangements, not just licensees and certified referral services as before.

Broadcasters that disseminate advertisements are now excluded from provisions regulating legal advertisement content, joining previously excluded media outlets and advertising agencies.

Joint advertising is now explicitly permitted but requires each participating attorney or law firm to execute a joint advertising agreement with the managing entity, under which they expressly take liability for the content of the advertising. The advertisement must identify by name all participating attorneys or law firms.

New Section 6156.5 creates a civil action for violations of the lawyer referral service provisions (Section 6155), allowing statutory damages of $5,000 to $100,000 per violation or three times actual damages, whichever is larger, plus attorney's fees and injunctive relief.

Grounds for licensee discipline are expanded to include any false, misleading, or deceptive statement in an advertisement, or omission of any fact necessary to make statements not false, misleading, or deceptive in context.

New definition of 'electronic medium' added to Section 6157, defined as television, radio, or computer networks.

Joint advertisements on platforms with character, display, or time limitations are deemed compliant if they name the joint advertiser and provide a clear and prominent link to a landing page containing all required disclosures.

Header changed from 'Senate Bill No. 37' with legislative process tracking lines (Secretary of the Senate, Chief Clerk of the Assembly signatures, Governor receipt time) to 'STATE OF CALIFORNIA AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL' with Chapter 645 designation and Governor approval date of October 11, 2025.

Page number formatting changed from 'SB 37 -X-' to 'Ch. 645 -X-' throughout the document.

Text reflow and indentation adjusted to match the chaptered law layout, with no changes to the actual statutory language of any section.

Removed the prohibition on advertisements containing a 'prediction of success' regarding the outcome of a legal matter. Only guarantees and warranties of success remain prohibited.

Removed the entire provision prohibiting references to past results unless objectively verifiable and not misleading. Lawyers may now reference past results in advertisements without this specific restriction.

Narrowed the prohibition on misleading statements by removing 'reputation' from the list of protected attributes. Advertisements can no longer be challenged for misleading statements about a lawyer's or law firm's reputation, only their skills, experience, or record.

Simplified the test for awards and recognitions in advertisements by removing the requirement that the conferring entity be 'recognized within the legal profession as being a bona fide organization.' Now only two conditions apply: the award must not be conferred merely by membership, and the organization must not charge a fee for it.

Limited the 72-hour withdrawal deadline to electronic broadcasts only. For all other media (print, direct mail, etc.), the advertiser must submit notice of withdrawal to the State Bar within 72 hours but has up to 30 days to actually withdraw the advertisement.

Changed the unit for statutory damages from 'per violation' to 'per each unique advertisement,' which could reduce total damages when a single advertisement is broadcast multiple times.

Changed the court's obligation when assessing statutory damages from 'shall consider' relevant circumstances to 'may consider,' giving courts discretion rather than requiring them to weigh factors like willfulness, persistence, and the defendant's financial condition.

Standing to sue for attorney advertising violations under Section 6157.2 is narrowed from 'any person' to only 'a consumer who was misled by an advertisement in violation of this section.' This significantly limits who can bring a civil action and recover statutory damages.

A new prohibition is added to Section 6157.2(a)(6) barring advertisements from containing 'misleading, deceptive, or false statements, words, or phrases regarding a lawyer's or law firm's skills, experience, reputation, or record.' This is a broader catch-all beyond the existing requirement that characterizations be objectively verifiable.

The exception for references to organization membership, recognition, or awards in Section 6157.2(a)(7) now includes an additional condition: the entity must either be generally recognized as bona fide with uniformly applied criteria, OR it must not charge or solicit a fee, cost, or payment for the recognition or award. This means free recognitions from non-bona-fide organizations are now permissible in advertisements.

Section 6157.2(b)(2) now allows disclosure of 'the address of record listed with the State Bar for the lawyer or law firm' as an alternative to disclosing a bona fide office location, making it easier for attorneys to comply with the office location disclosure requirement.

Section 6157 now defines 'advertise' and 'advertisement' as separate terms. The new 'advertisement' definition covers any communication through written, recorded, or electronic means directed to the general public OR a limited group of individuals that provides information about a lawyer's services for the purpose of encouraging people to retain them. This is broader than the prior definition which focused on communications directed to the general public.

The bill no longer amends Section 363 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which had made a technical change clarifying that 'action' includes special proceedings of a civil nature. This provision is removed from both the title and body of the bill.

Gender-neutral language change in Section 6153(b): 'his' changed to 'their' when referring to forfeiture of office or employment for public employees who violate the article's provisions.

The bill now amends Sections 6153, 6157, and 6157.2 of, and adds Section 6156.5 to, the Business and Professions Code, expanding from a single technical fix in the Code of Civil Procedure to a comprehensive attorney regulation package.

Adds a private right of action for any person to sue over violations of Section 6152 (runner/capper solicitation), with statutory damages of $5,000 to $100,000 per violation or three times actual damages, whichever is larger, plus attorney's fees and injunctive relief.

Adds new Section 6156.5 creating a private right of action for violations of Section 6155 (referral service rules), with the same $5,000 to $100,000 statutory damages structure.

Adds a private right of action for violations of Section 6157.2 (advertising content rules) with the same statutory damages structure, making enforcement independent of any government agency action.

Adds state prison sentencing options (two, three, or four years) for second or subsequent convictions of runner/capper violations under Section 6153, in addition to existing county jail and fine penalties.

Redefines 'advertise' and 'advertisement' from a narrow definition requiring communication directed to the general public and paid for by an attorney, to a broad definition covering any written, recorded, or electronic means of communication subject to compliance with the article or State Bar Rules of Professional Conduct.

Prohibits legal advertisements from containing predictions of success regarding the outcome of a legal matter, going beyond the existing ban on guarantees and warranties.

Requires that references to past results in ads be objectively verifiable and not omit facts that would make them misleading.

Requires that statements characterizing a lawyer's or law firm's skills, experience, reputation, or record be objectively verifiable.

Prohibits references to a lawyer's membership in, recognition by, or awards from an organization unless the conferring entity is generally recognized as bona fide, uses uniformly applied criteria, and includes a reasonable cross section of the legal community.

Requires legal advertisements to conspicuously display (or intelligibly state if spoken) the name of at least one California-licensed lawyer, law firm, or certified referral service responsible for the ad, plus the city, town, or county of at least one bona fide office location.