Rule 16-702. Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services: Specific Rules.

A. Permitted advertising. A lawyer may communicate information regarding the lawyer’s services through any media. B. Payments for referrals. A lawyer shall not compensate, give, or promise anything of value to a person who is not an employee or lawyer in the same firm 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. A qualified lawyer referral service is a lawyer referral service that has been approved by an appropriate regulatory authority; (3) pay for a law practice in accordance with Rule 16-117 NMRA; (4) refer clients to another lawyer or a non-lawyer professional under 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 the State Bar of New Mexico, an organization that has been approved by an appropriate authority of another state or the District of Columbia or a U.S. Territory, or an organization that has been accredited by the American Bar Association; and (2) the name of the certifying organization is clearly identified in the communication. D. Required information in communications. 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.