New Ohio Advisory Opinion Offers Guidance on Law Firm DBAs and Trade Names

The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct has issued Advisory Opinion 2026-02, offering practical guidance for Ohio law firms that use a registered trade name or fictitious name, often referred to as a DBA, in marketing and public-facing communications. 

The opinion addresses a question arising out of a common law firm marketing practice: if a firm is formally organized as an LLC, LPA, LLP, corporation, or other permitted legal entity, must the firm include the entity designation every time it uses the separately registered trade name in advertising, signage, letterhead, websites, business cards, or similar materials? 

In general, the Board’s answer is no. A law firm may use a separately registered trade name or DBA in marketing and public-facing communications without adding “LLC,” “LPA,” “LLP,” or another required entity designation. However, the same communication should also identify the firm’s full legal entity name, including the required designation. 

For example, a firm legally organized as “The Law Offices of Abraham Lincoln & Associates, LLC” and registered to do business as “Lincoln Law” may use “Lincoln Law” as the prominent name in a print advertisement, website header, logo, business card, or similar marketing piece. The firm should include the full legal entity name elsewhere in that same communication, such as in the footer, address block, contact information, or another visible location. For a print advertisement, the footer might simply state: “Lincoln Law is the registered trade name of The Law Offices of Abraham Lincoln & Associates, LLC.”  

Depending on the content of the advertisement, the firm should also consider additional language clarifying that the communication is informational only, does not constitute legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and does not guarantee any particular outcome. 

The opinion builds on Advisory Opinion 2020-11, which confirmed that Ohio lawyers and law firms may use trade names, provided the name complies with the Rules of Professional Conduct, including Prof.Cond.R. 7.1’s prohibition on false, misleading, or nonverifiable communications concerning a lawyer’s services. 

Advisory Opinion 2026-02 provides additional clarification for firms that have a formal legal entity name with the required designation but use a separately registered DBA or trade name as a marketing name. Read together with Advisory Opinion 2020-11, the new opinion suggests that a firm with a formal entity name may use a registered trade name in marketing materials, provided the full legal entity name appears in the same medium. For example, the firm “Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln, LLC” may register and use the trade name “Log Cabin Law” in marketing materials, provided the trade name complies with the Rules of Professional Conduct and the firm’s full legal entity name appears in the same medium. 

The Board provides examples for common law firm marketing materials, including websites, letterhead, printed advertisements, business cards, articles, blog posts, web content, and signage. Firms should review those examples before finalizing any DBA or trade-name rollout, and should apply the same general principle across all public-facing materials: the trade name may be used prominently, but the full legal entity name should appear clearly within the same medium. 

For insured firms, the risk-management takeaway is straightforward: a registered DBA or trade name may offer more flexibility in branding, but it should not obscure the identity of the legal entity responsible for the communication. Firms should confirm that the full legal entity name appears clearly within the same medium where the trade name is used and that the trade name itself complies with the Rules of Professional Conduct, including Prof.Cond.R. 7.1’s prohibition on false, misleading, or nonverifiable communications. 

If your firm is considering the use of a registered trade name or DBA, OBLIC policyholders are encouraged to contact us with questions or request an ethics consultation before rolling out new branding, advertising, or other public-facing communications.

This information is made available solely for loss prevention purposes, which may include claim prevention techniques designed to minimize the likelihood of incurring a claim for legal malpractice. This information does not establish, report, or create the standard of care for attorneys. The material is not a complete analysis of the topic and should not be construed as providing legal advice. Please conduct your own appropriate legal research in this area. If you have questions about this email’s content and are an OBLIC policyholder, please contact us using the information above.