Introduction: the apparent legal vacuum that is not really a vacuum
During the first weeks of pupillage, many Moroccan lawyers discover the internal rules of their Bar and reach a rather radical conclusion: an avocat is not allowed to communicate at all. I remember the same reaction among young colleagues in Casablanca and Rabat. They looked at the communication practices of doctors, chartered accountants and notaries, then asked why a law firm could not simply do the same.
That conclusion is understandable, but legally incomplete. Moroccan law does not prohibit a lawyer from being identifiable, publishing legal analysis, maintaining a professional website or appearing in a properly structured directory. What it prohibits is commercial advertising, active solicitation, touting and the use of intermediaries to obtain files. The distinction is decisive. A platform such as AvocatLib's professional space for Moroccan lawyers, for example, may provide factual visibility by city and field of practice without requiring the lawyer to send unsolicited messages or purchase aggressive advertising.
The central provision is Article 40 of Law No. 28-08 governing the legal profession, promulgated by Dahir No. 1-08-101 of 20 Shawwal 1429, corresponding to 20 October 2008. It must be read together with the unified internal regulations adopted within the profession and, above all, with the rules and circulars applied by the lawyer's own Conseil de l'Ordre.
In practice, interpretation is not completely uniform. The larger Bars, particularly Casablanca and Rabat, have had to deal earlier and more frequently with websites, LinkedIn profiles, online directories and legal videos. Some regional Bars remain more conservative. This difference in practice does not erase Article 40, but it explains why a communication format accepted without difficulty in one Bar may attract a request for clarification in another.
Why advertising remains a sensitive subject in Moroccan Bars
We, as lawyers, are understandably wary of anything that could turn the profession into a marketplace. The prohibition protects independence, professional dignity, confidentiality and the client's freedom of choice. It also prevents a lawyer with a large advertising budget from presenting the outcome of proceedings as a consumer product.
Yet the economic reality of a Moroccan practice cannot be ignored. Office rent, staff, tax and social obligations, professional insurance, travel to courts and delays in recovering fees all weigh on a firm. Competition inside the profession has also increased. The answer cannot be covert solicitation, but neither should professional ethics become an excuse for digital invisibility.
What Law 28-08 says—and what it is sometimes wrongly said to say
The law draws a line between information and promotion. Information allows the public to know who you are, where you practise, which languages you work in and the legal fields in which you have experience. Promotion tries to persuade a person to entrust you with a file through promises, slogans, paid targeting, discounts, comparisons or repeated calls to action.
That is the practical starting point for any analysis of lawyer advertising rules in Morocco: inform, do not solicit; explain, do not promise; remain available, but do not chase the client.
What Law 28-08 really provides: an article-by-article legal reading
Article 40: the heart of the prohibition
Article 40 of Law No. 28-08 is the statutory anchor for the prohibition on advertising and solicitation by lawyers. The authoritative version is the Arabic text published in Official Gazette No. 5680 of 6 November 2008; the French version made available by the Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement is commonly used for professional reference.
Substance of Article 40: a lawyer may not engage in solicitation or use advertising methods to obtain clientele, whether directly or through an intermediary. The article must be applied in a manner consistent with the dignity and traditional rules of the profession.
This formulation matters. Article 40 is directed at the method used to obtain clients. It does not say that a lawyer must be absent from the internet, refuse interviews or conceal professional contact details. A factual webpage does not have the same purpose or effect as a sponsored advertisement displayed to people selected because they searched for “divorce lawyer urgently” or “recover debt quickly”.
Attention, however: the distinction is based on substance, not labels. Calling a paid campaign “legal information” will not protect it if its design, targeting and wording reveal a commercial objective. The Conseil de l'Ordre may examine the overall presentation, frequency, audience, wording and method of payment.
The unified internal regulations of Moroccan Bars
The Règlement intérieur unifié des barreaux du Maroc, developed through the Association des Barreaux d'Avocats du Maroc, supplements the statute with professional rules concerning signs, letterheads, professional titles, relations between colleagues, fees and communication. It does not transform commercial advertising into lawful professional information. It usually imposes a stricter reading where dignity, discretion or the prohibition of client brokering is at stake.
You should also distinguish the unified framework from the internal application of your own Bar. Circulars and decisions of the Councils of the Order may regulate the presentation of a website, the use of a firm name, plaques, announcements relating to a change of address or communication by trainee lawyers. Before launching an unusual format—an influencer partnership, a sponsored webinar or a lead-generation platform—the prudent step is to write to the Bâtonnier and obtain a written position.
Active solicitation versus passive professional presence
Active solicitation means approaching a person who has not requested contact, with the purpose of obtaining instructions. Cold calls, bulk emails, unsolicited WhatsApp messages and approaching accident victims are obvious examples. Paying a third party for each file referred to the firm is even more problematic because solicitation is then combined with intermediation and potentially unlawful fee sharing.
A passive professional presence works in the opposite direction. The lawyer publishes accurate information and the prospective client chooses whether to make contact. A website found through an ordinary search, a legal article, a conference biography or a neutral directory listing can fall into this category, provided that the content itself remains measured.
Published Moroccan disciplinary case law on digital communication remains limited. Decisions of the Councils of the Order are not systematically collected in a searchable public database, and appeals do not always generate a reported judgment of the courts of appeal or the Court of Cassation. One should therefore avoid inventing a supposed “leading case”. The absence of published case law, however, does not mean an absence of disciplinary proceedings.
The red list: practices that should be treated as prohibited
Direct solicitation and unsolicited approaches
The clearest breach is the unsolicited approach to a potential client. It includes cold telephone calls, prospecting emails, advertising SMS messages and bulk WhatsApp campaigns. The same reasoning applies when a staff member, call centre or “legal consultant” acts on the lawyer's behalf. What the lawyer may not do directly cannot be outsourced.
Context is important. Calling a person who has completed your contact form and expressly requested a consultation is not cold solicitation. Nor is replying to an email sent to the firm. Keep a record of the incoming request, particularly where the first contact came through social media or a directory. In disciplinary terms, traceability can establish that the client took the initiative.
Paid online advertisements and promotional announcements
Google Ads, sponsored Facebook posts, boosted Instagram publications and paid lead-generation campaigns should be treated as commercial advertising prohibited by Article 40. Their very function is to purchase exposure and direct targeted prospects toward a service provider. A neutral announcement concerning a relocation or a professional event is not equivalent to a recurring paid campaign selling legal services, but even exceptional announcements should comply with local Bar rules.
Newspaper interviews and authored legal columns are permissible when they provide genuine information. By contrast, buying a general-press advertisement stating “fast divorce”, “guaranteed debt recovery” or “the best criminal lawyer in Casablanca” combines solicitation, a promise of performance and potentially misleading comparison.
Comparative advertising and denigration of colleagues
Statements such as “more effective than other firms”, “the number one lawyer in Morocco” or “the only expert in commercial litigation” are incompatible with professional restraint unless an official title can be stated exactly and objectively. They may also amount to denigration or misrepresentation.
The same applies to success rates. Litigation results depend on evidence, procedure, the opposing party and the sovereign assessment of the court. Presenting a percentage without a verifiable methodology is misleading; using it to promise an outcome is worse. A lawyer may discuss an anonymised legal issue for educational purposes, but professional secrecy under Law 28-08 must remain absolute.
Paid intermediaries and “file hunters”
The field expression is familiar: chasseurs de dossiers. They may operate around courts, police stations, hospitals, insurance disputes or real-estate transactions. Paying such an intermediary per client or as a percentage of the fees creates a serious disciplinary risk. It undermines the client's free choice and may constitute prohibited fee sharing.
I have seen colleagues summoned by their Council not because their name appeared online, but because the flow of files revealed organised solicitation by a third party. The disciplinary consequences are assessed under Articles 97 to 110 of Law 28-08, which govern disciplinary proceedings and sanctions. Depending on the facts, the lawyer may face a warning, reprimand, temporary suspension or, in the gravest cases, removal from the roll. Due process, notification, defence rights and the available appeal channels must, of course, be respected.
A conventional directory is different from a commission-based file broker. On a verified professional directory, the user searches and decides whom to contact; the platform should not sell the file to the highest bidder or take a share of legal fees. That is the compliance logic behind a listing on AvocatLib: factual identification and incoming contact, rather than unsolicited outreach. The lawyer remains responsible for ensuring that the wording of the profile complies with the rules of his or her Bar.
The green list: permitted communication, with necessary qualifications
The professional plaque and letterhead
The plaque remains the most traditional form of professional visibility, but even it is regulated. It should contain factual particulars: name, professional capacity, Bar membership and office details. Dimensions, presentation, wording and any reference to an association or partnership must follow the applicable internal regulations and the directions of the local Conseil de l'Ordre.
Do not assume that colours or measurements are identical in every Bar. Check the current local rules before ordering a sign. The same caution applies to letterheads, business cards, email signatures and the use of titles such as former Bâtonnier, doctor of law or accredited specialist.
A law firm website: lawful, but not a sales page
A law firm website in Morocco can be lawful when it presents objective professional information. It may identify the lawyers, state Bar membership, give office contact details, describe areas of practice, list working languages, publish biographies and provide articles or case notes. A contact form or appointment-request function is normally consistent with passive visibility because the visitor initiates contact.
The site should avoid advertising slogans, urgent pop-ups, countdowns, promotional discounts, commercial price tables and promises of results. It must also comply with data-protection duties, particularly where a contact form collects personal information. Depending on the processing performed, Law No. 09-08 and the requirements of the Commission Nationale de contrôle de la protection des Données à caractère Personnel should be reviewed.
Professional directories and searchable databases
A transparent online directory is not, by its nature, client solicitation. The decisive features are that the lawyer's information is accurate, the user initiates the search and the service does not remunerate intermediaries through a percentage of fees. The profile must avoid rankings purchased as claims of professional superiority, fabricated reviews and result guarantees.
For example, you may create a professional profile on AvocatLib that identifies your Bar, city, languages and fields of practice. The platform can verify professional particulars against available Bar information; that should not be confused with formal endorsement by the Bar itself. Users then search by location and legal need and choose whether to make direct contact.
Conferences, publications and expert commentary
Doctrine remains one of the safest and most durable forms of lawyer communication in Morocco. You may publish in a Bar review, REMALD, a specialist journal or a business publication such as L'Économiste, provided that your contribution is genuinely informative and respects professional secrecy. Speaking at a chamber of commerce, university or professional association also builds legitimate authority.
You may comment on legislation, including amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure, employment disputes under Article 41 of the Labour Code or liability under Articles 77 and 78 of the Dahir des Obligations et des Contrats. Avoid turning the final paragraph into a sales pitch. Your name, capacity, Bar and office contact link are generally enough.
LinkedIn and other social networks
A factual LinkedIn profile is compatible with professional communication. Experience, education, languages, publications, conferences and measured descriptions of practice areas may be stated. Pages on Facebook or Instagram are more sensitive because their design encourages promotional engagement, but informational use is not automatically unlawful.
The red line is crossed when content becomes paid, repetitive or sales-driven. “Here is what Article 230 of the DOC means for contractual disputes” informs. “Contact me now and I will cancel your contract” solicits and promises. The platform changes; the legal test does not.
Your law firm website: what it should and should not contain
Professional and legal particulars
At a minimum, identify each lawyer accurately by full name and professional capacity. State the Bar of registration, office address, professional telephone number and email address. If the site presents a partnership, association or secondary office, confirm that its legal and professional form has been duly approved or declared where required.
Include a privacy notice for collected data, identify the site publisher and explain the limited purpose of any contact form. A disclaimer should make clear that sending a message does not automatically create an avocat-client relationship and that confidential or time-sensitive information should not be sent before conflicts and availability are checked.
Permitted content: team, experience and fields of practice
You may publish a professional biography, university qualifications, teaching activities, languages and representative types of work. Use “areas of practice” or “fields of experience” carefully. Do not claim a formally recognised specialisation unless you hold the title under the applicable professional rules.
Case descriptions require particular discipline. Remove names and any detail that could permit identification. Client consent does not always resolve every professional-secrecy issue, especially where third parties or ongoing proceedings are concerned. When in doubt, discuss the legal principle rather than the file.
Slogans, fees and testimonials
“Best lawyer in Marrakech”, “guaranteed release” and “recover your money in seven days” plainly do not belong on a lawyer's website. Testimonials and Google reviews are also sensitive. You should not solicit laudatory reviews, script them or republish them as advertising. If a client independently posts a review, respond only if doing so does not confirm the existence or substance of the professional relationship.
Public fee tables should be approached with caution. An educational article may explain whether fees are fixed, hourly or linked to procedural stages, but a menu such as “divorce package” or “company formation promotion” resembles commercial retailing. Furthermore, Moroccan VAT treatment has evolved through successive Finance Laws. As of 2026, any public amount must be checked against the rate then applicable under the Code général des impôts and clearly presented as inclusive or exclusive of tax; do not rely on the inaccurate shortcut that a permanent 20% rule began with Finance Law 2021.
Is SEO advertising?
Natural search engine optimisation is not equivalent to paid advertising. Publishing a useful article that Google indexes is a form of professional information, provided that the content remains accurate and non-promotional. Buying sponsored placement through Google Ads is different because the lawyer pays to target prospects and outrank other service providers commercially.
Good SEO is mostly good professional publishing: one clear page for each genuine practice area, accurate city information, fast loading, coherent titles and substantive legal articles. A profile on AvocatLib can complement a firm's website by organising factual visibility by city and field of practice, without requiring the lawyer to manage a complex publishing system or paid advertising campaign.
Social media and personal branding without crossing the line
LinkedIn: generally the safest professional network
LinkedIn fits the profession relatively well because it accommodates long-form legal analysis, career information and conference notices. A comment on a Court of Cassation ruling, a new Finance Law or a CNSS reform can demonstrate competence without soliciting a single person.
Use a restrained biography. Avoid “winning lawyer”, “top expert” and “DM me to solve your case today”. If someone sends you a private request, move the exchange to the firm's controlled channel, conduct a conflict check and give the notices required for professional handling of the matter.
Facebook and Instagram: where the traps multiply
Facebook and Instagram are not prohibited merely because they are popular networks. The difficulty lies in presentation: boosted posts, emotional calls to action, before-and-after stories and promises of immediate results look like commercial advertising. The use of trending audio or entertainment formats can also weaken the dignity expected of the profession, depending on the subject.
Consider the realistic case of a trainee lawyer at the Fès Bar who posts: “Arrested? Send me a message now and I guarantee release.” Even if no paid campaign was used, a reminder from the Conseil de l'Ordre would be unsurprising. The problem is not the Instagram account. It is the guarantee, the solicitation and the trainee's presentation as an independent practice.
YouTube and legal podcasts
Many Moroccan lawyers now explain legislation on YouTube or participate in podcasts. This can be legitimate public legal education. State that the content is general information, not individual advice; avoid commenting on your own pending cases; and never reveal information learned through professional activity.
A video title such as “Five procedural points in a commercial lease claim” is defensible. “Hire me to defeat your landlord” is not. Monetisation, sponsorships and paid product placement create additional ethical questions and should be submitted to the competent Bar before launch.
Use a professional incoming-contact channel
Rather than managing appointments through Instagram messages, where confidentiality, identity and recordkeeping are weak, use a professional contact route. A structured request through AvocatLib's lawyer profile tools, a secure firm form or a dedicated professional email makes it easier to document that the person initiated the contact. It does not remove your conflict-check, confidentiality or client-identification obligations.
Practical checklist: compliant actions you can take tomorrow
Five immediately usable communication actions
- Update your LinkedIn profile. State your exact professional status, Bar, languages, education and genuine fields of practice. Remove exaggerated claims and sales-oriented calls to action.
- Audit your firm's website. Check identities, Bar details, office address, privacy information, contact wording and every claim concerning expertise. Delete promises, unsupported rankings and promotional fee packages.
- Create a verified directory profile. You may register your lawyer profile on AvocatLib and provide the information needed for professional verification. Profiles can be organised by cities such as Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier, Marrakech, Fès or Agadir and by field of practice. Allow time to collect your Bar particulars and draft a precise biography; do not treat any advertised completion time as a legal compliance guarantee.
- Write one serious legal article. Answer a recurring question in your field by citing the relevant statutory provisions. A useful article has a longer professional life than a sponsored post.
- Offer a technical contribution. Contact a university, business association or chamber of commerce with a proposed legal topic, not an offer to canvass its members.
Three checks before publication
- Read Law 28-08, the unified internal regulations and the current rules or circulars of your own Bar.
- Check that the content contains no commercial tariff display, result guarantee, comparative claim or invitation aimed at vulnerable potential clients.
- Confirm that no employee, agency, platform or referrer is paid per file or through a share of your fees.
How to approach the Conseil de l'Ordre
For an ordinary factual website or directory entry, there is no universal statutory rule requiring prior authorisation in every instance. Local rules may nevertheless require notification or impose presentation requirements. Send a concise letter to the Bâtonnier enclosing screenshots, the URL, the proposed biography and an explanation of how contacts are initiated.
Do not ask an abstract question such as “May I advertise?” Ask whether a defined format complies with Article 40 and the Bar's internal regulations. A written response is more useful than informal reassurance received in a courthouse corridor.
The special position of trainee lawyers
Status and professional constraints
Law No. 28-08 provides for a three-year traineeship, subject to its statutory conditions and the powers of the competent Bar. A trainee remains registered as such and works under the professional framework applicable to pupillage. He or she may not create the impression of operating an independent law firm when that status has not been acquired.
A trainee's LinkedIn page, article biography or directory profile must clearly use the proper designation—avocat stagiaire—and identify the relevant Bar. The office relationship should be presented accurately. The trainee must not adopt an independent firm name, publish separate commercial offers or suggest unrestricted authority inconsistent with his or her status.
The supervising lawyer's role
The supervising lawyer should review public biographies and content published in connection with the firm. This is not censorship; it is part of professional training. A young colleague may understand the substantive law perfectly and still underestimate how a headline, hashtag or call to action will be perceived by the Conseil de l'Ordre.
Even as a trainee, you may build a measured digital presence and create an AvocatLib profile, provided that your trainee status and Bar affiliation are unmistakable. Use the profile to present education, languages and legal writing—not to imply an independent office or promise outcomes.
Build reputation through substance
Pupillage is an excellent period for publishing notes in specialist reviews, assisting with firm seminars and learning how courts actually apply legislation. A well-researched note on commercial leases, employment termination or land-registration procedure will remain relevant long after a social-media post disappears.
When the traineeship ends and you consider independent practice, add the practical establishment issues: tax registration, professional insurance, office formalities and the applicable AMO or social-security regime. Visibility is only one component of a sustainable Moroccan practice.
Conclusion: professional visibility is legitimate, but it is not a licence to solicit
What the Moroccan legal market now expects
Clients increasingly search by city, language and legal problem before contacting a firm. They expect accurate information and a professional channel through which to request an appointment. Nothing in the dignity of our profession requires them to choose blindly.
Law 28-08 protects the profession from mercantilism. It should not be stretched into a total ban on websites, doctrine, directories or factual social-media profiles. The workable balance is straightforward: no cold approaches, no purchased commercial exposure, no intermediaries, no comparisons and no promises—only verifiable professional information.
Ethics and practice development can coexist
If you want to begin with one concrete step, you can create your professional profile on AvocatLib, describe your practice accurately and allow potential clients to initiate contact. Before publication, compare the wording with Article 40, your Bar's current internal rules and any guidance issued by the Bâtonnier.
After twenty years in practice, my view is simple: a carefully completed directory profile and a serious doctrinal article usually create more durable professional credibility than a paid advertising campaign ever could. They also leave you on the right side of the line that matters—the line between being visible and chasing a client.