Law firms and AI visibility in Luxembourg: what the Bar's advertising rules allow

This is not legal advice. Letzscale is not a law firm. This page summarises what the Luxembourg Bar's published texts say and lists questions they raise for AI visibility work. Before you change your website, listings or review practice, check with the Ordre des avocats du Barreau de Luxembourg (or your own Bar, if you are registered in Diekirch) or a colleague who advises on professional conduct.

Short answer: lawyers in Luxembourg may advertise, but only with objective, verifiable information, without naming clients or cases unless the client agreed, and without canvassing or soliciting clients. Most AI visibility work is about making correct facts easy to find, which sits close to what the rules ask for. The grey areas are client names, reviews, rankings and anything that looks like soliciting, and those are points to check with the Bar first.

Where the rules come from

Two texts matter, and both are linked from the Bar's own website:

• The law of 10 August 1991 on the legal profession (consolidated text on Legilux). Article 19 lets the Council of the Bar adopt internal rules on, among other things, l'information du public concernant les avocats et leur activité professionnelle (informing the public about lawyers and their work). Article 36 sets the frame for advertising.
• The Règlement intérieur de l'Ordre (RIO), adopted on 9 January 2013 and amended several times since. The latest consolidated version listed on the Bar's Règlements page is dated 23 August 2022 (PDF). Title 6, Relations de l'avocat avec le public, covers media, advertising, websites and preferred practice areas.

The Bar also publishes the CCBE Code of Conduct for European Lawyers, which applies to cross-border activity within the EU and EEA. Its article 2.6 allows lawyers to inform the public about their services if the information is fidèle, véridique et respectueuse du secret professionnel (accurate, truthful and respectful of professional secrecy) (CCBE code, French version on barreau.lu).

What the 1991 law says about advertising

Article 36(1): the means used to give the public l'information nécessaire sur l'avocat, sur les conditions d'exercice de sa profession et sur les affaires dont il est chargé must respect the client's interest and must not harm la dignité de la profession, under conditions set by the Council of the Bar.

In plain English: lawyers may inform the public about themselves and how they work, as long as it serves the client's interest and keeps the profession's dignity. The details are left to the Bar's rules.

Article 36(2): Tout acte de démarchage ou de sollicitation est interdit à l'avocat.

In plain English: any act of canvassing or soliciting clients is forbidden. The law does not define these words; how they apply to online activity is for the Bar to say.

What the Bar's internal rules (RIO) say

Article	What it says (French, short quote)	In plain English
6.2.1	Publicité personnelle: toute communication publique, quels que soient les moyens utilisés, ayant pour objet de faire connaître son auteur	Any public message, in any medium, that makes a lawyer known or describes their practice counts as personal advertising.
6.2.2	La publicité fonctionnelle relève de la compétence des seules autorités ordinales.	Promoting the legal profession as a whole is for the Bar alone.
6.2.3	La publicité personnelle est autorisée ... L'information donnée par la publicité doit se limiter à des éléments objectifs, c'est-à-dire susceptibles d'être appréciés et vérifiés.	Personal advertising is allowed, but only with objective facts that can be checked.
6.2.4	Est interdite toute publicité personnelle permettant d'identifier la clientèle de l'avocat ... sauf ... l'accord préalable de son client	No advertising that identifies clients or cases, unless the client agreed beforehand.
6.2.5	Advertising may not rest on conditions financières non conformes à la dignité de la profession	Price-based advertising must stay consistent with the profession's dignity.
6.2.6	The rules apply to courrier électronique, site Internet (y compris les liens hypertexte à partir ou vers les sites Internet) ainsi que tout document destiné à des tiers	The same rules cover email, the website, links to and from it, and any document meant for others.
6.2.7	Cases may be mentioned in a tender or for a publication professionnelle, with client consent or if the case is public. Sont seuls à considérer comme publications professionnelles les annuaires et répertoires traitant de la profession d'avocat.	A narrow exception for legal directories, and only those dealing with the legal profession. Magazines do not count.
6.2.8	L'avocat peut toujours indiquer ses titres universitaires et faire état de ses activités préférentielles.	Degrees and preferred practice areas may always be shown. Only Bar members' names go on the firm's letterhead.
6.3.1	A domain name that is only un terme générique évocateur de la profession ou du barreau is not allowed without a distinctive term such as the lawyer's name.	No purely generic domain names; add the lawyer's or firm's name.
6.3.2	Le site internet peut mentionner l'ensemble des collaborateurs, avocats ou non ... if no confusion is possible about their qualifications and Bar registration.	The website may list all staff, lawyers or not, if it is clear who is what.
6.5.1, 6.5.2	The Bar keeps a list of activités préférentielles; Nul ne pourra se réclamer à titre individuel de plus de cinq activités préférentielles.	Lawyers can register preferred practice areas with the Bar, five at most. The Bar does not test knowledge in them.
7.1.3	Professional secrecy covers, among other things, le nom des mandants	Client names are covered by professional secrecy.

Source: RIO, version consolidée au 23.08.2022, read on 24 October 2026. Quotes are shortened; read the full articles in the PDF.

How AI visibility work maps to the rules: points to check with the Bar

AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot describe a firm from what they find on its website and on other sites. AI visibility work makes the right facts easy to find. The rules were written before these assistants and do not mention them, so the table below is our reading of where each task seems to sit, and the question to ask the Ordre. It is not a ruling.

AI visibility task	Rules that seem relevant	Point to check with the Bar
Accurate facts on your website: firm name, lawyers, languages, practice areas, contact details	Law art. 36(1); RIO 6.2.3, 6.2.6	These are objective, checkable facts, which is what 6.2.3 asks for. Check any wording that goes beyond facts, such as "leading", "best" or "expert".
Correcting wrong facts that AI assistants repeat	RIO 6.2.3	Fixing an outdated address or a wrong practice area makes public information more accurate. Check how to word any correction published on third-party sites.
A page per lawyer with Person structured data	RIO 6.2.8, 6.3.2, 6.5.2	Degrees and preferred practice areas may be shown; staff pages must make clear who is a registered lawyer and on which list. Check whether the five-area limit for the Bar's list should guide what you show on your own site.
About page and firm description	RIO 6.2.3, 6.2.4	Founding year, team size, languages and areas are checkable. Client names, logos and case stories need prior client consent under 6.2.4; check before using them.
Structured data (schema.org) in the page code	RIO 6.2.6 ("tout document destiné à des tiers")	Treat it as part of the website: it should say only what the visible page says. Check whether fields such as ratings or prices raise questions.
The Bar's own directory and legal directories	RIO 6.2.7, 6.5.1	The Bar's annuaire lets the public search by preferred practice area and language, so keeping your entry current matters. Legal directories are the only "professional publications" where cases may be mentioned, under conditions.
General business listings (Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple)	RIO 6.2.6	The rules do not name these platforms. Factual listings look close to a website entry; check categories, descriptions and any posts or offers.
Online reviews	Law art. 36(2); RIO 6.2.3, 6.2.4, 7.1.3	The rules do not mention reviews. Ask the Ordre whether asking clients for a review counts as solicitation, and how to reply to a review without confirming who is a client.
Rankings, "best of" lists and media articles	RIO 6.1, 6.2.3, 6.2.7	Under 6.1, lawyers deal with the media within the profession's principles and rules and the secrecy of judicial investigations. Check whether paying for a listing or a ranking, or quoting one on your site, is acceptable.
Domain name	RIO 6.3.1	A purely generic legal domain is not allowed without a distinctive term such as your name.

What a law firm can usually work on first

In our reading, the least contentious work is the factual groundwork. Check each step against the rules above, and with the Ordre where unsure:

1. Make your website facts complete and consistent. Firm name, every lawyer and their professional title, languages, offices and practice areas, stated the same way on every page. Write an About page AI can summarise shows how.
2. Give each lawyer a clear profile page. Name, title, Bar list, degrees, languages and preferred practice areas, with matching Person structured data. See Person schema and author pages for founders and experts.
3. Correct what AI assistants get wrong. Old addresses, departed partners and wrong practice areas are common. Correct the wrong facts ChatGPT tells about you explains where those facts come from.
4. Keep your entry in the Bar's annuaire current, including preferred practice areas and languages.
5. Decide on reviews only after checking with the Bar. If reviews are acceptable for your firm, Get reviews AI assistants can see, within Google's rules covers Google's own rules.

None of these steps guarantees that an AI assistant will recommend a firm. They make sure that when it looks, it finds accurate, checkable facts.

What AI assistants say about your firm today

Before changing anything, see what ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews already say about your firm: which lawyers they name, which practice areas, and whether the facts are right. Get a free report: we ask them from Luxembourg, in English, French and German, and show you the answers. The report shows what the assistants say; it does not assess compliance with the Bar's rules.

FAQ

Can lawyers in Luxembourg advertise?

Yes, within limits. Article 6.2.3 of the Bar's internal rules (RIO) allows personal advertising if it respects the law, the RIO and the profession's ethics, and limits it to objective facts that can be checked. Article 36(2) of the law of 10 August 1991 bans any act of canvassing or solicitation (RIO, Legilux).

Do the Bar's rules mention AI assistants like ChatGPT?

No. The RIO consolidated on 23 August 2022 does not mention AI, social networks, online reviews or structured data. Its rules on advertising apply to the website, emails and any document meant for third parties, so the same principles are the starting point. How they apply to new formats is a question for the Ordre.

Can a law firm website name its clients or cases?

Article 6.2.4 of the RIO forbids personal advertising that identifies the lawyer's clients or the cases handled, unless the client gave prior consent. Article 7.1.3 lists client names among the information covered by professional secrecy. Check with the Ordre before publishing any client name, case story or logo wall.

Can a lawyer ask clients for Google reviews?

The rules do not mention reviews. Article 36(2) of the 1991 law bans canvassing and solicitation, and the RIO protects client identities. Whether asking a past client for a public review, or replying to one, fits these rules is a question to put to the Ordre before you start.

Is this page legal advice?

No. It summarises the published texts as we read them on 24 October 2026 and lists points to check. Only the Ordre des avocats, or a lawyer advising you, can tell you how the rules apply to your firm.

Sources

Checked 24 October 2026. The Bar's rules can change; always read the current version on barreau.lu.

Not legal advice. This page is general information about published texts, written by a marketing service, not a law firm. For how the rules apply to your firm, contact the Ordre des avocats du Barreau de Luxembourg or a lawyer who advises on professional conduct.