U.S. plaintiffs law firm Morgan & Morgan has sued the Florida Bar, arguing that the state's ban on celebrities in lawyer advertisements restricts attorneys’ free speech rights.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Tallahassee on Friday, states that the longstanding rule prohibiting lawyers from featuring celebrity images or voices in ads violates the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. It also contends that the rule’s definition of celebrities is too vague to be enforceable.
Morgan & Morgan, which describes itself as “America’s Largest Injury Law Firm,” is known for its heavy marketing, including television ads and billboards. The firm spent an estimated $218 million on advertising in 2024, according to the American Tort Reform Association.
Deepak Gupta of Gupta Wessler, which is representing Morgan & Morgan, said Florida maintains the “most restrictive” attorney advertising measures in the nation, even as insurance companies run ads featuring celebrities such as Peyton Manning and Jason Bateman. “This rule doesn't protect the public, it protects the industries and interests that already have the upper hand against consumers, while silencing the lawyers who represent them,” Gupta said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the Florida Bar said Monday that the agency does not comment on litigation it is involved in.
The firm’s complaint said Florida is a national outlier in barring lawyers from using celebrities in advertising. Pennsylvania is the only other state with a specific rule on the subject, but that rule is significantly narrower than Florida’s, according to the lawsuit.
The Florida rule, initially adopted in 1990 and modified several times, defines a celebrity as “an individual who is known to the target audience and whose voice or image is recognizable to the intended audience.” It applies to celebrities recognized on the national, regional or local level.
Morgan & Morgan said it has developed celebrity advertising campaigns that it runs in other states but cannot feature them in Florida due to the rule. It has been prohibited from running advertisements in Florida featuring former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal, actor and race car driver Frankie Muniz, and professional golfer John Daly.
The firm asked the Florida Bar in April to amend the celebrity advertising rule, but it took no action, according to the complaint.
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August 17, 2026
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