Liberal professions may advertise factually. Titles and specialist designations are strictly regulated.
Legal framework
- § 43b BRAO, §§ 6–10 BORA: factual information; “specialist” only with corresponding expertise and no confusion with the official specialist lawyer title
- § 57a StBerG: factual advertising by tax advisers
- Architects’ Acts of the Länder: “Architekt” only with registration
Case law
- BGH, 13 Nov 2013, I ZR 15/12 – writing to a potential client with known need is not unlawful per se
- BGH, 29 July 2021, I ZR 114/20 – terms close to specialist titles may cause confusion
- BFH, 23 Feb 2010, VII R 24/09 – “Fachberater (DStV)” may not appear directly next to the professional title
Case examples
“Specialist in employment law”
A lawyer without the specialist title uses “specialist” prominently. Risk of confusion with “Fachanwalt”.
Planner as “architect”
An unregistered building planner calls himself “architect” on his website. Protected title, unlawful.
