Bar ad rules reach your website

Your regulator is your state bar

Ads by lawyers are governed by conduct rules adopted state by state, most tracking a common model with local variation.

The variation matters. Some states require certain disclaimers, some restrict how results may be described, and a few require filing certain advertisements.

Read your own state's rules rather than copying another firm's site. A page that is fine in one state can be a problem in the next.

Where you practise in several states, the strictest rule generally governs a shared page, which is simpler than trying to serve different wording by visitor.

Specialist and expert

Calling yourself a specializt or an expert is restricted in many states. It is allowed where you hold an approved certification.

Wording like focuses on or practice limited to is commonly used instead, and the acceptable phrasing differs by state.

This is the most frequent issue on firm websites. It is usually added by a marketing writer who did not know the term was governed.

It is usually introduced by a marketing writer who did not know the term was governed, which makes it worth reading the finished copy rather than only the brief.

Past results

Case outcomes are persuasive and are among the most restricted claims. Many states require a disclaimer that past results do not predict future outcomes.

Some also require enough context that a reader is not misled: the facts, the jurisdiction, and that every matter differs.

Aggregate recovery figures are the riskiest form, because they invite an inference about what a new client can expect.

Where a disclaimer is required, it usually has to sit with the result. Putting it at the foot of the page defeats it, as with any disclosure.

Testimonials and reviews

Client reviews are permitted in many states with conditions, and restricted in others. Confidentiality is a separate duty that survives the client's enthusiasm.

A review naming a matter can reveal more than the client realises. Get written agreement and read it as a lawyer would.

Where a state requires a disclaimer alongside reviews, it usually has to be visible with them rather than in a footer.

The unintended relationship

A contact form invites facts. Somebody describing their situation in detail may believe they have engaged you, and and may have given you facts that create a conflict.

Firms handle this with clear wording near the form. It says that contact does not create a relationship, and asks that confidential detail be kept back.

This is why our forms carry a short note asking people not to include sensitive personal detail in the message.

Our forms carry a note asking people to keep confidential detail out of the message, which is the same reasoning described in form data.

The required plumbing

Many states require the name of a responsible lawyer and an office address on ads. Some require labelling for certain material.

Check what yours requires and where it must appear. A footer on every page is the usual answer.

Where you practise in several states, the strictest rule usually governs the shared page.

• The name of a responsible lawyer, where your state requires it
• An office address
• Any labelling your state requires on advertising material
• Jurisdictions where the firm is admitted
• Required disclaimers, placed with the claim rather than in a footer
• A statement that contact does not create a relationship, near the form

What the builder does and does not do

Pages here are written from a talk about your firm. The builder refuses claim shapes nobody can support, such as promised outcomes.

Every page passes a check that runs before anything publishes, validated against Google Search Essentials and modern web standards.

It does not know your state's rules and will not apply them. Nothing here is legal advice, which is a strange sentence to write to a lawyer and remains true.

Nothing on this page is legal advice, which remains a strange sentence to write to a lawyer and a true one.