Attorney Advertising Rules for Law Firm Websites: A 2026 Checklist

Short answer: A law firm website is a communication about a lawyer's services, so the advertising rules apply to every page. Under ABA Model Rule 7.1 nothing on the site may be false or misleading, including true statements that leave a misleading impression. Model Rule 7.2 adds that you cannot pay for recommendations (with narrow exceptions), cannot claim to be a certified specialist without a recognized certification, and must include the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or firm responsible for the content. Your own state's version of these rules is what binds you, and states differ most on testimonials, past results, labels, filing and record-keeping.

A note before we start: we are a web design agency, not a law firm, and this article is general information rather than legal advice. Your state bar's rules and ethics opinions are the final word, and you are better placed to read them than we are. Our job is to make sure the website gives you nothing to worry about.

Is a law firm website considered attorney advertising?

Yes, in practically every state. The ABA Model Rules govern all communications about a lawyer or the lawyer's services, and a firm website is exactly that. Some states treat parts of a website differently, for example by exempting certain pages from filing requirements, but no state treats a firm website as outside its advertising rules altogether.

What do the ABA Model Rules require of a law firm website?

Rule 7.1: nothing false or misleading

This is the core rule. A statement is misleading if it contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law, or leaves out a fact needed to make the statement as a whole not misleading. The comments to the rule explain that truthful reports of past results can still mislead if they create an unjustified expectation that a new client will get the same result, and that unsubstantiated comparisons with other lawyers can mislead too. Since 2018, the rule has also covered firm names and trade names, which used to sit in Rule 7.5.

Rule 7.2: specific rules for advertising

• 7.2(b), paying for recommendations. You may not give anything of value to a person for recommending your services, apart from exceptions such as the reasonable cost of advertising, the usual charges of a legal service plan or qualified referral service, and nominal thank-you gifts that are not expected as payment.
• 7.2(c), specialist claims. You may not state or imply that a lawyer is a certified specialist unless they are certified by an organization approved by the state or accredited by the ABA, and the certifying organization is clearly named.
• 7.2(d), the responsible lawyer. Any communication under the rule must include the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for its content.

Rule 7.3: solicitation

Rule 7.3 restricts live, person-to-person solicitation of specific people when a significant motive is the lawyer's financial gain. A visitor who finds your website and contacts you is not being solicited. Proactive real-time outreach to specific people is a different matter, so check how any outbound chat or messaging feature behaves.

Rules 1.18 and 1.6: intake and confidentiality

Information a prospective client sends through your contact form can create duties under Rule 1.18. ABA Formal Opinion 10-457 discusses lawyer websites specifically and supports clear warnings and disclaimers on forms that invite information. Rule 1.6 confidentiality applies to case results and to anything you publish about client matters. ABA Formal Opinion 480 addresses lawyers' blogs and public commentary, and Formal Opinion 496 addresses responding to online reviews.

Where do state rules differ most?

The ABA publishes a chart of how each state's advertising rules depart from the Model Rules, and it runs to dozens of pages. The differences that most often affect a firm website are these:

• Required labels. Some states require advertising to carry a label. New York, for example, requires many advertisements to be labelled “Attorney Advertising”, including on the home page of a firm website.
• Past results. Several states require a specific disclaimer alongside case results. New York's rule calls for the statement “Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome”. Other states restrict some forms of results advertising or require more context.
• Testimonials and endorsements. Rules range from permissive to tightly conditioned. Common conditions are that the person is a real client, that nothing was given in exchange, and that a disclaimer accompanies the testimonial.
• Filing and review. Some states, including Florida and Texas, run formal review programs for certain lawyer advertisements. Whether your website pages must be filed depends on the state's current rule, so check before launch rather than after.
• Record retention. Some states require firms to keep copies of advertisements for a set period, which for a website means archiving versions as it changes.
• Specialization. Several states run their own certification programs, such as the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and The Florida Bar's board certification, and set their own rules on how a practice may be described.

The law firm website compliance checklist, page by page

Home page

• The name and contact information of the responsible attorney or firm.
• Any label your state requires, such as “Attorney Advertising”.
• No superlatives such as “best”, “top” or “#1” unless you can substantiate them and your state permits them.
• No language that promises or implies a result.

Practice-area pages

• No “specialist” or “expert” unless the certification rules are met and the certifying body is named.
• The jurisdictions where your attorneys are licensed.
• A general-information notice that the page is not legal advice.

Attorney bios

• Accurate bar admissions, education and dates.
• Awards and ratings named with the issuing organization and year, plus any selection-method disclosure your state requires.

Case results

• Only real results, accurately described, with client consent where confidentiality requires it.
• Clarity about whether a figure is a verdict or a settlement, and gross or net, since a bare number can mislead.
• The past-results disclaimer your state requires, placed next to the results rather than buried in the footer.

Testimonials and reviews

• Real clients only, nothing given in exchange, and any required disclaimer.
• If your state restricts testimonials in the form you planned, leave them off entirely.

Contact forms and chat

• A short notice that submitting does not create an attorney-client relationship.
• A request not to send confidential information until a conflict check is complete.
• If you use an AI chatbot, supervision consistent with Rules 5.1 and 5.3 and ABA Formal Opinion 512 on generative AI tools, and no answers that read as legal advice.

Blog and resources

• A general-information notice.
• No client-identifying detail without informed consent.

Marketing vendors and lead services

• Paying a flat fee for advertising is generally permitted. Paying per retained client, or a share of fees, can raise issues under Rule 7.2(b) and the fee-sharing limits of Rule 5.4. Check before you sign.

Which words should law firms avoid on their websites?

These are the words most likely to cause problems, depending on context and state:

• “Guarantee”, “we will win” and “no risk”.
• “Specialist”, “specializing in” and “expert”, unless your state's certification and wording rules are met.
• “Best”, “top”, “leading” and “#1”, unless substantiated and permitted.
• Exact success rates, which are rarely verifiable and almost always misleading out of context.

Plain descriptions of what you do are safer, and usually more persuasive. “We represent injured workers in workers' compensation claims across Ohio” says more than “Ohio's premier workers' comp experts”.

How we handle compliance on the sites we build

Every law firm website we build ships with the disclaimers your jurisdiction requires, avoids restricted terms unless you hold the certification to use them, places past-results notices next to any results and labels testimonials correctly. We draft against your state bar's rules before launch. Your firm stays responsible for final review, and we make that review quick by flagging every claim that needs your sign-off.

Sources

• ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct
• ABA: Differences between state advertising and solicitation rules and the ABA Model Rules