A law firm website operates under constraints most business websites do not — state bar advertising rules govern what you can say, how you say it, and what disclaimers you must include. Understanding these requirements before you build prevents reworking content and design after launch.
State Bar Advertising Rules: The Framework
Attorney advertising is governed by each state's rules of professional conduct, which are typically modeled on — but not identical to — the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. This matters because the ABA Model Rules are not law; your state's adopted rules are what govern your conduct. Rules vary in significant ways across jurisdictions.
The ABA Model Rules most relevant to law firm websites are:
- Rule 7.1 — prohibits false or misleading communications about a lawyer or their services. A statement is misleading if it creates an unjustified expectation about results a lawyer can achieve.
- Rule 7.2 — addresses advertising generally; permits advertising through written, recorded, or electronic communication.
- Rule 7.3 — governs solicitation of prospective clients.
Some states go considerably further than the Model Rules. Florida and New York, for example, have historically required submission of certain attorney advertisements to bar oversight bodies. Some states specify font sizes, required placement language, or restrictions on testimonials and endorsements. Before your website launches, your content should be reviewed against your specific state bar's rules — not just the ABA Model Rules. This article provides general orientation, not legal or ethics advice; consult your state bar or a legal ethics attorney for guidance specific to your practice.
Required Disclaimers: What Your Site Needs
The following disclaimers are widely recommended (and required in many jurisdictions) for law firm websites. Your developer should build these into the site from the start — not added as an afterthought in fine print.
"This is not legal advice"
Website content — including blog posts, FAQs, and practice area descriptions — is general legal information, not legal advice. Most bar rules require making this distinction clear. A disclaimer noting that the site's content does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship should appear on every page, typically in the footer and on any page containing substantive legal content.
"Past results do not guarantee future outcomes"
If your website mentions verdicts, settlements, or case outcomes — even in general terms — this disclaimer is required in most jurisdictions. ABA Rule 7.1 Comment 3 explicitly addresses this: a statement about results in past matters is misleading if it leads a reasonable person to form an unjustified expectation about the results the lawyer could achieve.
No attorney-client relationship
Contact forms, intake forms, and general email links should include a note that submitting information through the form does not establish an attorney-client relationship and that the firm does not accept confidential information until a representation agreement is in place. This is a standard protective measure.
Jurisdiction identification
Many states require clear identification of the jurisdictions in which attorneys are licensed to practice. If your firm operates in multiple states, your site should clearly identify which attorneys are licensed in which states.
Features That Drive Client Inquiries
Beyond compliance, the purpose of a law firm website is to convert a visitor — someone with a problem they need legal help with — into an inquiry. The features that most directly affect this are:
Practice area pages with specific, useful content
Generic practice area pages ("We handle personal injury cases") do not rank well in search and do not convert visitors. Specific pages for specific matters — car accident claims, slip-and-fall injuries, truck accident cases — rank for the searches potential clients actually run, and they answer the questions those visitors have. A well-built WordPress site makes it straightforward to add and update these pages without a developer.
Attorney bio pages
People hire lawyers, not law firms. Individual attorney pages — with education, bar admissions, notable case experience (with appropriate disclaimers), and a professional photo — outperform generic "our team" pages in both search visibility and conversion. Each attorney should have a dedicated page indexed by search engines.
Intake forms designed to convert without creating obligation
Your contact or intake form should ask enough to understand the prospective client's matter (practice area, brief description of situation, preferred contact method) without creating an impression of attorney-client relationship or soliciting information the firm cannot yet protect as confidential. A well-designed form includes the no-relationship disclaimer inline, not buried.
Click-to-call on mobile
A significant portion of legal searches happen on mobile devices, often by people in an acute situation — after an accident, upon receiving legal notice, in a crisis. Phone number links on mobile should be formatted so they initiate a call with one tap. This is a simple implementation detail that directly affects how many phone calls your site generates.
Client testimonials — with care
Client testimonials and reviews are subject to bar advertising rules in most jurisdictions. The rules vary: some states permit them without restriction (beyond the general prohibition on misleading statements), some require disclaimers, and some restrict them more substantially. Before adding testimonials to your site, verify your state's specific rules. Google reviews linked from your Google Business Profile are generally treated differently from testimonials you display on the site itself, though this too varies by jurisdiction.
Local SEO for Law Firms
Legal services are among the most competitive local search markets. The firms that rank consistently in local searches — appearing in the Google Maps pack for "[practice area] lawyer [city]" — typically have:
- A fully completed and actively managed Google Business Profile, with accurate NAP (Name, Address, Phone) information that matches the website exactly
- Practice area pages that name the specific jurisdiction (city, county, or state) rather than speaking generically
- A steady stream of Google reviews — firms that consistently ask satisfied clients for reviews accumulate a meaningful advantage over time
- Attorney directory profiles on Avvo, Martindale-Hubbell, and Justia — these profiles link back to your site and signal authority to search engines
- Schema markup on the website identifying the practice as a law firm with specific practice areas and geographic service area
What to Ask a WordPress Developer
- Have you built law firm websites before? Experience with regulated industries matters — a developer who has not built for attorneys may not know to ask about bar rules or think to include required disclaimers.
- Who handles content and disclaimers — you or me? The developer handles structure and design; attorneys must take responsibility for the legal accuracy of content and compliance of language with their state bar rules. Make sure this boundary is clear in your agreement.
- How does the CMS work so I can update practice area pages myself? A law firm's WordPress site should be built so attorneys or staff can add and update content without calling a developer every time.
- How do you handle contact form submissions — where does the data go and who has access? Intake form data often contains sensitive information. Know how it is stored, transmitted, and accessed.