How we build bar-compliant law-firm websites

This is not legal advice. It is how we build. The firm's lawyer is the advertiser of record, reads and approves every page before launch, and files anything a bar requires. We never tell a firm its site "complies"; we say it was built to our checklist for its state.

The checklist covers 16 US states today: Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. We have no checklist yet for the UK, Canada, Australia or Ireland, and would research those rules before taking a firm there.

1. Nothing misleading or unverifiable

No "best", "top", "leading", "#1", predictions or comparisons with other lawyers. We also keep testimonials, reviews, star ratings, case results and dollar figures off the site, even in states that allow them with conditions (Florida, Louisiana, Kentucky, New York, South Carolina, Texas). That keeps every build clear of state-specific disclaimer rules. Sources: Florida Rule 4-7.13; Texas Rule 7.02.

2. "Specialist" only with a named certification

Words like specialist, expert or board certified appear only when the firm gives us the certificate and the certifier's exact name, set in the state's form. Otherwise we write "practice focused on" or "represents".

3. The responsible lawyer and office on every page

The footer names at least one responsible lawyer, the firm, its office and phone, and a "Licensed in" line. California requires this on every page and landing page, with private suits possible; Texas, New York, Louisiana, South Carolina and Kentucky have similar rules. Sources: California SB 37 summary; Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 6157; Texas Rule 7.02; New York advertising-rule amendments (2026); Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct.

4. Fee lines say what else is owed

Any "no fee unless we win" line also says whether case costs are owed (Texas 7.02(c), Louisiana 7.2(c)(6), Kentucky Regulation 1). Any published fee carries a "valid through" date. Sources: Texas Rule 7.02; Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct; Kentucky AAC Regulation 1.

5. Filing, where a state asks for it

Texas asks for the homepage to be filed with the State Bar's advertising review within 10 days of going live, with a fee, and refiled on every new homepage. Kentucky has a filing with its Attorneys' Advertising Commission (we mark the details to confirm). South Carolina's filing rule is unconfirmed, so we ask the firm. We prepare the packet; the lawyer files, signs and pays. Sources: Texas Rules 7.04-7.05; State Bar of Texas advertising review; Kentucky AAC Regulation 1.

6. A short intake form that does not create a client

Name, phone, a good time to call and an optional practice area. No "describe your case" box. Above the button: "Please don't include confidential details. Sending this form doesn't make us your lawyers." Source: ABA Formal Opinion 10-457 (secondary summary).

7. Chatbots off by default

If a firm wants one, its first line says it is an AI assistant, not a lawyer. It answers only from the firm's approved FAQ and never asks for facts of the matter. Source: Florida Bar Ethics Opinion 24-1.

8. Reviews live off the site

Review requests go to every client, never only happy ones, with no gift. Reply drafts never confirm someone was a client. Sources: Google contribution policy; ABA Formal Opinion 496.

9. Accessibility: built and tested to WCAG 2.2 AA

Text 16px or larger, 48px touch targets, labelled fields, visible focus, a skip link, and contrast checked with automated tools plus a keyboard pass. No accessibility overlays. We never call a site "ADA compliant"; we say it was built and tested to WCAG 2.2 AA.

10. Local SEO without shortcuts

One page per practice area the firm really handles. A location page only for a real, staffed office, never a page per town with the name swapped (Google treats those as doorway pages). Structured data uses LegalService and Person, because schema.org marks the Attorney type as deprecated. The Google Business Profile uses the firm's real name, with no keywords added. We never promise rankings. Sources: Google spam policies; schema.org/Attorney; Google Business Profile guidelines; Whitespark local search ranking factors.

Drawn from our internal checklists (law-bar-compliance and law-local-seo, last updated 2026-11-08). Rules change: we re-check the state rule before each build.