Terms of Use - For Lawyers to Be Added to Legal Directory

I Agree to the Terms of Use for Lawyers (Terms below)

Terms of Use - For Lawyers to be Added to DivorceInjury.com's online Legal Directory - User Agreement

Introduction

In this agreement, we have referred to DivorceInjury.com as the "Service", to you as the "User" and to this contract as the "Agreement", whether you are a person looking for a legal service provider or whether you are a legal service provider or attorney listing your services.

Relationship Between DivorceInjury.com And User: Providing Only an Online Legal Directory

DivorceInjury.com is an internet legal directory that helps potential users to find legal professionals that may offer legal services. DivorceInjury.com does not guarantee that Users will successfully find legal representation through this system.

DivorceInjury.com does not involve itself in the agreements between those using the legal directory and any lawyer. Therefore, we cannot ensure the completion of the agreement or the integrity of either party. The User, and not DivorceInjury.com, is solely responsible for assessing the integrity, honesty, and trustworthiness of all persons with whom the User communicates on the Service.

Disclaimer of attorney-client relationship

Any form of use of the Service by a user or an attorney is not intended to and will not create an attorney-client relationship between any person or entity and DivorceInjury.com. Any electronic communication sent to DivorceInjury.com will not create an attorney-client relationship between the User and DivorceInjury.com, such being expressly denied.

Ethic Rules & Attorney Advertising Disclaimers by State

DivorceInjury.com attempts to abide by the American Bar Association Rules of Professional Conduct, especially as it relates to legal advertising. Each state may have ethical rules that differ from the ABA model rules. However, it is ultimately each lawyer's own responsibility to ensure that any legal directory or advertising in which they participate meets the specific ethic rules governing their individual jurisdiction. DivorceInjury.com cannot assume this responsibility for lawyers. If a lawyer believes DivorceInjury.com does not meet their jurisdiction's legal ethics rules, that lawyer may choose to not participate. This website is governed by the Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct.

1) Each attorney is responsible for confirming their listing complies with their licensing state's advertising requirements.

2) Each attorney confirms that the information they list is truthful and accurate.

3) Each attorney confirms that they are currently in good standing with all licensing jurisdictions where they are admitted to practice and they will notify this website within 3 business days if their status changes.

4) Each attorney affirms that they are covered by legal malpractice insurance.

DivorceInjury.com does not screen or vouch for any of its Users or Attorneys

DivorceInjury.com makes no representation concerning an attorney's qualifications nor does it sanction statements an attorney may post on the system. DivorceInjury.com makes no representation concerning the qualifications of non-attorney legal service providers. DivorceInjury.com does not screen potential cases, or otherwise channel potential clients to selected attorneys.

DivorceInjury.com Does not provide legal advice

DivorceInjury.com is not a law firm. DivorceInjury.com offers no legal advice, recommendations, mediation, or counseling under any circumstance. DivorceInjury.com encourages the User not to accept any information received from any source found on this service, unless it is from an attorney the User has retained.

Disclaimer of representations by Users

DivorceInjury.com makes no representation, guarantee, or warranty (express or implied) as to the legal ability, competence, or quality of representation which may be provided by any of the attorneys, law firms or legal service providers which may submit bids and/or are listed through this Web site or any affiliate thereof.

Disclaimer of Information Obtained on the Service

DivorceInjury.com provides users with an online legal directory of potential legal professionals that functions as an open market. DivorceInjury.com is not responsible for the content of materials posted on its Web sites. The opinions and views expressed are those of the individual Users of the Service and do not reflect those of DivorceInjury.com. Data submitted by other Users (both attorneys and lay persons) is not verified or reviewed in any way before it appears on the DivorceInjury.com Web site. DivorceInjury.com does not warrant the validity or accuracy of any such information. Please use caution and common sense when using this site.

DivorceInjury.com does not continuously review the standing of any attorney subscriber with any regulatory authority. When considering employing any attorney or law firm, Users should check the attorney's standing with the state bar. When considering employing a non-attorney legal service provider, Users should check with the agency that certified the provider or the applicable regulatory body. DivorceInjury.com is unable to track, verify, or monitor the standing of each attorney using the Service. Therefore, DivorceInjury.com makes no representation regarding the status, standing or ability of any attorney or law firm that is listed through this Web site.

Users are urged to make their own independent investigation and evaluation of any firm being considered. The determination of the need for legal services and the choice of legal representation are extremely important decisions and should not be based solely on advertisements, claims of expertise, or on the cost of rendering the requested legal services.

DivorceInjury.com is not responsible for, and in no way endorses, any description or indication of specialization or limitation of practice by an attorney or law firm. Please be aware that no agency or board may have certified such attorney as a specialist or expert in any indicated field of law practice. In addition, an attorney claiming specialization is not necessarily any more expert or competent than other attorneys. It is up to the User to question the attorneys and providers on the factual basis of any statement they make, ask for the names of the certifying agencies, and verify all information.

Users are encouraged to use caution when reviewing any information submitted by attorneys and other parties. Although DivorceInjury.com strongly encourages attorneys to comply with all regulations governing attorney conduct, it is impossible for DivorceInjury.com to monitor members' integrity or compliance with applicable rules of conduct.

DivorceInjury.com in no way endorses the content or legality of any responses, statements, or promises made by attorneys or any other parties, on or off this site.

Confidentiality

DivorceInjury.com makes every effort to maintain the confidentiality of any information submitted by Users to our System and our database of members. However, because DivorceInjury.com cannot control the conduct of others, we cannot guarantee that this information will remain confidential. Please use caution in deciding what information to input into the System. Do not make any confessions or admissions. Do not use proper names or addresses. Do not provide any other highly personal, sensitive, or incriminating information. DivorceInjury.com is not responsible for the release or improper use of such information by other Users or any release due to error or failure in the System.

User agrees that attorneys contacted by User through the System may report to DivorceInjury.com on whether their services were engaged by the User and the total attorney's fees paid.

Indemnification

The User agrees that DivorceInjury.com is not responsible for any harm that this service may cause. The User agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold DivorceInjury.com harmless from and against any and all liability and costs incurred in connection with any loss, liability, claim, demand, damage, and expenses arising from or in connection with the contents or use of the Service. The User agrees that this defense and indemnity shall also apply to any breach by the User of the Agreement or the foregoing representations, warranties and covenants. The User further agrees that this defense and indemnity shall include without limitation attorney fees and costs. The User also agrees that this defense and indemnity shall apply to DivorceInjury.com, its affiliates, directors, officers and employees. DivorceInjury.com reserves the right, at its own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by the User and the User shall not in any event settle any matter without the written consent of DivorceInjury.com.

Communications and Other Data

DivorceInjury.com is not responsible for any loss of data resulting from accidental or deliberate deletion, network or system outages, file corruption, or any other reasons.

Other DivorceInjury.com Rights

DivorceInjury.com also reserves the following rights:

  • to release current or past User information, pursuant to the terms of the Privacy Policy, in the event DivorceInjury.com believes that accounts are in violation of the terms of service or page content guidelines, used to commit unlawful acts, if the information is subpoenaed, and/or if DivorceInjury.com deems it necessary and/or appropriate.

  • to deny service to offenders of these guidelines or the Agreement

  • to terminate or deny service to anyone for any reason or no reason

Modifications to Terms of Service

DivorceInjury.com may change the Agreement at any time. Continued use of the service will indicate acceptance of the new terms and conditions.

Modifications to Service

DivorceInjury.com reserves the right to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Service with or without notice to the User. The User agrees that DivorceInjury.com shall not be liable to the User or any third party for any modification or discontinuance of the Service. The User acknowledges and agrees that any termination of Service under any provision of this Agreement may be effected without prior notice, and acknowledges and agrees that DivorceInjury.com may immediately delete data and files in the User's account and bar any further access to such files or the Service.

DivorceInjury.com's Proprietary Rights

DivorceInjury.com owns certain things on this system, including the 'look and feel' of the system, the name of the system, and the collective work copyright on the system. Users cannot reproduce any message thread from the system, either electronically or in print, without DivorceInjury.com's permission. This is not a complete list — other things on the system are also DivorceInjury.com property. Contact DivorceInjury.com before copying anything from the system with plans of reproducing it or distributing it.

The User acknowledges and agrees that content, including but not limited to text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, page layout and design, or other material contained in the Service or information presented through the Service is protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents, or other proprietary rights and laws. The User acknowledges and agrees that the User is permitted to use this material and information only as expressly authorized by DivorceInjury.com or its Sponsors, and may not copy, reproduce, transmit, distribute, or create derivative works of such content or information without express authorization. The User acknowledges and agrees that DivorceInjury.com can display images and text throughout the Service.

Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability

A great danger for DivorceInjury.com, and for all operators of online systems, is someone attempting to hold us accountable for the wrongful actions of our Users or attorneys listed on the website. Accordingly, we need all Users and Attorneys to accept responsibility for their own acts, and to accept that an act by another User or Attorney that damages them must not be blamed on us, but only on the other User or the Attorney.

Although it is DivorceInjury.com's goal to provide Users with a reliable, quality system, we may make mistakes or experience system failure from time to time. Such problems are inevitable in operating a system of this size. We would not be able to make this system available to Users if we had to accept blame or financial liability for any usability problems, system failures or errors, or mistakes or damages of any kind. In order to continue offering and improving our service, DivorceInjury.com must deny any warranties on this service and insure that our liability for any problems connected with the use of our system is strictly limited.

These needs are accomplished by the following disclaimers:

Disclaimer of Warranties

The user expressly agrees that use of the service is at the user's sole risk. The service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. DivorceInjury.com expressly disclaims all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. DivorceInjury.com makes no warranty that the service will meet user's requirements, that the service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free; nor does DivorceInjury.com make any warranty as to the results that may be obtained from the use of the service or as to the accuracy or reliability of any information obtained through the service or that defects in the software will be corrected. DivorceInjury.com makes no warranty regarding any goods or services purchased or information obtained through the service or any transactions entered into through the service.

No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by the user from DivorceInjury.com shall create any warranty not expressly stated herein.

Limitation of Liability

The user agrees that DivorceInjury.com shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages resulting from the use or the inability to use the service or for cost of procurement of substitute goods and services or resulting from any goods or services purchased or obtained or messages received or transactions entered into through or from the service or resulting from unauthorized access to or alteration of user's transmissions or data, including, but not limited to damages for loss of profits, use, data or other intangibles, even if DivorceInjury.com has been advised of the possibility of such damages. The user further agrees that DivorceInjury.com shall not be liable for any damages arising from interruption, suspension or termination of service, including, but not limited to, direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages, whether such interruption, suspension or termination was justified or not, negligent or intentional, inadvertent or advertent.

Arbitration

Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to DivorceInjury.com services shall be settled by binding arbitration in accordance with the commercial arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association. Any such controversy or claim shall be arbitrated on an individual basis, and shall not be consolidated in any arbitration with any claim or controversy of any other party. The arbitration shall be conducted in the County of Maricopa, Arizona, and judgment on the arbitration award may be entered by any court having jurisdiction thereof. Either the User or DivorceInjury.com may seek any interim or preliminary relief from a court of competent jurisdiction in the County of Maricopa, Arizona, necessary to protect the rights or property of the User or DivorceInjury.com pending the completion of arbitration. This arbitration clause does not prohibit either DivorceInjury.com or the User from seeking to have the arbitration dismissed or judicially terminated on the basis the claims in arbitration action fail to provide a legal basis upon which a claim for relief may be granted. Any motion or action to dismiss must be filed in a court of general jurisdiction within the County of Maricopa, Arizona.

General

This agreement, the Agreement, incorporates by reference our Privacy Policy and any notice by DivorceInjury.com contained in any of the Web site pages and constitutes the entire understanding between the User and DivorceInjury.com regarding the User's relationship to our Service.

Users can reach our Service from all fifty states and around the world. Each of these places has a different set of laws. Since DivorceInjury.com cannot keep track of all these laws and their requirements, the Agreement and the relationship between the User and DivorceInjury.com shall be governed by the laws of the State of Arizona without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

If DivorceInjury.com fails to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement, that failure shall not be used to prove that DivorceInjury.com has waived the right or provision. If any provision of this Agreement is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and that the other provisions of the Agreement remain in full force and effect. The User agrees that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of the Service or the Agreement must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred. The section titles in the Agreement are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.

We appreciate your interest and support and we welcome you to our community!

Privacy and Security Statement

This Privacy Policy applies to DivorceInjury.com.com owned and operated by DivorceInjury.com.com. This Privacy Policy describes how DivorceInjury.com.com collects, uses, shares and secures the personal information you provide. It also describes your choices regarding use, access and correction of your personal information.

At DivorceInjury.com.com, we are committed to protecting your privacy. It is also our goal to constantly improve our services to you and to keep up with rapidly changing technologies. In order to maximize our services to you, we use information collected about you while still protecting your privacy. Expecting future variations in our service, these policies are subject to change. If there are any modifications to these policies, we will post them on this page and notify you as described at the end of this policy.

If you have an unresolved privacy or data use concern that we have not addressed satisfactorily, please contact our U.S.-based third party dispute resolution provider (free of charge) at https://feedback-form.truste.com/watchdog/request.

Security Measures Concerning Your Personal Information

While transmission of information over the Internet cannot be guaranteed 100% secure, we make reasonable efforts to provide protection for the information that we collect about you. However, to avoid unauthorized use of your account by others, you must take steps to control your password. Further, this site contains various links to other Web sites. DivorceInjury.com.com is not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. You should not assume that other sites take similar steps in securing your information and should evaluate their privacy standards before using their systems.

Collection of Information

When you register with DivorceInjury.com.com, we ask that you provide your name, email address, and zip code. If you are an attorney or other professional services provider, you will also be asked to provide your firm name, address, telephone number, state where you are licensed, and bar number. In the course of your use of the site, we may also request additional information from you. For example, if you are an attorney or other professional services provider, you will be asked to describe your areas of practice, experience, and education. If you are searching for an attorney, you will be asked to describe your situation so that attorneys can evaluate your legal needs and make a response to work for you.

As is true of most web sites, we gather certain information automatically and store it in log files. This information may include internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, and/or clickstream data.

We may combine this automatically collected log information with other information we collect about you. We do this to improve services we offer you, to improve marketing, analytics, or site functionality.

DivorceInjury.com.com and its partners use cookies or similar technologies to analyze trends, administer the website, track users' movements around the website, and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole. You can control the use of cookies at the individual browser level, but if you choose to disable cookies, it may limit your use of certain features or functions on our website or service.

We partner with third parties to either display advertising on our website or to manage our advertising on other sites. Our third-party partner may use technologies such as cookies to gather information about your activities on this site and other sites in order to provide you advertising based upon your browsing activities and interests. If you wish to not have this information used for the purpose of serving you interest-based ads, you may elect to turn off cookies or use your browser’s privacy settings to mask your identity, or you may opt-out by the following consumer choice mechanisms.

Please visit:

Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA)'s self-regulatory opt-out page (http://optout.aboutads.info/) and mobile application-based "AppChoices" download page (https://youradchoices.com/appchoices)

European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (EDAA)'s consumer opt-out page(http://youronlinechoices.eu)

Network Advertising Initiative (NAI)'s self-regulatory opt-out page (http://optout.networkadvertising.org/).

Please note this does not opt you out of being served ads. You will continue to receive generic ads.

Use of Collected Information

The primary reason that DivorceInjury.com collects information from its users is to match the right attorneys and professional services providers with the people and businesses that need them.

DivorceInjury.com.com does not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to others without your permission. We will share your personal information with third parties only in the ways that are described in this privacy policy. We use your information to improve our marketing and promotional efforts, statistically analyze site usage, and improve our site's content, offering, and layout. If you are an attorney member, we may use information we have about you as part of our ongoing marketing efforts, including but not limited to displaying your profile, practice and rating information publicly in association with DivorceInjury.com. Your IP address may be used to help diagnose problems with our server, to administer our Web site, and for security needs. DivorceInjury.com.com may provide aggregate statistics about our customers, sales, traffic patterns, and related site information to third-party vendors, but these statistics will include no personal identifying information.

We may use the information we collect to notify you about the status of your DivorceInjury.com account, important functionality changes to our Web site, new DivorceInjury.com.com services, and special offers we think you'll find valuable. We may also contact you to verify your information or ask you about your experiences with our system.

Except for communications that relate directly to the service being provided, you may "opt out" of receiving communications from us. If you are seeking an attorney, required communications include (1) confirmation of your registration, (2) notification that attorneys have made responses to work on your case and (3) requests to determine which attorney (if any) you have retained. If you are an attorney, required communications may include (1) confirmation of your registration, (2) notification that your registration has been verified, (3) requests to determine which DivorceInjury.com users have retained you and the amounts billed to or collected from them and (4) if you are enrolled in a payment plan, invoices. To opt out of non-required communications, check the appropriate boxes when you register or at any time by logging into the system and modifying your profile information. Users may also opt out of receiving non-required communications by replying to unsubscribe in the subject line in the email or by e-mailing us at info@divorceinjury.com . Upon request DivorceInjury.com.com will provide you with information about whether we hold any of your personal information. You may access, correct, or request deletion of your personal information by logging into your homepage and clicking on the “My Profile” link. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe. We will retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services. If you wish to cancel your account or request that we no longer use your information to provide you services contact us at info@DivorceInjury.com.com. We will retain and use your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

When it is necessary to contact you, we use your email address and, in some situations your mailing address, phone or fax number. Note: DivorceInjury.com.com will not ask you for your password if we contact you. Do not disclose your password if asked by a caller claiming to represent DivorceInjury.com.com.

In order to achieve the benefits of the DivorceInjury.com service, there are some situations in which personal information may be disclosed to third parties. These are:

  • Service related disclosure: This Web site is designed to disclose certain limited information to connect attorneys with the people who need them. The users have full control over when and to whom personally identifying information is disclosed. Our service is designed specifically to keep initial exchanges of information between clients and attorneys anonymous. The limited information we disclose is described below.

  • When a user posts a description of his or her legal matter, that information is reviewed only by attorneys, DivorceInjury.com members or potential members and DivorceInjury.com staff. The information is anonymous, meaning that the user's personally identifying information is kept hidden unless the user chooses to release it. If the user chose to release personally identifying information, it will only be released to DivorceInjury.com members and staff. If DivorceInjury.com does not currently have member attorneys in the user's area, the user may be asked to release case and personally identifying information to our affiliates who have interested attorneys.

  • When an attorney responds to a posted matter, the response, the name and the contact information of the responding attorney is seen only by the specific client.

  • If a user requests an attorney's contact information, the user's name and zip code may be revealed to that attorney for the purpose of verifying whether an attorney-client relationship was formed. The attorney is precluded from using this information to contact the user.

  • The name of the user posting a rating and commentary for any attorney on this system may be released to that attorney, at the attorney's request, for the purpose of replying to the rating.

  • The name of the user notifying us that an attorney-client relationship was formed through our service may be released to that attorney for the purpose of verifying the relationship.

  • Information regarding whether an attorney-client relationship was formed will be used only for our internal records and statistics. We will not disclose this information to other parties, unless we are required to do so by law.

  • Except for the information referred to above, user's contact information (i.e. address, telephone, fax, or email) is never revealed to attorneys or other users. User's name and contact information may be revealed to DivorceInjury.com sponsors if you elect to have the sponsor contact you. You will have the opportunity to review the sponsor's privacy policy before selecting to share your information with the sponsor.

  • Marketing Related Disclosure. If you are an attorney member, we may use any information, including personally identifiable information, contained in your DivorceInjury.com profile and ratings in our ongoing marketing efforts to help develop and focus your practice. If you find our use of your identifiable information in association with our marketing efforts objectionable, you can opt out of future use by contacting us with your objections at info@DivorceInjury.com.com.

  • Affiliate Relationship Related Disclosure. If you are on a site that has an affiliate relationship with DivorceInjury.com, this means that DivorceInjury.com has a relationship with the Affiliate Site and that DivorceInjury.com may share some of your registration information with that partner. For people and small business DivorceInjury.com will share only your name, email address and zip code. For attorneys, DivorceInjury.com may also share your firm name, address, telephone number, state of licensure, bar number and areas of practice.

We may provide your personal information to companies that provide services to help us with our business activities such as offering customer service. These companies are authorized to use your personal information only as necessary to provide these services to us.

DivorceInjury.com.com may also develop business partnerships with other companies, as part of our service to users. These special business partnerships may include acquisitions by or mergers with other companies or special joint ventures that integrate our Web sites and services. You will be notified via email and/or a prominent notice on our Web site of any change in ownership or uses of your personal information, as well as any choices you may have regarding your personal information.

Whenever DivorceInjury.com shares personally identifying information with a partner, we will do so with confidentiality and require use restrictions on the information.

Legal Related Disclosure

In certain situations, DivorceInjury.com.com may be required to disclose personal data in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including law enforcement requirements. DivorceInjury.com.com may release account information when we believe, in good faith, that such release is reasonably necessary to:

  • comply with law

  • enforce or apply the terms of any of our user agreements, or

  • protect the rights, property or safety of DivorceInjury.com.com, our users, or others, investigate fraud, or respond to a government request.

Blog/Forum

Our Web site offers publicly accessible blogs or community forums. You should be aware that any information you provide in these areas may be read, collected, and used by others who access them. To request removal of your personal information from our blog or community forum, contact us at info@DivorceInjury.com.com. In some cases, we may not be able to remove your personal information, in which case we will let you know if we are unable to do so and why.

Social Media Widgets

Our Web site includes Social Media Features, such as the Facebook Like button [and Widgets, such as the Share this button or interactive mini-programs that run on our site]. These Features may collect your IP address, which page you are visiting on our site, and may set a cookie to enable the Feature to function properly. Social Media Features and Widgets are either hosted by a third party or hosted directly on our Site. Your interactions with these Features are governed by the privacy policy of the company providing it.

Consent and Changes to This Policy

By using our Web site, you consent to the collection and use of this information by DivorceInjury.com.com. If we change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it. If we make any retroactive changes to how we disclose personally identifiable information to others, we will notify you by email and provide you at least ten (10) days to object to such disclosure and to delete your registration. If we make any material changes, we will notify you by email or by means of a notice on this site prior to the change becoming effective.

You may contact us at: info@divorceinjury.com

Version 1.0 Effective 8/1/23

More RE: Ethic Rules & Attorney Advertising Disclaimers by State

As previously stated, DivorceInjury.com attempts to abide by the American Bar Association Rules of Professional Conduct, especially as it relates to legal advertising. Each state has its own set of unique rules addressing attorneys' ability to advertise and the information that must accompany their advertisements. When viewing a listing from the directory, consider the rules to which lawyers and law firms must adhere. You can find links to the rules per state below. Each state may have ethical rules that differ from the ABA model rules. However, it is ultimately each lawyer's own responsibility to ensure that any legal directory or advertising in which they participate meets the specific ethic rules governing their individual jurisdiction. DivorceInjury.com cannot assume this responsibility for lawyers. If a lawyer believes DivorceInjury.com does not meet their jurisdiction's legal ethics rules, that lawyer may choose to not participate.

All states have a rule that forbids lawyers from making false or misleading communications about their services. Most states also have specific rules of professional conduct related to how attorneys can advertise and what disclaimers they must have on their advertisements:

Most states require that any law firm or attorney advertisement include the name of at least one lawyer, and Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming require an office address.

Specific Disclaimers Required by Some States

Certain states require additional disclaimers when attorneys:

Certification and Specialization Disclaimers/Disclosures

The following states* require advertising disclaimers or disclosures when attorneys indicate practice limitations, areas of concentration, areas of specialization, and/or certifications:

  • Arkansas - Arkansas Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(d)

  • California - California Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4 (2018)

  • Colorado - Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(d) and (e) (2008)

  • Connecticut - Connecticut Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2(d) (2020); see also Connecticut Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4A (2020)

  • Delaware - Delaware Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(d) (2008)

  • Florida - Florida State Bar Rules 4-7-14 (2019)

  • Hawaii - Hawaii Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(d) (2014)

  • Idaho - Idaho Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4 (2004)

  • Illinois - Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(c) (2010)

  • Indiana - Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(d) (2011)

  • Iowa - Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct 32:7.4(a) and (d) (2013)

  • Kansas - Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(d) (2007)

  • Kentucky - Kentucky Rules of Professional Conduct 3.130(7.40) (2016)

  • Louisiana - Louisiana State Bar Association Plan of Legal Specialization, Sec. 6 (2015)

  • Maine - Maine Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(d) (2009)

  • Massachusetts - Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4 (2015)

  • Minnesota - Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(d) (2005)

  • Mississippi - Mississippi Rules of Professional Conduct 7.6 (1999)

  • Missouri - Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct 4-7.4 (2007)

  • Montana - Montana Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2(c) (2020)

  • Nebraska - Nebraska Rules of Professional Conduct 3-507.4 (2008)

  • Nevada - Nevada Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(d) (2007)

  • New Jersey - New Jersey Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(d) (2004)

  • New Mexico - New Mexico Rules of Professional Conduct 16-704(D) (2018)

  • New York - New York Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4 (c)

  • North Carolina - North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(b) (2003)

  • North Dakota - North Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(c) (2006)

  • Ohio - Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(e) (2009)

  • Oklahoma - Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(b)(4) (2019)

  • Rhode Island - Rhode Island Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2(f) (2019)

  • South Carolina - South Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(a) (2015)

  • Tennessee - Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(d) (2015)

  • Texas - Texas Rules of Professional Conduct 7.04(b)(2) (2005)

  • Utah - Utah Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(2005)

  • Vermont - Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(d) (2009)

  • Washington - Washington Rules of Professional Conduct 7.4(d) (2006)

  • Wisconsin - Wisconsin Rules of Professional Conduct SCR 20:7.4(d) (2007)

  • Wyoming - Wyoming Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2(c) (2019)

Most states listed above will only allow a lawyer to declare themselves a specialist if they have been certified as a specialist by a specific organization (such as the American Bar Association or state Supreme Court) and they clearly identify the certifying organization. Some states (Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Washington) require a specific disclaimer to follow the reference to certification.

Contingency Fee Arrangement Disclaimers/Disclosures

These states* require advertising disclaimers or disclosures when attorneys discuss contingency fee arrangements:

  • Arizona: Must list expenses and whether the percentage fee will be computed before expenses are deducted from the recovery. (Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2(d)(1) (2014))

  • California: Must disclose client responsibility for any costs or expenses. (California Business and Professions Code Section 6157.2(d) (2019))

  • Colorado: Must disclose client responsibility for any costs or expenses unless only stating that contingency-fee arrangements are available. (Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct Rules 7.1(d) (2016))

  • Connecticut: Must disclose client responsibility for any costs or expenses using the same print size and type as the contingency fee language. (Connecticut Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2(f) (2020))

  • Florida: Must disclose all fees and expenses for which the client could be liable. (Florida State Bar Rule 4-7.14 (2019))

  • Georgia: Requires a specific disclaimer. (Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1(a)(5-6))

  • Louisiana: Must disclose client responsibility for any costs or expenses. (Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2(c)(6) (2016))

  • Maryland: Must disclose client responsibility for any expenses. (Maryland Lawyers' Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 7.2(e) (2016))

  • Missouri: Must disclose client responsibility for any costs or expenses. (Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct 4-7.1 (k) (2010))

  • Montana: Must disclose client responsibility for any costs or expenses. (Montana Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2 (2020))

  • Nevada: Must disclose client responsibility for any opposing parties' fees and costs. (Nevada Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2 (b)(4) (2018))

  • New Jersey: Only specific legal fee disclosures allowed. (New Jersey Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1(a)(4) (2009))

  • New York: Cannot imply that ability to advance costs is unique. (New York Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1, New York Judiciary Law 488(3) (2006))

  • Pennsylvania: Must disclose client responsibility for any costs or expenses.(Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2(h) (2013))

  • Rhode Island: Must disclose client responsibility for any costs or expenses.(Rhode Island Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2(e) (2019))

  • South Carolina: Must disclose client responsibility for any costs or expenses and whether the fee will be computed before or after deducting the expenses. (South Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2(f) (2016))

  • South Dakota: Must disclose client responsibility for any costs or expenses and whether the fee will be computed before or after deducting the costs. (South Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2(g)(1)(iii), (iv), (v) and (vi) (2018))

  • Texas: Must disclose client responsibility for any costs or expenses and whether the fee will be computed before or after deducting the expenses. (Texas Rules of Professional Conduct 7.04(h) (2005))

  • Utah: Must disclose client responsibility for any costs or expenses. (Utah Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2(d) and (e) (2015))

Client Testimonials, Comparisons Between the Services of Attorneys, Endorsements, and Spokespeople

Many states require advertising disclaimers or disclosures when attorneys use client testimonials or compare their services to others. Certain states also require paid testimonials, endorsements, and spokespersons to be clearly called out. This list is current as of September 2020*:

  • Florida: Must include disclaimer that prospective client may not obtain the same or similar results. (Florida State Bar Rule 4-7-13 (2018))

  • Georgia: Must include prominent disclosures of any non-attorney spokespersons and portrayals. (Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2(c)(3) (2014))

  • Louisiana: Television and radio advertisements by non-lawyer spokespersons must include a spoken and written disclosure identifying them as spokespersons and disclosing any payment. (Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct 7.5(b)(2)(C))

  • Missouri: Must conspicuously identify any payment for testimonials or endorsements. (Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct 4-7.1 (2010))

  • Montana: Must conspicuously identify any payment for testimonials or endorsements. (Montana Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1 (2020))

  • New Jersey: May not compare services with another lawyer's services unless the name of the comparing organization is stated, the comparison can be substantiated, and the communication includes a specific disclaimer. (New Jersey Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1(a)(3) (2009))

  • New York: Must disclose any payment for endorsements or testimonials. All statements of comparison, testimonials, and endorsements must be able to be factually supported, and include the disclaimer "prior results do not guarantee a specific outcome." (New York Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1(d) and (e))

  • North Dakota: Any comparisons with other lawyers' services must include the name of the comparing organization and the basis for which the comparison can be substantiated. (North Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1(d) (2010))

  • Pennsylvania: Any paid endorsements must disclose the endorser is paid. (Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2(e) (2013))

  • Rhode Island: Must clearly identify all testimonials and endorsements, including any payment made. If testimonial or endorsement is made by a non-client, must identify that fact. (Rhode Island Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1(b) (2019))

  • South Carolina: Must clearly identify all testimonials and endorsements, including any payment made. If testimonial or endorsement is by a non-client, must identify that fact. Must clearly and conspicuously state that the result for one client does not necessarily indicate similar results for other clients. (South Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1(b) (2016))

  • South Dakota: Lawyer must be able to factually substantiate any claims made in a testimonial or endorsement, must disclose any payments made, and must include disclaimer that the testimonial/endorsement does not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or prediction on other legal matters. If testimonial or disclaimer is by a non-client, must identify that fact. (South Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1(c)(12), (13) and (14) (2004))

  • Wisconsin: Must identify any payment made for testimonials or endorsements. If testimonial/endorsement is by a non-client, must identify that fact. (Wisconsin Rules of Professional Conduct SCR 20:7.1(a) and (d) (2017))

Other Required Disclaimers

In addition, disclaimers may be required in a variety of other situations, such as when a firm:

  • makes misleading statements

  • implies that past successes indicate the likelihood of future success

  • uses a trade name, particularly a potentially misleading one

  • uses examples of results or verdicts in advertising

  • includes an endorsement, particularly a paid endorsement

  • includes a testimonial

  • compares the firm's services or fees with others

  • advertises fixed fees

  • advertises purely for the purpose of referring business out

  • uses actors or models

  • uses dramatizations

  • advertises a satellite or part-time office

  • advertises in a foreign language

  • carries less than a certain level of liability insurance

  • solicits professional employment from anyone known to be in need of legal services in a particular matter

*This list is updated as of September 2020. Attorney advertising rules change frequently. You should consult your state's code or rules of professional responsibility before placing advertisements.