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Rules of Professional Conduct
One of the reasons that our clients come to Lexicon is that, as legal content specialists, we provide content that is compliant with the Rules of Professional Conduct in their jurisdictions. These rules place limits on what lawyers can and cannot say in their marketing materials, and it’s imperative that we do not run afoul of them in the content we create.
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While each state has its own rules, we believe that the best way to handle the matter is to ensure that our content would comply with the most restrictive of those rules. The most important issues to watch out for are detailed in the bullets below.
þ Do not refer to the attorney or the firm as an expert or state that they specialize in an area of law. A good work-around is to say that the lawyer of firm “focuses” on a given area (i.e., “we focus our legal practice on helping injured victims recover compensation”
þ Never make statements that are false or misleading, and be very careful with superlatives (“we are the best firm in Los Angeles,” for example, would likely run afoul of the rules)
þ Never promise results. For example, you shouldn’t say “our firm will recover compensation on your behalf,” as it implies that the firm will certainly get the reader compensation regardless of the circumstances. On the other hand, you could say “our firm will get you the compensation to which you are entitled under state law,” as it is clear that the firm will only obtain compensation if you are, in fact, legally entitled to it.
12 | 2022 WRITERS HANDBOOK
