What ABA Model Rules and State Bars Actually Require for Criminal Defense SEO (And What They Don't)

This is educational content about advertising regulations, not legal or ethics advice. Verify current rules with your state bar's advertising compliance office.

The American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct provide the framework that most state bars adapt for their own advertising regulations. Three rules matter most for criminal defense SEO:

Rule 7.1: Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services

This is the rule that governs everything on your website. It prohibits false or misleading communications about you or your services. In SEO terms, this applies to:

• Title tags and meta descriptions
• Practice area page claims
• Attorney bio statements
• Case result descriptions
• Any claim about your experience, skills, or outcomes

Rule 7.2: Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services—Specific Rules

This rule addresses how you can advertise, including requirements for firm name and contact information, rules about paying for recommendations, and restrictions on giving anything of value for referrals.

Rule 7.3: Solicitation of Clients

While primarily about direct solicitation, this rule affects how aggressively you can target potential clients online—particularly through remarketing, email campaigns, and chat solicitations.

The critical point: your state bar rules take precedence. Some states follow the Model Rules closely. Others have significant departures. California's rules, for example, differ substantially from New York's.

Based on bar complaint patterns and advisory opinions we've reviewed, certain SEO content types carry elevated compliance risk for criminal defense practices:

Case Result Claims

Statements like 'Hundreds of cases dismissed' or 'DUI charges reduced to reckless driving' attract scrutiny. Most states permit case result advertising with proper disclaimers, but some states restrict it significantly. The typical required disclaimer: 'Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Each case depends on its own facts.'

Specialist and Expert Claims

Calling yourself a 'DUI expert' or 'criminal defense specialist' violates advertising rules in most states unless you hold board certification from an approved organization. Safer alternatives:

• 'Focused exclusively on criminal defense since [year]'
• 'Concentrates practice on DUI defense'
• 'Has handled [X] criminal cases' (if true and verifiable)

Comparison Claims

Statements that you're the 'best' or 'most experienced' criminal defense attorney create compliance exposure. These claims require factual substantiation that's rarely possible.

Guarantees and Promises

Any suggestion that you can guarantee outcomes—even implicit suggestions—violates Rule 7.1. This includes statements like 'We fight until charges are dropped' or 'We don't stop until you're free.'

State bars don't uniformly adopt ABA Model Rules. Before implementing any SEO strategy, verify requirements with your specific state bar. Here are notable variations we see frequently:

Disclaimer Requirements

Many states require specific disclaimer language on attorney websites. Some specify exact wording; others allow flexibility in how you communicate the required concepts. Common required disclaimers include:

• 'This website is attorney advertising'
• 'Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes'
• Principal office address disclosure
• 'No attorney-client relationship created by this website'

Filing and Review Requirements

Some states require attorneys to file advertisements for review before publication. Others require retention of advertising materials for specified periods. Check whether your state treats websites as 'advertisements' requiring filing.

Testimonial and Endorsement Rules

Rules on client testimonials vary significantly. Some states permit testimonials with disclaimers. Others restrict them substantially. Florida, for example, has historically taken stricter positions on testimonials than many other states.

Specialty and Certification Claims

States vary on what certifications they recognize for 'specialist' claims. The National Board of Trial Advocacy, for instance, is recognized in some states but not others.

Multi-state practices face compound compliance obligations. If you're licensed in three states, your website must comply with all three states' advertising rules—which may conflict.

Compliance doesn't require abandoning effective SEO. It requires building compliance into your content process:

Content Audit Protocol

Before publishing any page, verify these elements:

1. Claims check: Can every factual claim be substantiated? Is experience stated accurately?
2. Disclaimer presence: Are jurisdiction-required disclaimers present?
3. Comparison elimination: Are there any 'best,' 'top,' or comparative claims that can't be proven?
4. Results context: Do case results include appropriate disclaimers?
5. Specialty compliance: Are expertise claims limited to certifications you actually hold?

Safe Content Patterns

These content approaches typically pass compliance review:

• Educational content explaining criminal defense processes, penalties, and procedures
• Credential-based authority: years of practice, number of cases handled (if accurate), bar admissions, actual certifications
• Practice focus statements: 'Practice concentrated in DUI defense' rather than 'DUI specialist'
• Contextualized results: Specific case descriptions with clear disclaimers about non-guarantee of similar outcomes

Review Workflow

For firms serious about compliance, we recommend having an attorney review all website content—including SEO-focused pages—before publication. Some firms designate a marketing compliance officer. Others use a checklist-based review system.

Understanding enforcement helps calibrate compliance investment. Bar discipline for advertising violations typically follows this pattern:

How Violations Surface

Bar complaints about attorney advertising commonly originate from:

• Competing attorneys who review competitor websites
• Prospective clients who feel misled by website claims
• Bar advertising committees conducting random or targeted reviews
• Judges who notice problematic claims during court proceedings

Typical Enforcement Progression

Most state bars don't immediately pursue severe discipline for first-time advertising violations. The typical progression:

1. Advisory letter: Bar identifies the violation and requests correction
2. Corrective action: Attorney modifies or removes non-compliant content
3. Case closed: For most first-time violations, correction resolves the matter

However, patterns of violations, egregious misrepresentations, or ignored warnings escalate to formal discipline—including public reprimand, suspension, or in extreme cases, disbarment.

Secondary Consequences

Beyond bar discipline, non-compliant advertising creates other risks:

• Malpractice exposure if clients relied on misleading claims
• Negative publicity from published disciplinary actions
• Competitive exploitation by attorneys who report violations

The compliance investment is small compared to these potential costs.

Use this checklist when reviewing your website or briefing an SEO provider:

Required Disclosures

• ☐ State-required 'attorney advertising' disclaimer present
• ☐ Principal office address displayed
• ☐ 'No attorney-client relationship' disclaimer on contact forms
• ☐ Past results disclaimers on all case result pages
• ☐ Jurisdiction limitations disclosed (states where you practice)

Content Compliance

• ☐ No unsubstantiated 'best,' 'top,' or 'leading' claims
• ☐ Specialist/expert claims limited to actual board certifications
• ☐ Experience claims (years, case counts) verified as accurate
• ☐ No designed to outcome language, explicit or implied
• ☐ Testimonials comply with your state's specific requirements

Technical Implementation

• ☐ Disclaimers visible on mobile devices (not just desktop)
• ☐ Required disclosures present on all pages, not just homepage
• ☐ Archive copies of website versions retained per state requirements

Ongoing Compliance

• ☐ New content review process established
• ☐ State bar advertising rule updates monitored
• ☐ Periodic full-site compliance audit scheduled

For criminal defense firms seeking SEO support that builds compliance into every deliverable, our team provides bar-compliant digital marketing for defense lawyers across all major jurisdictions.