A law firm's marketing claims can spread across ads, landing pages, directories, biographies, and vendor materials. When a fact changes, the firm may no longer know every place it appears. A claims register is a practical record of wording, evidence, approved context, and placements. It helps the firm maintain accurate communications without treating a one-time copy approval as permanent permission for every variation.
Start With Claims That Could Change A Decision
Inventory statements about experience, credentials, practice scope, locations, availability, fees, results, and comparative standing. Include implied claims created by headings, images, or adjacent text. A phone service described as attorney availability deserves review even if every individual sentence looks harmless in isolation.
ABA Model Rule 7.1 addresses false or misleading communications about a lawyer or the lawyer's services, including material omissions. It is a model rule, not a complete statement of every jurisdiction's advertising requirements. The firm must determine the rules that govern its communications and obtain the appropriate professional review of the actual wording and context.
Give Each Claim An Evidence Record
For each claim, record the exact wording, supporting material, fact owner, approved scope, review date, and any conditions. If the evidence supports a narrower statement, narrow the wording. If evidence is unavailable, hold the claim for resolution rather than replacing it with an equally unsupported synonym.
Keep evidence private when it contains confidential or sensitive information. The public page needs an accurate statement and any appropriate context, not necessarily the entire underlying record. The firm's reviewers should decide what may be published and how results, credentials, or other sensitive claims can be described.
Track Placements And Variations
List the URLs, ad groups, directory profiles, downloadable materials, and approved vendor uses associated with the claim. Give each variation its own review when the meaning changes. A short headline can remove a qualification that made the longer paragraph accurate, and an image caption can create an association the original copy did not make.
Illustrative register entry: a firm has a staffed administrative phone service throughout the week, but professional review occurs during specified office hours. A broad claim of around-the-clock attorney review would exceed that operating evidence. The approved wording should describe the actual service, and the placement list should identify every ad or page that needs correction.
Set Review Triggers, Not Just Calendar Reminders
A scheduled review is useful, but certain changes should trigger an immediate check: a lawyer departs, an office changes, a credential expires, service coverage changes, or a practice stops accepting a category of work. Give the fact owner a clear way to alert the marketing owner before outdated copy continues circulating.
Require vendors to use the current approved version and to report placements or proposed variations. Preserve earlier versions for the firm's record while retiring them from active use through the agreed process. A file named approved-final does not establish that the current ad still matches the approved wording.
Verify The Published Claim In Context
After a change, inspect the actual page or ad presentation, including mobile truncation, nearby headings, images, and linked details. Confirm that the intended qualification is visible where the claim appears. Check cached or duplicated placements within the firm's control and document anything that requires a third party to update.
Keep unresolved items on a short owner-assigned list. The register's value is practical: the firm can find a statement, understand why it is supported, and correct it when the underlying fact changes. It does not certify legal compliance, guarantee that every placement has been found, or replace the professional judgment needed for a particular advertisement.
Common Questions
Does A Claims Register Replace Attorney Advertising Review?
No. It prepares the facts, wording, and placement history that make review more useful. The firm’s qualified reviewers must assess applicable requirements and context. The register should record actual review scope and dates without implying that an automated editorial check provides legal sign-off.
Sources And Further Reading
- ABA Model Rule 7.1: Communications Concerning A Lawyer’s Services · Checked 2026-10-26
These sources provide context. Requirements depend on the actual activity and applicable jurisdiction. Business-process guidance does not replace professional advice.