AI search for California law firms

Five rules every California page has to respect

Rule 7.1(a) bars false or misleading communications about a lawyer or the lawyer's services. Its comments apply directly to a firm website: a promised result is misleading (Comment [2]), a "no fee without recovery" line must say whether the client pays costs (Comment [3]), and past results or testimonials can mislead without qualifying language (Comment [4]).

Rule 7.2(c) requires the name and address of at least one lawyer or firm responsible for the content.

Rule 7.4(a) bars a certified specialist claim unless the lawyer is currently certified by the Board of Legal Specialization or another State Bar accredited entity, and the certifier is clearly named. Rule 7.4(b) still lets you say which fields you practice in. More in whether a lawyer can call themselves a specialist online.

Rule 7.5 applies Rule 7.1 to firm names and other designations, which its comment says include URLs. Your domain name is covered.

Business and Professions Code section 6157.2, as amended by Senate Bill 37 (Chapter 645, Statutes of 2025), bars guarantees, promises of "immediate cash or quick settlements," and misleading statements about skills, experience, or record, and it limits award references. Subdivision (b) requires a California-licensed lawyer or firm name and the city, town, or county of an office.

An assistant may quote one sentence with nothing around it. A results claim that leans on a disclaimer further down reads very differently alone.

Review happens on complaint

The Business and Professions Code sets up review after a complaint, not advance filing. Under section 6158.4, any person may file a complaint with the State Bar and serve it on the advertiser; the State Bar then decides whether substantial evidence of a violation exists, and an electronic ad found to violate the statute must come down within 72 hours. Section 6159.1 requires keeping a true and correct copy of each ad for one year.

What the State Bar of California has said about AI

The State Bar published "Practical Guidance for the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in the Practice of Law" on November 16, 2023, and the Board of Trustees approved a revised version on May 14, 2026. It tells lawyers to understand a tool's risks, to review and verify its output, and to protect confidential client information, and it adds guidance on agentic AI.

It does not address advertising or marketing. Your website is governed by Rules 7.1 through 7.5 and section 6157.2 whoever drafts it, which is why every page we deliver goes through attorney review.

California questions need California answers

Generic content answers the national question, not the local one. The California courts' self-help site says one spouse must have lived in California for 6 months and in the current county for 3 months to start a divorce. Family Code section 2339 adds that a dissolution is not final until six months after service of the summons and petition or the respondent's appearance, whichever is first. A national timeline gets both points wrong. The family law guide shows how we check facts like these against the statute or the court's own site.

California markets

Each superior court runs its own buildings and divisions, so each market guide covers its own court facts:

• Los Angeles
• San Diego
• San Francisco
• San Jose
• Sacramento
• Irvine

Los Angeles assigns courthouses through a filing locator, San Francisco keeps probate and family in one building, and Irvine cases go to courthouses in three other cities.

What we build for California firms

• Practice-area pages written to Rules 7.1 through 7.5 and section 6157.2
• County and city pages only where you take clients, with the right courthouse for each case type
• Answer posts for the questions California clients ask

For personal injury firms, section 6157.2's limits on settlement promises apply directly. For immigration firms, Comment [5] to Rule 7.1 limits claims about services in another language to lawyers who can provide them, unless the page names, in that language, the title of the person who speaks it.

Neighboring states

Some California firms also serve Arizona clients. Those pages should say which state's law they explain and where your attorneys are licensed; the Arizona guide covers that state's rules.

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