The Supreme Court of Alabama amended Rules 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3 by order of May 13, 2025, with an effective date of January 1, 2026. The comment to the new Rule 7.2 states that lawyer and firm websites, social media pages and professional networking profiles fall under it. Our Alabama guide covers the full rule set; this post is the working checklist.
What went away
Two familiar requirements are gone. Rule 7.2 no longer calls for a general disclaimer on advertising, and the old practice of sending ads to the Office of General Counsel ahead of use has ended. In its place, Rule 7.2(a) asks firms to keep a copy of each advertisement for six years and produce it promptly if the Office of General Counsel asks for it. If your footer still carries the old disclaimer, you can retire it, but start keeping that archive now.
Six things to check on your pages
- Superlatives. The comment to Rule 7.2 treats unverifiable claims such as "best," "most experienced" or "number one" as violations. Search your site for them, headings and image text included.
- Results. Under Rule 7.2(m), any result you publish needs a description of the type of case, must be objectively verifiable and must not mislead. The comment flags default judgments, uncollected verdicts and out-of-state results as examples that need care.
- Testimonials. Rule 7.2(l) requires that the person giving a testimonial had personal, real and direct experience with the legal matter, and that any compensation be disclosed plainly and prominently.
- Office and license disclosures. Rule 7.2(b) requires a disclosure if a lawyer is not licensed in Alabama or has no bona fide Alabama office, along with the city, town, county or location of the bona fide office.
- Specialist language. A certified specialist claim needs a certifying organization approved by the Alabama State Bar Board of Legal Specialization, and the comment to Rule 7.4 calls for naming it.
- Dramatizations and referrals. Rule 7.2(n) requires a "DRAMATIZATION" label where it applies, and Rule 7.2(j) sets wording for referral statements. Video and paid campaigns are where these usually turn up.
Why this matters for AI search
An assistant that quotes your page lifts one sentence, not your footer. A verdict figure without its case description, or a specialist claim without the certifying body, reaches the reader stripped of the context the rule requires. Pages written so each claim carries its own qualification hold up better when they are quoted. That is the approach in our answer on publishing case results.