Dated October 24, 2026. Alabama rewrote its lawyer advertising rules this year. By an order of May 13, 2025, the Supreme Court of Alabama amended Rules 7.1 to 7.3 and 8.5, effective January 1, 2026 (order). Two things firms knew well are gone: filing ads with the Bar, and the long quality disclaimer. Several new duties replace them, and some of them reach search ads, social posts and tracking tags directly. This note covers what changed and what to check. The full state summary is on our Alabama page.
What’s gone
- Filing. The old Rule 7.2(b) sent a copy of each ad to the Bar’s Office of General Counsel within three days of first use, and the old Rule 7.3 filed targeted letters and their recipient lists (old 7.2; old 7.3). Neither filing exists now.
- The general disclaimer. The old Rule 7.2(e) required a set sentence saying no representation is made that the lawyer’s services are better than other lawyers’. The new comment to Rule 7.2 says the rule “no longer requires the use of a general disclaimer for all communications.”
- Red ink. Targeted letters no longer need “Advertisement” in red ink; the new rule asks for bold, contrasting type instead.
What every ad needs now
| Requirement | Rule | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Records kept 6 years | 7.2(a) | A dated copy of every version, with recipients and how it went out, produced on request |
| A bona fide office location | 7.2(b)(3)-(4) | The city, town or county of a real office of a lawyer shown, or of the firm |
| Unlicensed lawyers and out-of-state firms say so | 7.2(b)(1)-(2) | A lawyer not licensed in Alabama, or a firm with no Alabama office, discloses it clearly |
| Every lawyer shown is responsible | 7.2(c) | Featuring a lawyer in an ad makes that lawyer answerable for its content |
| Disclosures you can read and hear | 7.2(d)-(e) | Legible text, spoken lines at the ad’s normal pace, in each language the ad uses |
| Cost terms with “no fee unless” | 7.2(g) | Say whether the client pays costs if there is no recovery |
The six-year record isn’t new; the old rule had it too. What changed is that the record replaces the filing, so it’s now the only evidence a firm has when the Bar asks. The comment also lets short formats, such as banner ads and some social posts, put required disclosures one click or keystroke away, on the first link or landing page.
Claims, actors and testimonials
The rewrite is stricter on the content of ads. Results must name the type of matter and be “objectively verifiable” (7.2(m)), and the comment lists omissions that make a result misleading, such as an uncollected verdict or one reversed on appeal. A communication promising a specific result is prohibited (7.2(i)). Testimonials must come from people with real experience of the lawyer, with any payment disclosed (7.2(l)). A lawyer may not use an actor to portray the lawyer being promoted, clients may be shown by actors only in non-speaking background roles, and dramatizations carry a set label (7.2(n), (p)). The comment adds that claims like “number one” break the rule if they can’t be objectively verified.
Search, social and tracking
- Competitor names. The comment allows bidding on another lawyer’s name when the search engine labels the result as an ad. Rule 7.2(r) bars any purchase or manipulation of search results that would lead a searcher to contact you by mistake for the lawyer they looked for.
- Retargeting. The comment says a lawyer may not retarget, set cookies or otherwise track a site visitor without disclosure and consent, by a checkbox or by continuing after notice. Any remarketing list or ad pixel on an Alabama firm’s site needs that notice first.
- Firm pages count. Websites, social pages and networking profiles are covered communications. Educational posts that don’t seek work are outside the disclosure and record rules.
- Local Services Ads aren’t named in the order. The one-click principle for short formats is the closest fit, and that’s our reading, not the Bar’s.
Targeted letters and email
A targeted letter about personal injury or wrongful death waits more than 21 days after the accident, down from 30 (7.3(b)(1)). Letters and email carry “ADVERTISEMENT” on the envelope or subject line and at the start, with a first line telling people who already have a lawyer to disregard it (7.3(f), (g), (i)), and say how the lawyer learned of the matter (7.3(e)(7)). A sample and the recipient list are kept for two years (7.3(e)(1)). Live, real-time solicitation stays banned, and the comment treats a text a lawyer starts as real-time contact (7.3(a)).
What to check this week
| Check | Where | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Old disclaimer | Site footer, ads, video end cards | Removed, or kept only where counsel wants it |
| Office location | Search ads, landing pages, social bios | A real office city on every ad or one click away |
| Ad archive | Your agency’s change log | Every version dated and kept six years |
| Pixels and remarketing | Site tags and ad accounts | No tracking before notice and consent |
| Results and testimonials | Case-result pages, reviews widgets | Type of matter named, each result verifiable, paid quotes disclosed |
What this means for your firm
- Less paperwork, more proof. No filing means no approval stamp either. A dated archive of every ad version, with the attorney’s sign-off, is now the firm’s only record, so keep it where the firm owns it, not only in an agency’s files.
- Retargeting needs a decision. Alabama is one of the few states that speaks to tracking directly. We run remarketing only where each platform’s policy allows it, and for an Alabama firm only after the site gives notice and the visitor consents.
- Check other states separately. Alabama’s rules don’t travel. Our lawyer advertising rules guide compares all 51 jurisdictions.
If the Court amends these rules again, we’ll add a dated update to this note.
Marketing information, not legal advice. Your firm’s lawyers answer to the Alabama State Bar for every communication; confirm each rule with the Bar’s Office of General Counsel or your own counsel.