On January 1, 2026, Alabama overhauled Rules 7.1–7.3 of the Rules of Professional Conduct. The biggest changes for law firm marketing: ads must disclose a bona fide (physical, staffed) office, the old universal disclaimer gave way to shorter context-specific ones, speaking actors are no longer allowed, direct email to accident victims is barred for 21 days, and records must be kept six years.
This is part of our guide to personal injury law firm marketing.
This is general marketing guidance, not legal advice. Confirm any specific requirement with the Alabama State Bar or your own counsel.
Rule 7.2: your office, disclaimers, and results
The modernized Rule 7.2 sets clear architecture requirements for a firm's digital footprint:
| Change | What it means for your marketing |
|---|---|
| Bona fide office | Ads and your Google Business Profile must reflect a real, staffed office where you practice — no virtual mailboxes to game local maps |
| One-click disclaimer | Where a display or banner ad can't fit a disclaimer, it must appear immediately on the landing page after the click |
| No speaking actors | Actors are limited to non-speaking, background roles in video and digital ads |
| Verifiable results | Advertised case results must be objectively verifiable and can't come from default judgments |
| Six-year record retention | Keep copies of all digital ads and website iterations for six years |
Rule 7.3: the 21-day rule and no texting
Rule 7.3 permits direct, targeted email to someone with a known injury, but imposes a strict 21-day moratorium after the accident, and those emails must be labeled “ADVERTISEMENT” in a contrasting color. Live solicitation by text message (SMS) remains prohibited. The practical takeaway: build inbound SEO and GEO to capture high-intent clients organically rather than leaning on outbound outreach.
Rule 7.1: no deceptive search terms
The 2026 rules prohibit buying a competitor's brand name in search ads and deploying it so a prospective client believes they're contacting one firm when they're being steered to another. Focus paid budget on non-branded, high-intent practice-area terms instead.
AI in your practice (Formal Opinion 2026-01)
The Alabama State Bar's AI guidance recontextualizes existing duties. Two matter most for marketing: confidentiality — don't paste client identities or case facts into public AI tools that train on inputs — and competence and candor — AI-assisted website content and legal commentary must be independently fact-checked before it's published, following sanctions of attorneys who relied on AI-hallucinated case law.
What this means for your website
Beyond the obvious (a real office address, compliant results), there's a subtle GEO point: because AI strips away footers when it extracts a passage, any “past results don't guarantee future outcomes” disclaimer should sit in the same sentence or paragraph as the result it qualifies — so it travels with the text into the AI's answer. We build marketing this way by default; your firm makes the final compliance call.
Frequently asked questions
Does my law firm still need the long Alabama disclaimer?
The 2026 revisions replaced the mandatory universal disclaimer with shorter, context-specific ones that must be legible and easy to read. The requirement didn't disappear — it changed shape — so confirm the current wording for your specific ad with the Alabama State Bar.
Can I text accident victims to offer my services?
No. Live solicitation by SMS remains prohibited, and direct email to a person with a known injury is barred for the first 21 days after the accident. Inbound SEO and GEO are the compliant way to reach high-intent clients quickly.
Is it against the rules to use AI to write my law firm's website content?
Using AI isn't prohibited, but Alabama's guidance requires you to protect client confidentiality and independently verify accuracy. AI-assisted content must be fact-checked and must not make false or misleading statements about your services.
Want marketing that grows your firm and respects Alabama's 2026 rules? We build compliant SEO and GEO for PI firms — get a free audit.
Get your free audit →Written by Paul Golden, co-founder of PG&J — a Mobile, AL marketing studio helping law firms and local businesses get found on search and in AI.