A case results page complies with bar rules when every result is true, verifiable, presented with enough context to avoid creating false expectations, and paired with the disclaimer your state requires. At Peak Marketing, we build these pages for law firms in New Jersey, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and other states, and the pattern holds everywhere. Report the facts of the matter, explain what drove the outcome, avoid language that promises a similar result, and check your state’s specific advertising rule before publishing.
The rest of this guide covers what the rules actually say, where states differ, and how to write each entry so it helps both prospective clients and search rankings.
What the Bar Rules Say About Past Results
Most states base their advertising rules on ABA Model Rule 7.1, which bars any false or misleading communication about a lawyer’s services. The rule does not ban case results. It bans results presented in a way that misleads.
The official comment explains the risk. A truthful report of what a lawyer won for a client can still mislead if it leads a reasonable person to expect the same outcome without regard to the facts and law of their own case. The comment also notes that a suitable disclaimer or qualifying language may keep a statement from crossing that line.
This was not always the national standard. The older version of the comment said results advertising would “ordinarily” be precluded, and some state ethics opinions from the 1990s, including ones in Alabama and North Carolina, took that hard line. The ABA softened the language, but a few states still carry stricter versions. Know which version your state adopted before you publish a single verdict.
How State Rules Differ on Case Results
The general standard is similar across the country, but disclaimer wording and documentation duties vary by state. A firm licensed in two states has to satisfy both.
| State | What it means for a case results page |
| New Jersey | The Committee on Attorney Advertising still requires the disclaimer “Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances” where results or testimonials could create unjustified expectations. |
| Florida | Past results must be objectively verifiable under Rule 4-7.13, and the comment says the firm needs the affected client’s informed consent before advertising the result. |
| New York | Since June 1, 2026, New York follows the ABA-style rule and no longer mandates the exact “Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome” wording. Bar commentators still suggest keeping a disclaimer. |
| Tennessee | The comment to Rule 7.1 tracks the ABA language on truthful results that may still create unjustified expectations. |
New York is the clearest example of why old templates cause trouble. Many firm sites still carry language written for the pre-2026 rules. It is not harmful to keep a results disclaimer there, but your compliance notes should reflect the current rule.
Check the rules and ethics opinions for every state where the firm’s lawyers practice. Bar ethics hotlines can answer specific questions before a page goes live.
Writing a Compliant Case Result, Step by Step
Each entry on the page should hold up on its own. If a grievance committee read only that entry, it should not mislead.
- Get client consent in writing. Rule 1.6 protects information about a representation, and a public verdict does not end that duty in every state. Florida’s comment says plainly that advertising a result requires the client’s informed consent.
- Keep the documentation. Save the verdict form, settlement agreement, or court order in the file. If the bar asks, you need to prove the number.
- State the amount accurately. Say whether the figure is gross or net, and whether it was a verdict or a settlement. A $1.2 million verdict later reduced on appeal is not a $1.2 million result.
- Describe the facts that drove the outcome. Note the injury, the liability facts, the insurance limits, or the procedural posture.
- Use neutral verbs. “Obtained,” “recovered,” and “negotiated” describe what happened. “Crushed” and “won big” do not.
- Place the disclaimer where readers see it. Put it at the top of the page and near any result that appears elsewhere on the site.
Here is how that looks in practice:
$475,000 settlement, rear-end collision, Camden County. Our client suffered a herniated disc requiring surgery. Liability was clear, and the at-fault driver carried a $500,000 policy. Settled before trial. Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.
That entry gives a reader the facts that shaped the number. It also tells them why their case could be different.
Mistakes That Put Firms at Risk
Most problems on case results pages come from habit rather than bad intent. These are the ones we see most often during site audits.
Calling a mixed outcome a win is a common one. If the jury found for the defense on two of three claims, the entry has to say so.
Aggregate totals cause trouble too. A line like “over $50 million recovered” needs records behind it, and it should not count results from lawyers who have left the firm without saying so.
Superlatives and guarantees are the most obvious risk. “The best results in the state” is a comparison most firms cannot prove. A New York ethics opinion found that phrases like “I know how to win for you” were misleading, and that adding a disclaimer did not fix them.
Stale pages are the quiet risk. A results page written in 2019 may reference a lawyer who retired or a rule that changed. Set a review date for the page and keep it.
How Peak Marketing Structures Case Results for Search
A compliant results page can also be a strong page for search and AI answers. The two goals usually line up, because the context that keeps a result accurate is the same context that makes it useful.
We give each result its own block with a short heading that names the case type and location, such as “Truck Accident Settlement, Middlesex County.” That helps the page rank for local practice area searches and gives AI tools a clean, quotable unit.
We also link each result to the matching practice area page. A reader looking at a workers’ compensation result should be one click from the firm’s workers’ compensation page. Filters by practice area help on larger pages.
For firms with dozens of results, we sometimes give the strongest matters their own case study pages. Each one can cover the legal issue in more depth, which supports topical authority without stuffing the main results page.
The last step is a compliance read. Before a page goes live, the responsible attorney reviews every entry against the state rule. Marketing drafts it. The lawyer signs off.
Getting Case Results Right
Case results are some of the most persuasive content a law firm can publish, and they carry more ethics risk than almost any other page on the site. The fix is not to hide them. Report each result accurately, explain the facts behind it, keep the documentation, and use the disclaimer your state expects.
If your firm’s results page has not been reviewed since the rules last changed, it is worth a fresh look. Peak Marketing helps law firms write and structure case results pages that read well, rank well, and stand up to bar review. Reach out to our team to schedule a review of your current page.
Sources
- New Hampshire Rule 7.1, including the ABA Model Rule comment on truthful reports of results
- Alabama State Bar Formal Opinion 1993-08 on listing damage awards
- North Carolina State Bar 99 Formal Ethics Opinion 7, Advertising Jury Verdicts
- New Jersey Committee on Attorney Advertising opinion on endorsements and testimonials (September 2025)
- New Jersey Committee on Attorney Advertising Opinion 15
- Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, Rule 4-7.13 and comment
- The Florida Bar, Checklist for Websites, Social Media, and Video Sharing
- The Florida Bar News, Bar drops past results guidelines for attorney ads
- NYSBA, Amendments Adopted to Advertising Rules (September 2026)
- NYSBA, The Amendments to the Advertising Rules by Marjorie E. Gross
- NYSBA Ethics Opinion 848 on the prior results disclaimer
- Tennessee Rule 7.1 and comment
