We’ve had past and present clients in Tennessee. When working with them, we need to be sure to keep track of their home state’s rules and regulations just like we would any other state. If you’ve read any of our other blog posts detailing the rules of the states, you already know many of the law marketing rules in Tennessee.
TN law firms have to make certain information available for people who need to reach out to them like law firms in other states we’ve covered. They also have to retain copies of all their marketing materials for a certain amount of time. What the state considers attorney advertisements is the same as others as well.
The main difference between Tennessee and other states like California and New York is that Tennessee requires more information to be made publicly available to potential clients regarding payment and their practice areas. Let’s go over the similarities before we go over what Tennessee does that other states do not.
Tennessee’s General Law Marketing Rules
Like many other states, Tennessee’s Bar Rule Guidelines state that attorney advertisements include:
- Written content (letters, pamphlets, mail advertisements)
- Recorded content (voice messages, marketing videos)
- Electronic content (email blasts, text message blasts, online ads)
- Public media (billboards, posters, flyers)
- Websites (only for your business)
- Guest blogs (blogs written for other sites)
All of these are subject to the rules about attorney advertising. Personal social media accounts and personal communications from attorneys are not attorney advertisements. If you’re an attorney in Tennessee, you can post about your favorite sports teams all you want.
What Can’t You Say?
Like other states, there are words and phrases you can’t say because they may be misleading. This is typical because certain terms have different meanings in the court of law, and/or because they make false promises. The terms you can’t use in any attorney advertising include:
- Expertise
- Expert
- Specialist
- Specialization
There is only a select type of attorney who can claim to be an expert or specialist, and they have to be given this designation by representatives of the state.
You also cannot make promises about what legal results you’ll get for a potential client or misrepresent what areas of law you practice.
What’s Special about Tennessee’s Law Marketing Rules?
One of the things that we’ve noticed about Tennessee’s law marketing rules versus others is what information they allow attorneys to display on their website. Other states usually require certain information and don’t allow others, but Tennessee makes them optional. This information includes:
- Attorney names
- Business address
- Phone number of the TN law firm
- Services the attorney provides
- Attorney’s foreign language services
- Names of clients that the attorney represents as long as they have the client’s consent.
- What forms of payment the law firm accepts (i.e.: credit card, check, cash, etc.)
- What are the prices of the TN law firm’s services
- How the TN law firm determines your fees
- Professional references
Most states require that basic contact information be readily available, and it is in a law firm’s best interest to have it there. Tennessee doesn’t require it. This allows law firms who are no longer taking on new regular clients but want to retain an online presence to change their site as necessary.
Other states also make little mention of whether or not a law firm should specify its pricing and how it works. Tennessee lets law firms advertise their competitive pricing on their website if they wish to.
ENX2 Marketing Knows the Rules
When you’re marketing for your law firm, you need to be on top of what you’re doing. If you do something wrong, that’s potentially a fine or a warning at best. At worst, you could be suspended or even stripped of your ability to practice law. No matter what kind of law practice you hold, you have to make sure that you’re protecting your business.
If you don’t have the time or manpower to handle marketing and running a business, partner with a marketing firm that can market your business for you. ENX2 Marketing has extensive experience with PPC ads, SEO, web design, social media marketing, and more. If there’s something you want your law firm to start doing, contact us today.