CAN YOU LEGALLY CALL YOURSELF “THE BEST LAWYER”?
CAN YOU LEGALLY CALL YOURSELF “THE BEST LAWYER”?
by Kristi Patrice Carter, JD
I’ve been testing ChatGPT to see what all the buzz is about. I asked it to create a polished social media post for a personal injury lawyer in Illinois.
The result? Visually appealing. Sounded professional.
The headline read:
“Call the Best Lawyer in Illinois.”
Looks good? ✅ Yes.
Legal? ❌ Absolutely not.
Under Illinois Rule of Professional Conduct 7.1, the framework is set to guide and support professionals in their duties, ensuring that attorneys remain ethical and clients are protected and not improperly influenced.
This includes:
- False or misleading communications about the lawyer’s services or abilities. Ex. claiming that you are licensed in 3 states when you’re licensed in two)
- Misrepresentations and omissions that could lead to misunderstandings or create unjustified expectations. Ex. You claim that you’re a lion in the courtroom when you haven’t won a case and often don’t show up for hearings or court.” Or, you state you have 10 years of experience when you have 2 years of experience.
- Claims that can’t be objectively verified, such as calling yourself “the best.”
- Unsubstantiated comparisons to other lawyers, such as saying you’re more loyal to clients than your competitor.
Violations of the above can trigger Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) sanctions or state bar disciplinary action.
Anyone (a client, peer, or competitor) can file a grievance. Both entities are responsible for regulating the legal profession and take misleading lawyer advertising seriously, regardless of whether AI is used to generate the content in question.
Discipline ranges from warnings to more formal consequences like suspension or disbarment.
✅ You can say “award-winning” or “top-rated” if you can prove it.
So go ahead and brag about that Burton Award — if you’ve earned it.
However, don’t claim to be “the best” unless you’ve objective, verifiable proof, especially in Illinois and other states with similar regulations.
Bottom line:
Don’t claim what you can’t prove. Know your state’s advertising rules.
Unlike AI tools that can create risky copy, KPC Marketing delivers legally accurate, bar-compliant messaging that builds trust, not liability.
We know the rules. And we follow them.
#AttorneyEthics #LegalMarketingTips #BarCompliance #LawyerAds #KPCMarketing #AvoidBarComplaints
Five Key Steps for Starting Your Solo Practice A s a New Attorney
Five Key Steps for Starting Your Solo Practice A s a New Attorney
By Allegra Abramson
New lawyers have many exciting career options at their fingertips. While somewill begin establishing themselves at large firms, legal nonprofits, andgovernmentagencies, other young attorneys graduate from law school totransition into solo practice as soon as possible. Going solo might sounddaunting or like a distant dream when you’ve just finished school,but there areseveral strategic moves fresh attorneyscan make to set themselves up for long-term success in transitioning to solo practice when the time is right!
Building Your Niche
One of the first steps you’ll wantto take isto crystallize what area of law you’dlike to focus on. A great way to explorevarious areas of the law is to beginbroadly and narrow down based on your likes and dislikes while you get your feetwet. If you’re interested in litigation, for example, starting in a role such as publicdefender will help you quickly build crucial litigation skills that will translate well toa solo practice down the line—and you may be able to meet future clients andbuild up a name in your community early on in your career.
Over time, it will be easier to set your skills apart by focusing on a smallernichearea that interests you. Suppose you are interested in energy law, for example.In that case, you can take CLEs to concentrate on environmental issues,ensuring you build the technical know-how to advocate effectively in that area. Ifyou’d like tomake a career helping small businesses, you might consider a moregeneral transactional law job to learn all about contract negotiations andcorporate law regulations. Joining relevant bar associations in your desiredpractice area and location is also a great way to increase your knowledge baseand network with other professionals as you narrow your options
Building Your Brand
If you want to open a solo practicein the future, it’s important to start buildingyour brand early on. Consider securing a professional domain name by creatinga basic website or blog. You can also grow a presence on social media platformslike LinkedIn, where interacting with other professionals in your desired practicearea will help you build essential knowledge and meet peoplewith similarinterests and goals, who could serve as valuable thought partners. This is also agreat way to stay in contact with associates from law school and your variousalumni associations, which are often great resources for connecting new lawyers. You might even enjoy sharing insights and commentary with like-minded professionals, which will help you carve out your voice and reputation in your niche.
Building Your Technical Skills
Caselaw and legal trends aren’t the only areas today’s lawyers must stayeducated on—it’s more important than ever for attorneys to learn about legaltechnology, particularly as exciting new generative AI programs for lawyersemerge on the scene. Being tech-savvy is a requirement for any lawyer wishingto grow a private practice. Consider taking CLEs in this area, reading legal techinformation blogs, staying apprised of technology ethics considerations, and evenusing free trials of various technologies to see which may aid you best when youopen your firm.
Building Your Marketing Skills
As a solo attorney, you must work diligently to build a strong client base. Gettingyour name out there, establishing a sound reputation, and finding target clientscan be difficult. Marketing might not have been a big part of your training in lawschool, but it’s essential to succeeding as a solo practitioner.
Start by identifying your target client, where they congregate, become aware ofany pressing legal problems they might face, and how your firm can provide aworkable solution. Spend timeevaluatingyour competitors’digital presence,strengths and weaknesses, and how theyobtain andengage with clients. Next,builda strong offline and online presence with anaesthetically pleasingwebsite,engaging social mediaposts, andapowerful marketingmessage that is presentin online and offline content.
Effective marketing isn’tjustaboutselling yourself. It’s also about showing upconsistently. It’s about being visible to those who need your services andpositioning yourself as a knowledgeable and trustworthy legal professional whotakes care of client business.
Consider Hiring a Marketing Firm
If you don’t have the time or skillset to market your solo firm, you might considerhiring marketing experts to do it for you.When first starting, it can be hard tostrike the right tone, and a marketing companywill know how to get your nameout there.
Going solo doesn’t have to be a giant leap of faith—with careful planning, it canbe a logically built bridge. Start early, brick by brick, and your future practice willfeel less like a risk and more like a natural next step!
The Attorney’s Guide to Internet Marketing Success
