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Guide · 7 min read

Conduct-Rules-safe marketing - the line and how to stay on it

Where the Solicitors' Conduct Rules actually bite - and the small fixes that keep your marketing effective and inside the line.

General information only, not legal advice. The Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules (ASCR) and state-based legal-profession Acts and Law Society advertising guidance govern what solicitors can say in marketing. Your final compliance review remains your responsibility.

The four places the line is usually crossed

1. Claims about results, "guarantees" and outcomes

Australian solicitors cannot reasonably promise specific outcomes. "Guaranteed win", "no-win-no-fee guaranteed", "we always get clients X" are the most common drafts a generalist agency hands back. Reframe as capability ("decades of trial advocacy", "thousands of matters in [court]") and process, not as outcome guarantees.

2. "Specialist" and "expert" wording

The word "specialist" is regulated. In several states, calling a lawyer a "specialist" in an area is restricted to those holding the relevant Accredited Specialist credential (Law Society NSW, LIV, QLS, LSSA). Otherwise, use "focus", "experience", "primarily practises in" - the marketing intent is unchanged; the legal risk disappears.

3. Testimonials and reviews

Testimonials must be authentic, not selectively misleading, and (in some jurisdictions) attributable. Fabricating reviews, lightly editing them for impact, or selectively curating to give a misleading impression all create risk. The fix: a steady, consistent review-collection process that produces real, attributed reviews on your Google Business Profile and verifiable web testimonials.

4. Comparative advertising and disparagement

"Better than [competitor]" and similar comparative claims are minefields under both Conduct Rules and general consumer-law principles. Comparative claims about your own past performance vs. published industry data can work; direct comparisons with named competitors generally don't.

Practical patterns that work

The strongest marketing tone for an Australian law firm is one that reads like a careful, competent lawyer wrote it - calibrated, accurate, plain-English. That voice both stays inside the rules and converts more enquiries than aggressive copy ever has.

This is the compliance lens we apply to every page we write - see Conduct-Rules-Safe Content and Legal Content Writing.

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