This email will be limited to jurisdictional disclaimers. It seems to me that looking at one's own state's ethics or bar rules is just the beginning of the journey. Due to the universal nature of the internet, if a website is an advertisement, it must comply with all local ethics/bar regulations, unless jurisdictional limitations are properly disclaimed. So to be safe, it appears that the attorney/firm must make it absolutely clear that the website (advertisement) is only directed to people in the intended jurisdiction(s) or keep up to date on advertising rules for attorneys in every state. Is this a safe assumption upon which to write a disclaimer of jurisdictional limitations? Are these disclaimers really effective? The difficulty of keeping up to date on advertising rules for every jurisdiction seems daunting at least, but the risk of not doing so is severe. Thus, a (if not the) primary advantage (the ease of reaching vast numbers of potential customers) of the internet is frustrated and it may be time to reevalute our rules of professional conduct.
