website for lawyers: what the code of conduct lets you publish

business · 2026-10-29 · 3 min

a lawyer's website has a constraint that no other professional site has: the code of conduct decides what you can write long before the design does. the same page that convinces a client can turn into a complaint to the order if it promises an outcome or calls you a specialist without the title behind it.

what you can say and what you cannot

no "we win cases", no guaranteed results, no percentage of successful appeals. the code forbids advertising that promises an outcome, and a promise is the first thing a worried person reads. write instead what you do and how the work starts: assistiamo in separazioni e divorzi, seguiamo controversie condominiali. the word specialista in italy is protected: you use it only if you hold the title your bar association recognises, otherwise esperto and con esperienza in are the honest alternatives.

the first contact is confidential

someone writing to a lawyer for the first time is afraid of two things: that the message is read by somebody else, and that asking costs something. say it on the contact page: the first message is confidential, who reads it, how quickly you answer. then keep the form short, with name, email and one line about the problem. never ask for documents, names of other people involved or the whole story in the form, because before the mandate there is no file and no protection: the details sit in an inbox. a contact form with a privacy note and four fields is enough to start.

practice areas in words people use

diritto civile tells a client nothing. the person looking for you types "non mi pagano da sei mesi" or "mio figlio non vede i nonni". each area deserves a page with a plain name, two paragraphs on how it works, the documents to bring and a realistic idea of the timeline. add a short list of what you do not handle: it costs nothing and saves a phone call.

the pages worth building

home, practice areas with one page each, who you are with bar number and office, fees explained by method rather than by number, contacts, privacy. a blog only if someone writes in it; a news section with the last post from 2019 is worse than none. real photos of the office beat the scales of justice, and a stock gavel says you landed on a template.

faq

can i say i am a specialist?

only if you hold the title your bar association recognises. otherwise use "mi occupo di" or "assistenza in", which describe the work without claiming a qualification you do not have.

can i publish the results of a case?

not as advertising. you can describe the type of case and how you handled it, without names, without documents and without presenting it as a result the next client will get.

what should the contact form ask?

name, email, a line about the problem, a privacy checkbox. phone number optional. nothing that identifies a third person and nothing that belongs in a file.