Writing Law Firm Fees So an AI Summary Does Not Mislead

The fee sentence most likely to be quoted about a law firm is also the one most likely to mislead when quoted alone: "no fee unless we win." In several states the rules already require the costs disclosure to accompany it, and for AI visibility the practical point is the same one: write the fee and the cost terms as a single passage, so any summary that carries one carries both.

What the rules require next to a fee statement

Texas

Rule 7.02(c): "If an advertisement by a lawyer discloses a willingness to render services on a contingent fee basis, the advertisement must state whether the client will be obligated to pay for other expenses, such as the costs of litigation." Rule 7.02(d) holds a lawyer to an advertised fee or range for the period the ad is expected to be effective, up to a year unless promised longer.

Florida

Rule 4-7.14(a)(7) lists as potentially misleading "information about the lawyer's fee, including those that indicate no fee will be charged in the absence of a recovery, unless the advertisement discloses all fees and expenses for which the client might be liable." An advertised fee must be honored for at least 90 days unless the ad says otherwise.

New York

Rule 7.1(p) sends fee advertising, "including those indicating that in the absence of a recovery no fee will be charged," to Judiciary Law § 488(3). Rule 7.1(j) requires a lawyer advertising a fixed fee to have "a written statement clearly describing the scope of each advertised service" available to the public, and 7.1(l) bars charging more than an advertised fee.

The ABA's comment [3] to Rule 7.1 adds a general caution: "an unsubstantiated claim about a lawyer's or law firm's services or fees" or an unsubstantiated fee comparison with other firms may be misleading. "Lowest fees in Phoenix" needs proof or needs to go.

People ask the price question first

Google autocomplete for "how much does a lawyer cost for," checked in US English on 2026-09-26, completed with child custody, a divorce, a DUI, a misdemeanor and small claims court. Completions reflect what people type, not how often, and we have no figure for how many of those questions reach an AI assistant. What they show is that cost is a first question, not a last one. A firm that publishes nothing about fees leaves the answer to directories and forums that do not know its terms.

Writing fee terms as one passage

An answer engine retrieves passages. An illustrative fee section, for a firm whose agreement works this way, travels intact: "We handle car accident claims on a contingency fee, a percentage of any recovery set out in the written agreement. If there is no recovery, you owe no attorney fee. Court costs and case expenses, such as filing fees and medical records, are separate, and the agreement says whether you owe them if the case does not succeed." The fee, the costs and where to find the terms sit inside three sentences, which is what the Texas and Florida rules are driving at. Your own wording has to match your own agreement.

Hourly and flat fee work follows the same idea: what is included, what is not, what triggers extra charges, and the date the fee was last updated, together.

What to do with your fee pages

Search the site for "no fee," "free," "no cost" and "contingency" and read each passage as if it were quoted alone.
Move the costs sentence into the same paragraph as the fee statement everywhere it appears, including banners and headings.
Keep fixed fee scope statements on a public page if you advertise fixed fees.
Remove any comparison with other firms' fees you cannot document.
Date the fee page and diary a review, since some states bind you to published fees for a set period.

The practice area questions that lead to fee questions are covered in "do I need a lawyer" pages, and the full cluster is on the AI visibility for law firms hub.

Not legal or ethics advice. This describes how AI systems can read a law firm in public; your state bar's rules and your own ethics counsel decide what you may publish.

Questions

Does a law firm have to mention costs when advertising a contingency fee?

In Texas, Rule 7.02(c) says an advertisement offering contingent fee services must state whether the client will be obligated to pay other expenses, such as the costs of litigation. Florida Rule 4-7.14(a)(7) treats fee information, including no fee without a recovery, as potentially misleading unless all fees and expenses the client might owe are disclosed.

Should a law firm publish its fees online?

A law firm does not have to publish fees, but if it does, the rules bind it to what it publishes. New York requires a written statement of scope for advertised fixed fees and holds a lawyer to advertised fees for set periods, and Texas and Florida set similar honoring periods. Publishing a fee structure with its cost terms gives an AI summary something accurate to quote.

How should fees and costs be written so an AI summary does not mislead?