In Indianapolis, ChatGPT named 4 injury firms. Is yours one of them?

Indiana does not pre-clear general ads, but any targeted solicitation must be labeled "Advertising Material" and filed with the Disciplinary Commission with a $50 fee, and cannot go to accident or injury victims for 30 days.

Who enforces it

Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission

The rules

Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct, Rules 7.1 to 7.5

Filing or review

No general filing requirement found in the official rules. General advertising is not filed or pre-approved. Only a targeted solicitation to a prospective client (written, recorded or electronic) must be filed with the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission at or before it goes out, with a $50 fee payable to the Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission Fund (Rule 7.3(c)). Exempt are solicitations to lawyers and to people with a family, close personal or prior professional relationship. A single copy may cover a mass mailing, and each changed version must be filed again.

Required labels

Targeted solicitations must say "Advertising Material" conspicuously on the outside envelope and at the beginning of a written message, and at the beginning and end of any recorded or electronic message (Rule 7.3(c)). Every ad must include the name and office address of at least one responsible lawyer or firm, and that lawyer must keep a copy or recording of each ad for six years (Rule 7.2(c)).

Contacting accident victims

30 days after an accident or disaster, or a personal injury or wrongful death matter, involving the person or a relative: no solicitation by in-person, written, recorded, audio, video or electronic communication, including the Internet (Rule 7.3(b)(3)).

Testimonials, results, specialist

Comment 2 to Rule 7.1 lists communications that violate the rule unless special circumstances protect readers. They include statistical data or past-performance information, any reference to results that may create an expectation of similar results, testimonials or endorsements likely to create an unjustified expectation, and dramatizations not clearly disclosed. A lawyer may not state or imply they are a specialist unless certified by an independent certifying organization accredited by the Indiana Commission for Continuing Legal Education and the certifier is named (Rule 7.4(d)).

Online ads

Rule 7.3(b) expressly covers solicitation by electronic communication, including the Internet. The Rule 7.2 comments allow paying for marketing vendors such as website designers and remind lawyers to supervise them under Rule 5.3. No AI-specific lawyer advertising rule was found in the sources checked.

ChatGPT Ads

OpenAI accepts US law-firm ads from firms licensed where the ad runs, after business verification and ad review. A ChatGPT ad aimed at Indiana needs your Indiana license, and it is still lawyer advertising under the rules above.

Sources: rules.incourts.gov, rules.incourts.gov, rules.incourts.gov. Parts of this summary were read from a published copy of the rules because the official site could not be reached; check the official text before relying on it.

More on how the rules work across states: law firm advertising rules and can lawyers advertise on ChatGPT.