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

Kentucky lets you run ads without filing, but you can ask the Attorneys' Advertising Commission for a protective $75 advisory opinion, and targeted solicitations must carry the words "Advertising Material".

Who enforces it

Kentucky Bar Association, through its Attorneys' Advertising Commission (AAC)

The rules

SCR 3.130(7.01) to (7.60) and SCR 3.130(4.5) (solicitation), plus AAC Regulations

Filing or review

No general filing requirement found in the official rules. Submission to the AAC is voluntary. A lawyer who wants protection can request an advisory opinion (SCR 3.130(7.03)) with a $75 filing fee (plus $100 for ads over 100 pages or audio or video over 10 minutes) and three copies. The AAC answers within 30 days, and a compliant opinion protects against discipline unless the ad is false, misleading or deceptive. The KBA says an ad must follow the rules and regulations even if never submitted.

Required labels

A written, recorded or electronic solicitation to someone known to need legal services in a particular matter must say "Advertising Material" on the outside of the envelope, in the subject line if it is an email, and at the beginning and end of any recorded or electronic message (SCR 3.130(4.5)(3)). The KBA lists the most common ad errors as a missing "Advertising Material" label, a missing firm location (SCR 3.130(7.20)(3) and AAC Regulation 1(C)), and not saying services may be performed by others (SCR 3.130(7.20)(5)).

Contacting accident victims

30 days after a disaster (as SCR 3.130(7.60) defines it): no communication to the affected people or related targets until 30 days have passed (SCR 3.130(4.5)(4)).

Testimonials, results, specialist

AAC Regulation 1 says a testimonial stated in general terms and not tied to a particular matter ordinarily will not create an unjustified expectation. Ads about specific results, such as damage awards or cumulative verdicts, should include the specific facts and law of the case. An ad should not claim or imply more success than other lawyers, or promise good results regardless of the merits, unless the claim is substantiated to the AAC.

Online ads

AAC Regulation 1 applies to communications accessible to the public on the Internet, including home pages and websites, and to unsolicited email. The KBA says advertising includes internet use, that websites are submitted as numbered PDF pages, and that a Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn presence can be submitted through its Information or About page. 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 Kentucky needs your Kentucky license, and it is still lawyer advertising under the rules above.

Sources: kybar.org, kybar.org, kybar.org. 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.