Visitors to your law firm’s website can quickly form an expectation of privacy and confidentiality, even when the formation of such an attorney-client relationship has not yet been established. To minimize your risk of a malpractice claim, it’s important to understand how to avoid creating confidentiality through your firm’s website.

Law firm websites are designed to be a helpful resource, with many firms sharing information about the firm, its attorneys and ways to contact the company. However, law firm websites are also designed to generate business. As a result, many firm websites include a contact form that includes fields for collecting an individual’s name and contact information, and a brief description of their legal issue, worded similarly to the following examples:

• “Please provide a brief description of your legal issue”

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