Site Audit · SB 37 Website Compliance · Now in Effect

How does your website compare with published advertising rules?

Since January 1, 2026, SB 37 has provided a statutory complaint process concerning claimed violations of specified attorney-advertising requirements. The Site Audit reads the page source of your website with no set page limit — an automated screen, then a person reviews each candidate item — and delivers a PDF report of candidates for attorney review, for a flat $350.

Flat fee, secure card checkout. No retainer — and no obligation to hire us afterwards. Pilot method: page source only — no screenshots, no browser rendering (what that leaves out is listed below). Not ready? Run the free scan first →

Scope: Automated screening reads English-language pages only. Pages mostly in another language are excluded from automated wording-pattern screening; a responsible attorney would need to review them directly.

01 — The Law

What SB 37 actually changed

A 2026 update to California attorney-advertising law, amending Business & Professions Code §§6153–6158.7. It is the newest — not the only — law addressed in the audit.

Courthouse columns in deep green light
In effect since Jan 1, 2026
  • 1
    “Advertisement” now means almost everything.Any written, recorded or electronic communication encouraging someone to hire a lawyer — websites, social posts, newsletters, drip emails, text campaigns, even DMs.
  • 2
    Mandatory disclosures on every ad.Each advertisement must conspicuously name at least one responsible California-licensed attorney (or firm), plus the city or county of a bona fide office — or the State Bar address of record.
  • 3
    Fast-track enforcement.A personally served complaint starts a 9-day voluntary-withdrawal window. The advertiser must provide the advertisement to the State Bar within 7 days; the State Bar attorney's 21-day review period runs from delivery. After a substantial-evidence finding, an electronic advertisement can be withdrawn within 72 hours.
  • 4
    Real money on the line.Section 6157.2(c) permits a consumer who was misled by a violating advertisement to seek specified remedies only after the prescribed complaint, a State Bar substantial-evidence determination, and the advertiser's failure to withdraw as provided or later rebroadcast of the advertisement. Statutory damages may range from $5,000 to $100,000 per unique advertisement, or three times actual damages, whichever is larger. Counsel should determine how those prerequisites and the term “unique advertisement” apply.
  • 5
    Old content counts.Older content remains in scope when it is still live, so the audit reads older pages too: the pages our crawler collects from your site, with no set page limit.
02 — The Audit

What we check

The page source of your website, with no set page limit, screened against SB 37 and related California attorney-advertising rules — the Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1–7.5, the electronic-media statutes (B&P §§6158–6158.3) and practice-area disclosure rules — by an automated screen, with each candidate reviewed by a person and presented as a candidate for attorney review.

Prohibited content

Candidates for attorney review

  • Guarantees of recovery, favorable verdicts, or compensation — now explicitly prohibited.
  • “Quick cash” / immediate-settlement language promising money fast.
  • Purchased or pay-to-play awards and badges presented as earned recognition.

Mandatory disclosures

Candidates for attorney review

  • Missing responsible-attorney identification and the required city/county disclosure.
  • Disclosures that exist but aren't conspicuous — buried footers, low-contrast fine print.
  • Case-result portrayals and dramatizations without the disclosure statements B&P §6158.3 requires.

Claims, fees & notices

Candidates for attorney review

  • Testimonials and endorsements, which California's advertising rules address directly.
  • Superlatives (“best,” “top,” “#1”) without substantiation — misleading-communication risk under RPC 7.1.
  • Fee and cost disclosures — “no fee unless we win” without the required qualifications.
  • Practice-area disclosures — the workers' comp fraud notice (Lab. Code §5432) and the bankruptcy “debt relief agency” disclosure (11 U.S.C. §528).
  • Intake forms without a no-attorney-client-relationship disclaimer (Rule 1.18 risk).
  • Practice-scope and licensing clarity, including immigration-practice requirements.
03 — Deliverable

What you get

A page-by-page PDF report your responsible attorney, your web team or the marketing company you already use can work through item by item.

Site Audit — Sample Report Items (illustrative, redacted)Redacted
Candidate for attorney reviewItem 04 · /practice-areas/

Outcome-assurance wording. Reference: SB 37 / RPC 7.1.

Quoted text: " recovery for clients"

Suggested next step: the responsible attorney reviews this headline in its full context.

Candidate for attorney reviewItem 09 · site-wide

Responsible lawyer or firm name, and office location. None of the patterns the automated scan uses for this item matched on the English-language pages it checked. A pattern search can miss wording it was not built to recognise, so this does not show the item is absent from the site.

Suggested next step: check the live website, including any header or footer added by scripts.

Summary

How many pages were collected and whether collection stopped early, what the pilot could not assess, and how many items were carried forward as candidates for attorney review — no severity labels and no legal conclusions.

Page-by-Page Candidates

Exact URLs, with the matched text quoted where there is any — no vague “review your content” hand-waving.

Suggested Next Steps

What the report gives you. Each candidate pinpointed — the exact page, the exact words our automated screen matched, where there are any, and the rule category it falls under — with a suggested next step, presented as a candidate for attorney review. It is an observation summary prepared for your own review and your counsel's decision. Lawthentics is a marketing agency, not a law firm; the report is not legal advice, and every decision about your site rests with you and your California-licensed counsel.

Delivery

Your report as a PDF, emailed from a Lawthentics mailbox on the delivery date we confirm by email before the review begins.

What the pilot audit reads — and what it cannot see.

Capture method: page source only — no screenshots, no browser rendering. We collect the page source each page's web server returns (its raw HTML) and review that. We do not run the scripts a browser would run, so anything a page adds or changes after it loads is not read.

Not assessed in this pilot: text, links or notices added by scripts, including whether a notice the report lists as not found is in fact shown to visitors by a script; how text is displayed (size, colour, contrast, position, or how close a disclaimer sits to the statement it qualifies); words inside images, logos, and award or rating badges (we read only file names and alt text); counters, sliders, pop-ups, chat windows and tabs; embedded video and audio; and a visual record of how the pages looked. Whether pages link to a privacy policy is not checked, because the links on each page are not recorded. Where the report says something was not found, that covers the page source only. Pages that return very little readable text without scripts may not have been read; the report counts them. Pages mostly in a language other than English are not screened. Pages the site's robots.txt asks crawlers to skip, and files such as PDFs, images and documents, are not read.

There is no set page limit: the report states how many pages were collected and whether collection stopped early. Very large or multi-site firms: ask us before ordering. If the free scan said your site renders content with JavaScript, ask us before ordering: the audit may read little of that site.

Automated collection starts shortly after payment from the website address you enter at checkout, so please check it. Before the review begins we email you to confirm your website address and delivery date, and you can cancel for a full refund until then.

A person at Lawthentics reviews each candidate item before the PDF report is emailed to you. Each item is a candidate for your responsible attorney's review, not a legal conclusion. Lawthentics is a marketing agency, not a law firm; the audit is not legal advice. If checkout shows as closed, the pilot is full for now: ask us whether places are open.

Advertising beyond your website? Audit all of it.

California's rules reach social profiles, Google Business Profile, paid ads and video — the Full Presence Audit can review the public channels included in your written scope in one report.

Site Audit

Your website, scanned page by page

$350 one-time

Delivery date confirmed by email


  • Public pages read from page source, no set page limit — automated screen, each candidate reviewed by a person
  • SB 37, RPC 7.1–7.5 & practice-area disclosures
  • Page-by-page candidates, with exact locations where the item is on a page
  • Candidates for attorney review, each with a suggested next step
  • PDF report
  • Pilot: no screenshots or browser rendering
Order Site Audit — $350→

Neither audit takes a retainer, and neither obliges you to hire us afterwards. The Site Audit is a flat $350 and checks out by secure card; pilot reports read page source only. The Full Presence Audit is priced per firm — because no two firms publish at the same volume — so it starts with a free consultation, and you'll have the scope and price in writing before you pay anything.

Not sure you need the audit?

Run the free preliminary scan first — our automated screen checks up to 25 pages and counts candidate wording patterns by review category. Two minutes, no card.

Run the free scan→
04 — Questions

Site Audit FAQ

Why is the audit a flat $350?
A price this low isn't a lighter review — it's a business model. The audit is how firms meet us, not how we make money; monitoring and marketing services with documented review workflows are. We'd rather every California firm can afford to know where they stand. Same depth either way: no set page limit, an automated screen with each candidate reviewed by a person, and each reported item tied to the page, the quoted text where there is any, and the rule category used in the review.
How do I pay, and what happens after checkout?
Payment is a one-time $350 card charge through Stripe's secure checkout — no account needed. You'll get a receipt immediately. Automated collection starts shortly after payment from the website address you enter at checkout, so please check it. Before the review begins we email you to confirm your website address and delivery date, and you can cancel for a full refund until then. Prefer to talk before paying? Use the contact form and we'll take it from there.
Does the audit only check SB 37?
No — SB 37 is the newest, not the only, law aimed at your website. We also review against the California Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1–7.5, the electronic-media statutes (B&P §§6158–6158.3), practice-area disclosures like the workers' comp fraud notice (Labor Code §5432) and the bankruptcy “debt relief agency” disclosure (11 U.S.C. §528). Each item shows the rule category it falls under and is a candidate for attorney review, not a legal conclusion.
Do I have to hire you afterwards?
No. The report is yours, and it's written so your team and your responsible attorney can see what our scan matched and where — many firms simply hand it to their in-house marketing department or the marketing company they already use. Each item shows the page, the quoted text where there is any, the rule category, and a suggested next step. If you'd rather we help with changes your attorney decides on, our website care plans and marketing packages can — but the $350 Site Audit comes with zero strings.
How long does it take?
We confirm your delivery date by email before the review begins. Pilot places are limited, so we give you a date up front instead of a set turnaround.
Is there a page limit?
There is no set page limit. The report states how many pages were collected and whether collection stopped early, and why. The pilot cannot process some very large sites; if that happens you get a full refund. Very large or multi-site firms: ask us before ordering.
Does the audit cover social media too?
The Site Audit covers your website. SB 37 also reaches social profiles, listings, paid ads and video — that's the Full Presence Audit, a separate social-media and video package that reviews the channels you advertise on; because firms publish at very different volumes, it is quoted per firm on request. It is not an add-on to the Site Audit. And every Lawthentics social package includes ongoing compliance review as standard.
Is this legal advice?
No — Lawthentics is a marketing agency, not a law firm. The audit is a marketing-compliance review against California's published attorney-advertising rules. For legal questions about your specific exposure, consult ethics counsel; our report gives them a running start.
What if the audit carries no candidates forward?
Then your PDF still records the pages collected, how collection went and what the pilot could not assess, and states that no item was carried forward. That does not certify compliance or guarantee any effect in a complaint.
How do I keep the review current after the audit?
Websites and marketing change — every new page, post or ad changes the advertising record. Compliance Monitoring — planned, with pricing to be announced — will re-scan your site monthly and deliver a change report against the audit baseline. It does not certify compliance or replace your counsel's decision. Compliance review is included as standard in every Lawthentics marketing package.

Lawthentics Limited

Know Where You Stand Before the State Bar Does

One flat fee, no set page limit, a person-reviewed PDF report of candidates for attorney review.

Secure card checkout via Stripe. Automated collection starts shortly after payment from the website address you enter, so please check it; we email to confirm your website address and delivery date before the review begins. Pilot reports read page source only (no screenshots, no browser rendering). By ordering you agree to our Terms of Service. Lawthentics is a marketing agency, not a law firm; the audit is not legal advice.

Site Audit — $350 flat. Page source, no set page limit · person-reviewed PDF. Order the Site Audit→