Legal advertising, client intake, and third-party partnerships have grown more complex in today’s high-volume practices. Whether you manage personal injury, mass tort, or referral-based caseloads, the reality is clear: compliance breakdowns don’t just risk your reputation—they risk your license.

Why Compliance Breaks Down in Modern Legal Practice

Many firms don’t fall out of compliance because they’re reckless. Rather, noncompliance tends to happen because of fragmented systems. Marketing teams may not understand ABA Rule 7.1 while intake staff might miss state-specific retainer requirements. Vendors could unknowingly trigger ABA Rule 5.3 violations. And with evolving rules around HIPAA, TCPA, and FTC guidelines, even well-meaning firms can find themselves vulnerable.

Most alarming of all? Unintentional misconduct and operational failure doesn’t make a difference in protecting your bar license.

Key Areas of Risk for Law Firms

1. Advertising and Legal Marketing

State bar rules require strict adherence to ethical advertising standards, and firms are ultimately responsible for all messaging. Common pitfalls include:

  • Marketing materials that don’t comply with state-specific bar advertising rules
  • Missing or insufficient disclaimers on TV, radio, or digital ads
  • Improper fee-sharing arrangements between firms and lead generators

2. Intake and Retainer Execution

Intake processes can give the appearance of compliance while still introducing liability. Frequent issues include:

  • Missing or undocumented TCPA consent for outreach by phone or text
  • Retainers that haven’t been reviewed for multi-firm or multi-jurisdictional compliance
  • Lack of oversight in multi-firm intake arrangements

3. Vendor Oversight

Under ABA Rule 5.3, lawyers are responsible for the conduct of nonlawyers they associate with. This creates significant exposure when:

  • Intake vendors make legal assessments without attorney supervision
  • CRMs or software platforms store client data in ways that violate HIPAA or privacy laws
  • Settlement vendors mishandle funds or fail to meet regulatory standards for disbursements

How an Originating Law Firm Solves This

At Broughton Partners, compliance is built into every step of our claimant acquisition process through our partnership with the Goldwater Law Firm.

Founded and led by Bob Goldwater—an AV Preeminent-rated attorney, Million Dollar Advocates Forum member, and nationally recognized civil trial lawyer—the Goldwater Law Firm serves as the originating firm for all Broughton Partners campaigns. That means our client firms benefit from a hands-on compliance partner actively overseeing:

  • Final sign-off on forms, intake logic, and marketing criteria
  • Retainer management and multi-state disclaimer approval
  • Software audits and adherence to TCPA, HIPAA, FTC, FCC, and ABA standards
  • Intake team training and availability for claimant calls
  • Fee agreement review and settlement oversight
  • Execution of all association contracts and vendor agreements

Partnering for Protection and Growth

By working with Broughton Partners, your firm gains direct access to qualified retainers, without the administrative burden. Our team runs targeted campaigns across TV, radio, social media, and digital platforms. Every claimant is screened through a 24/7 in-house call center using firm-approved eligibility criteria, and only pre-qualified retainers are delivered to your team.

Let us help you grow your caseload ethically and efficiently while protecting your license and reputation every step of the way. Contact us today to get started.