Sample documents · Issue G2. Legal websites and ethics

Form G2-1. Site Notices for a Lawyer-Operated UAP Legal Resource Website (California)

Version 1.10 · October 2026 Download: PDF Word

Template. Sample template for use by or with a licensed attorney. Not legal advice. Laws differ by jurisdiction and change; adapt the document to your facts and check every citation before relying on it.

Use. Issue G2 sets out the California rules that apply to a lawyer’s website: Rules 7.1-7.5 on communications and advertising, Business and Professions Code §6157.2(b) (each advertisement must name at least one responsible California lawyer or firm and the city, town, or county of a bona fide office or the State Bar address of record), §6159.1 (retain a copy of each advertisement for one year), Rule 1.18 (duties to prospective clients), and State Bar Formal Opinions 2001-155 (a lawyer website is a communication and an advertisement) and 2005-168 (intake forms; a visitor’s reasonable expectation of confidentiality is defeated only by a plain-language statement before submission). A UAP site has one further risk: visitors may try to send classified information. The notices below address each point. Place them as indicated.

When to use. Notices for a lawyer’s website, or (section 1A) a legal-information site run by a publisher that is not a law firm. Not for: Firm websites outside California without adaptation.

Deadlines. Keep a dated copy of each version for at least one year (Bus. & Prof. Code §6159.1).

The document

3 pages, laid out as in the PDF and Word downloads. Select a page to open the PDF at that page.

Form G2-1, page 1 of 3. The text version follows the pages. Form G2-1, page 2 of 3. The text version follows the pages. Form G2-1, page 3 of 3. The text version follows the pages.
Text version of the document

1. Site footer (every page)

nhilaw.com is published by [Name], attorney at law, [Firm, if any], [city], California ([State Bar address of record or office address]). [Name] is admitted to practice in California [and ____]. Information on this site is general legal information and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. [Name] is not a certified specialist in any field. Do not send classified or export-controlled information to this site or its operators. [Privacy Policy] · [Terms of Use] · [Classified Information Notice]

1A. Site footer for a publisher that is not a law firm (every page)

[Site name] is published by [Organization], [city, state]. [Organization] is not a law firm, does not offer legal services, and does not give legal advice. The analyses and forms on this site are general legal information written for lawyers and researchers; they are not a substitute for advice from a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction who knows your facts. Using the site, posting in the community, or writing to us does not create an attorney-client relationship with anyone, and what you send us is not confidential. Do not send classified or export-controlled information to this site or its operators. [Privacy Policy] · [Terms of Use] · [Classified Information Notice]

For this version, replace the contact-form notice in section 2 with: “This form is for questions about the site and the community. We cannot answer legal questions about your situation or review your documents. Do not include confidential, classified, or export-controlled information.” Omit the jurisdiction statement in the terms of use, and add: “Forum posts asking for advice on a particular matter will be answered, if at all, with a suggestion to consult a lawyer.”

2. Contact or intake form (before the submit button, with a required checkbox)

Please read before you submit. Information you submit through this form will not be confidential and will not create an attorney-client relationship. Do not describe the details of your situation. Give only your name, contact information, the state where you live, and the names of any other people, companies, or agencies involved, so that we can check for conflicts of interest. A lawyer will contact you if we are able to help.

Never send classified information, export-controlled technical data, or information you are bound by a nondisclosure agreement to protect. If you hold such information and want to report it, see our Classified Information Notice for lawful reporting channels.

☐ I have read this notice. I understand that what I submit is not confidential and that no attorney-client relationship is formed.

3. Classified Information Notice (standalone page, linked from the footer and the contact form)

If you have classified information about UAP programs

Do not send it to us, post it online, or share it with journalists, researchers, or anyone else who is not authorized to receive it. Unauthorized disclosure can be a federal crime even when the purpose is to inform the public.

Federal law provides authorized channels: - The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) operates a secure mechanism for current and former government employees, service members, and contractor personnel to report UAP-related information, including information about programs. Disclosures through that mechanism are authorized by statute and protected against reprisal. 50 U.S.C. §3373b. - Inspectors general and the Intelligence Community Inspector General accept reports of wrongdoing and can transmit urgent concerns to the congressional intelligence committees. - Congress. The intelligence and armed services committees receive classified information through cleared staff and secure procedures. Contact the committee through counsel; do not send classified information by ordinary email or mail.

A lawyer who holds the necessary clearance, or who can arrange to meet you in an approved facility, can help you use these channels safely. You may tell a lawyer, in unclassified terms, that you hold classified information and want advice, without describing it. See our practitioner materials on whistleblower protections (Issues C1-C4).

4. Forms and templates pages (header of each form)

Sample template for use by or with a licensed attorney. Not legal advice. Laws differ by jurisdiction and change over time; adapt the template to your facts and verify every citation before use.

5. Practitioner analysis pages (header)

Practitioner analysis current as of [date]. General legal information for lawyers and researchers; not legal advice for any particular situation. Citations were verified as of the date shown.

6. Terms of Use (key provisions)

  1. No legal advice. Content on this site is general information. It is not a substitute for advice from a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction who knows your facts.
  2. No attorney-client relationship is formed by using the site, by submitting the contact form, or by email, until a written engagement agreement is signed.
  3. Jurisdiction. The operator is admitted only in [California]. The site is not intended to solicit clients in jurisdictions where the operator is not admitted.
  4. User submissions and comments must not include classified, export-controlled, or confidential information, or defamatory or unlawful content. We may remove submissions at our discretion.
  5. Accuracy. We work to keep content accurate and current but make no warranty. Report errors to [email]; corrections are dated.
  6. Links to third-party sites are for convenience and are not endorsements.
  7. Governing law. These terms are governed by California law.

Drafting notes

  • Formal Opinion 2005-168. The contact-form notice is written to meet the opinion’s requirement of a plain-language statement, before submission, that information submitted will not be confidential, and it limits intake to conflict-check information. A bare “no attorney-client relationship” disclaimer is not enough under that opinion. Both State Bar opinions predate the 2018 Rules of Professional Conduct and are advisory; the notice also tracks Rule 1.18.
  • No “specialist” claims. Rule 7.4 bars implying certified specialist status. Phrases such as “UAP law specialist” or “expert in national security law” should not appear anywhere on the site.
  • Retention. Archive a dated copy of each version of the footer, the contact page, and any page that solicits clients, for at least one year (Bus. & Prof. Code §6159.1).
  • Testimonials. If the site ever publishes client testimonials, check Rule 7.1 and §6157.2(a)(3) (impersonation and dramatization disclosures) first.
  • Classified Information Notice. The notice describes channels and gives no individual advice on whether a particular disclosure is protected. Keep it general.
  • Non-lawyer publisher (section 1A). The Texas safe harbor for websites and software that “clearly and conspicuously” state they are not a substitute for a lawyer (Tex. Gov’t Code §81.101(c)) is the model for the section 1A wording. The notice helps only if the site’s conduct matches it: no individual answers, no completion of a visitor’s documents (Janson v. LegalZoom.com, Inc., 802 F. Supp. 2d 1053 (W.D. Mo. 2011)).
  • Related: Issue G2, G1, C1-C4; Form G1-1.
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